BEREA — Joe Flacco and P.J. Walker. It's exactly who everybody thought would be the Browns' quarterback tandem for a win-and-in-the-playoffs Week 17 game against the New York Jets.

Not really, but it's the reality for the Browns heading into Thursday night's game. Yet again, it's another season-ending injury which has led to this point.

The Browns placed backup quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson on injured reserve with a hip injury. They signed Walker, who started two games and finished another in October, from the practice squad to the active roster.

The rookie fifth-round pick out of UCLA sustained the injury during this past Sunday's win over the Houston Texans. He played nine plays in the win, including scoring a 2-point conversion.

Since Flacco took over as the starter in Week 13, Thompson-Robinson had been used in specific situations. Head coach Kevin Stefanski was not certain if the same would hold true for Walker.

"Yeah, we'll see in terms of the role," Stefanski said. "But yeah, very confident in P.J. He's started games for us, won games for us, come in and won games for us. He knows our system, so very confident."

Thompson-Robinson was seen in the locker room on Tuesday walking with a crutch. It was a rocky conclusion to what has been a rocky rookie season in which he finished 60 of 112 passing for 440 yards with a touchdown, 4 interceptions and a 51.2 passer rating.

After spending almost all of training camp as the Browns' No. 3 quarterback behind Deshaun Watson and Joshua Dobbs, Thompson-Robinson was elevated to the backup role when Dobbs was traded to the Arizona Cardinals on Aug. 24. A big reason for that was how he performed over the first three preseason games, when he completed 37 of 58 passes for 440 yards with 2 touchdowns and a 98.4 passer rating.

Thompson-Robinson made his NFL debut in mop-up duty in Week 3 against the Tennessee Titans. However, he was be thrust into his first start the next week due to a rotator cuff sprain to Watson's throwing shoulder, just hours before what devolved into a 28-3 loss to the Baltimore Ravens.

That first start was a disaster for Thompson-Robinson, as he completed 19 of 39 passes for 121 yards and 3 interceptions and a 25.3 passer rating. It was so much so that he was replaced the backup to Watson by Walker, who was on the practice squad at the time.

Walker started a Week 6 win over the San Francisco 49ers and a Week 8 loss to the Seattle Seahawks in place of Watson, while also coming in late in the first quarter at Indianapolis to lead the Browns to a late-minute Week 7 win over the Colts. Walker, who was eventually waived then re-signed to the practice squad on around the Week 14 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars, completed 54 of 111 passes for 674 yards with a touchdown, 5 interceptions and a 52.2 passer rating.

Thompson-Robinson would get a second act in his rookie season, taking over the starting role when Watson went on season-ending injured reserve prior to the Week 11 home game against the Pittsburgh Steelers. He went out in that game and led the Browns to a last-second 13-10 win, hitting his first four passes f0r 39 yards on the game-winning field goal drive.

The rookie's season hit another valley late in the third quarter the next week at the Denver Broncos. Thompson-Robinson suffered a concussion when he was hit after throwing a pass by the Broncos' Baron Browning. The concussion cost him the following week's game at the Los Angeles Rams, which was supposed to be a homecoming of sorts with the Browns practicing all week at UCLA.

Flacco took over as the Browns starter that week. He's since gone 3-1, including three consecutive wins entering Thursday, to put the Browns on the brink of the playoffs.

Chris Easterling can be reached at ceasterling@thebeaconjournal.com. Read more about the Browns at www.beaconjournal.com/sports/browns. Follow him on Twitter at @ceasterlingABJ

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Browns' Dorian Thompson-Robinson on injured reserve, P.J. Walker added