The Cleveland Browns will turn to Jameis Winston, at least initially, following Deshaun Watson’s season-ending injury, Jordan Schultz reports. The Browns dressed Winston as their emergency third quarterback on Sunday, but he ended up the last man standing. Even still, regardless of the injuries involved, this move is no surprise.
As Browns HC Kevin Stefanski explained after Sunday’s game, they dressed Dorian Thompson-Robinson as the backup quarterback against the Cincinnati Bengals because they had no package installed that week for Winston. They had been playing him for a handful of snaps most weeks, typically in short-yardage situations. In the team’s first six games, he rushed for two yards on five attempts. He also went 1-of-1 passing for 16 yards.
In the loss to the Bengals, Deshaun Watson completed 15-of-17 passes for 128 yards. Thompson-Robinson in relief of the injured Watson went 11-of-24 for 82 yards and two interceptions before suffering a finger injury. Winston wrapped up the game, going 5-of-11 for 67 yards and a touchdown.
Jameis Winston was the first-overall draft pick of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2015. The Buccaneers are now finding success with the Browns’ former first-overall pick, Baker Mayfield, whom they cast aside for Watson.
Winston spent the first half of his career as a starter for the Buccaneers, but has since transitioned into a second phase, during which he has intermittently started or backed up. He last started in 2022, so the Browns’ next game will be his first start in a while.
A capably prolific passer, Winston’s feast-or-famine results have plagued him throughout his career. While he has 142 career touchdowns on 2,894 pass attempts, he also has 99 interceptions. During a losing season in 2019, he threw for over 5,000 yards with 33 touchdowns—and 30 interceptions.
The Browns drafted Dorian Thompson-Robinson in the fifth round a year ago. He competed against veteran Pro Bowler Tyler Huntley to retain his roster spot, and evidently managed to do so. But he spent the season up to this point as the third-string quarterback. He only dressed ahead of Jameis Winston on Sunday because the Browns, for some reason, so him as a better matchup against the Bengals.
But it is not clear if the Browns will even have Thompson-Robinson available for their next game. Accordingly, they signed former Patriots QB Bailey Zappe to their practice squad. He could serve as the backup to Winston in the event that Thompson-Robinson cannot go against the Baltimore Ravens.
