Browns undecided on starting QB against Ravens, coach said Thompson-Robinson, Zappe could both play

CLEVELAND (AP) — The Cleveland Browns haven't yet decided which of their backup quarterbacks will start the season finale at Baltimore.

It probably doesn't matter to the Ravens.

Coach Kevin Stefanski said he will “work through” the QB situation this week and it's possible both Dorian Thompson-Robinson and Bailey Zappe could play Saturday against the Ravens (11-5), who will clinch the AFC North title with a win.

“Bailey has been a guy that got here, haven’t seen him in a game just yet,” Stefanski said Tuesday on a Zoom call. “Dorian is a young player who's using all these reps to get better. So there’s a scenario where we do that (play both).”

If Zappe starts, he will be the 40th quarterback to start for the Browns since 1999.

Thompson-Robinson has struggled in two starts — the Browns have scored nine points — since replacing Jameis Winston, who was benched after throwing eight interceptions over a three-game span.

Winston continues to deal with a right shoulder injury and Stefanski said the veteran will likely be the emergency QB for the season finale.

The Browns (3-13) are 17 1/2-point underdogs against the first-place Ravens, who lost in Cleveland on Oct. 27 in Winston's first start this season after Deshaun Watson ruptured his Achilles tendon a week earlier.

Zappe was signed off Kansas City's practice squad in October after Watson was placed on injured reserve. The 25-year-old Zappe was picked in the fourth round by New England in 2022.

He made eight starts in two seasons with the Patriots and had his best game against the Browns, passing for 309 yards and two touchdowns in a win two years ago.

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Cleveland Browns quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson (17) hands the football to running back Jerome Ford (34) during the first half of an NFL football game against the Miami Dolphins Sunday, Dec. 29, 2024, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/David Richard)

Cleveland Browns quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson (17) looks to pass as Miami Dolphins defensive tackle Calais Campbell (93) defends during the first half of an NFL football game Sunday, Dec. 29, 2024, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)

Cleveland Browns quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson (17) pitches the ball during the second half of an NFL football game against the Miami Dolphins Sunday, Dec. 29, 2024, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/David Richard)

A Ukrainian drone strike killed one person and wounded three others in the Russian city of Voronezh, local officials said Sunday.

A young woman died overnight in a hospital intensive care unit after debris from a drone fell on a house during the attack on Saturday, regional Gov. Alexander Gusev said on Telegram.

Three other people were wounded and more than 10 apartment buildings, private houses and a high school were damaged, he said, adding that air defenses shot down 17 drones over Voronezh. The city is home to just over 1 million people and lies some 250 kilometers (155 miles) from the Ukrainian border.

The attack came the day after Russia bombarded Ukraine with hundreds of drones and dozens of missiles overnight into Friday, killing at least four people in the capital Kyiv, according to Ukrainian officials.

For only the second time in the nearly four-year war, Russia used a powerful new hypersonic missile that struck western Ukraine in a clear warning to Kyiv and NATO.

The intense barrage and the launch of the nuclear-capable Oreshnik missile followed reports of major progress in talks between Ukraine and its allies on how to defend the country from further aggression by Moscow if a U.S.-led peace deal is struck.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Saturday in his nightly address that Ukrainian negotiators “continue to communicate with the American side.”

Chief negotiator Rustem Umerov was in contact with U.S. partners Saturday, he said.

Separately, Ukraine’s General Staff said Russia targeted Ukraine with 154 drones overnight into Sunday and 125 were shot down.

Follow the AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine

This photo provided by the Ukrainian Security Service on Friday, Jan. 9, 2026, shows a fragment believed to be a part of a Russian Oreshnik intermediate range hypersonic ballistic missile that hit the Lviv region. (Ukrainian Security Service via AP)

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy, second left, listens to British Defense Secretary John Healey during their meeting in Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Danylo Antoniuk)