LOS ANGELES — Amari Cooper wasn't a full participant in Thursday's practice. So during the moments when the Browns wide receiver wasn't an active participant, it gave him a chance to stand back and watch Joe Flacco throw the football.

"It looks good," Cooper said after practice. "He throws a very pretty ball. I don't know if it's intentional or what, but when he drops back and he lets it go, the whole motion, it's like poetry in motion. It looks good."

Whether or not Flacco is throwing the ball to Cooper on Sunday when the Browns play at the Los Angeles Rams is still not an official certainty. Rookie starter Dorian Thompson-Robinson was not seen during the portion of practice at UCLA open to the media as he continued to work through the concussion protocol.

The Browns will practice again Friday afternoon in Los Angeles, after which they will announce what Thompson-Robinson's status is for Sunday's game. All signs would seem to be pointing to him being out and Flacco getting the start.

However, Flacco wasn't willing to go there just yet.

"I would say you can't say that definitively," Flacco said Thursday. "I'm obviously not the guy to ask about that. Like I said, I'm just taking it practice by practice and grateful for the opportunity to at least get out here and practice these plays so that if I am the guy, I have something under my belt."

Two weeks ago, Flacco had just received the call from the Browns to come to Berea for a workout. Deshaun Watson's season was ended by the need to have surgery on his shoulder, leaving only Thompson-Robinson and fourth-year pro P.J. Walker on the roster.

Flacco made the trek to and from Northeast Ohio, leaving without a deal. That changed within the subsequent 48 hours when he agreed to a practice-squad deal after the Browns' Nov. 19 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Two weeks later, Flacco may actually be starting his first football game since the New York Jets' season finale last January.

"It's definitely exciting," Flacco said. "The idea of it. There's a lot of things about being at this point in my life that make it really exciting even besides just playing the game football. There's so many things that add to it now, having young kids and feeling their excitement about it, and when you are away it puts things in perspective a little bit. And, like I said, you just try to let these opportunities take care of themselves and do your best to be ready for them."

The first week Flacco was with the Browns was essentially a week spent trying to get himself accustomed to his new offensive system. However, he was also doing so on the practice squad as the No. 3 quarterback, with Thompson-Robinson healthy and starting last Sunday's game at the Denver Broncos.

Thompson-Robinson then was knocked out of the loss at Denver. Walker couldn't re-capture the magic he had in October, when he won a game as a starter and another coming off the bench for an injured Watson.

Browns coach Kevin Stefanski announced Wednesday that Flacco was going to be the backup to Thompson-Robinson. Considering the concussion concerns, that meant much of the work was going to be to get Flacco up to speed on Sunday's game plan for the Rams.

That's helped the 16-year veteran significantly.

"Yeah, I think when you're able to focus on a game plan, you can come pretty far," Flacco said. "Obviously getting out and being able to actually run stuff and call stuff, that goes a long way, too."

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: Joe Flacco excited beyond 'just playing the game' at Browns QB chance