The Cleveland Browns are close to signing QB Jameis Winston to a one-year deal, according to Bleacher Report’s Jordan Schultz. Winston is expected to serve as Deshaun Watson’s top backup, signaling that the team is moving on from Joe Flacco, who led the team into the postseason in 2023.
According to Schultz’s report, Winston drew interest from several teams in free agency. But he’s headed north to Cleveland on a deal worth up to nearly $9 million, likely a contract filled with incentives.
Winston, who turned 30 in January, has served as a backup with the New Orleans Saints for the past four seasons. Over that time, he’s started 10 games, most coming in 2021, but has struggled off the bench the past two years. Over that span, he’s gone 1-2 as a starter with six touchdowns and eight interceptions.
The first overall pick by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2015, Jameis Winston’s career has been defined by streaks. Hot streaks and great plays, cold streaks with countless interceptions. That was best shown in 2019 when Winston led the NFL with 5,109 passing yards and threw for 33 touchdowns while also tossing a league-high 30 interceptions. He became the first quarterback since Vinny Testaverde in 1988 to throw 30 picks in a year.
Cleveland started five quarterbacks in 2023, beginning with Watson before injuries ended his season. They turned to P.J. Walker, Dorian Thompson-Robinson, Jeff Driskel, and Flacco the rest of the way. They found success with Flacco, signed off the street and going 4-1 as Cleveland’s starter. He showed great chemistry with top wideout Amari Cooper and kept the Browns’ offense afloat despite injuries to their offensive line and backfield.
But interceptions were his downfall, and he threw a pair of back-breaking pick-sixes in the team’s Wild Card loss to the Houston Texans. Flacco hopes to keep playing and seemed open to returning to Cleveland but it’s clear the Browns are going in a different direction.
