Here are some Cleveland Browns thoughts on the week’s news, what really matters at the end of a 3-11 season and more.
• The Browns are playing for next year, which, combined with Jameis Winston’s three-game streak of throwing multiple interceptions, made Kevin Stefanski’s quarterback decision fairly easy. Winston has been benched, and Dorian Thompson-Robinson will make his fourth career start in Cincinnati on Sunday.
Stefanski said he’s only thinking about this week, which no one believes. The goal is for Thompson-Robinson to play the final three games and give the team a chance to evaluate him. The last thing the Browns need is another injury or forced quarterback change, so the hope is that Thompson-Robinson can stay healthy, show some growth and at least look like a potential backup option for next year.
Stefanski said Winston will be the No. 2 quarterback this week, which means Bailey Zappe will remain No. 3. Stefanski was quick to mention that the Browns want to see Thompson-Robinson with a full week of preparation after he played in Week 7 on short notice — both in the game following Deshaun Watson’s injury and during the work week. Thompson-Robinson wasn’t told until the day before the first game against the Bengals that he was being promoted from emergency quarterback to primary backup, a situation Stefanski declined to explain.
It’s been that kind of year. For the 11th time in the team’s new era, Cleveland has at least three different starting quarterbacks in the same season.
Winston, as expected, was supportive of Thompson-Robinson in his public comments. He said he’s disappointed and knows he threw too many interceptions. Winston knows the business, too. Thompson-Robinson is under his standard rookie deal through 2026, and Winston doesn’t have a contract for next year.
“I am capable of being a starter in this league,” Winston said. “However, there are some things that are important for me to get fixed and to get addressed so that I can be the player that I desire to be in this football league. It was fun. It was a fun ride. But what’s most important right now is that the ride continues, even if my show stops, the team’s show still goes on and I’m still going to be an instrumental part in helping lead this team to some success.”
• How will the offense be different? Presumably, Cleveland will try to use Thompson-Robinson’s mobility. Winston had some read option-type keepers over the last couple of weeks, likely because the Browns saw something in opposing defenses. Thompson-Robinson is a more natural and dangerous runner than Winston, though he obviously doesn’t have the same arm strength.
Expect Cleveland to mix in some designed runs for its new quarterback but also move the pocket to create throwing lanes. Jerry Jeudy had been on a tear with Winston in the lineup. Last week he had his third 100-yard receiving game since Winston took over on a career-high 11 catches. The Bengals have allowed 32.0 points per game over their last five and rank near the bottom of the league in yards per pass and total passing yards surrendered.
Can Jeudy still get a bunch of chances downfield with Thompson-Robinson? We’ll see what the lineup of pass catchers looks like. Cedric Tillman is practicing but hasn’t cleared concussion protocol, and David Njoku again missed practice Wednesday with the hamstring injury that kept him out last week.
Per TruMedia, 36 of Thompson-Robinson’s 41 snaps this season have come out of shotgun formation. In his rookie season, he took 119 out of 132 snaps out of shotgun. Thompson-Robinson said he’s comfortable under center from his high school and college experience and has been working with the Browns’ Ethan Pocic on traditional under-center snaps. But until we see differently, we’ll expect the Browns to be in a lot of shotgun and probably in the more open looks they tried to implement in training camp and the preseason.
• The players and coaches taking the field want to win and at least briefly stop the misery of this season. But in the big picture, the games that might matter to the immediate future of the Browns are being played elsewhere.
Per Tankathon, the Browns enter Week 16 holding the No. 7 pick in next year’s draft and are one of five teams currently at 3-11. Assuming they keep losing, there’s some interesting scoreboard-watching directly ahead. On Sunday, the 2-12 Las Vegas Raiders host the 3-11 Jacksonville Jaguars. In Week 17, the Jaguars host the 3-11 Tennessee Titans. Right now, the Raiders and New York Giants have two wins and there’s a crowd just behind them.
If the Browns win one of these final three, great. Or, not great. The long-term plan they’re going to have to tackle in the coming months goes beyond draft positioning or any one player. With Watson currently set to count $72.9 million against next year’s cap and approximately $40 million of dead cap money that’s certain to only grow, there are many decisions to be made — starting with a decision by ownership on who should be making them.
With the Watson trade as the anchor, the folks in charge of this operation wrecked the ship. There’s no chance of an immediate fix at multiple positions, which is why at least giving Thompson-Robinson (and some other young players) an extended shot is sensible, even if you feel like you know the ending. The Browns must have a good draft in 2025 regardless of whether they make their first pick at No. 3, No. 5 or No. 10.
Just like it’s too early to argue the Browns’ draft needs or offseason plans, it’s too early to pinpoint draft position until all nine teams that currently have four wins or fewer play their final three games. Remember: head-to-head results are not a tiebreaker in the draft process. The tiebreaker is the opponent’s strength of record, which is why Cleveland is currently behind the other four teams that have three wins.
In Week 18, the Raiders host a Los Angeles Chargers team that should be locked into its wild-card berth by then. That could produce an all-timer if the Chargers sit a lot of their regulars and the Raiders are not really interested in winning and messing up a top-two draft pick.
The Raiders have lost 10 straight. Their last win was versus the Browns in Week 4. The Browns will return to Las Vegas next season as both teams are headed for fourth place in their respective divisions and the schedule rotation has AFC North teams visiting their standings counterparts in the AFC West. The Browns officially clinch fourth place with one more loss.
• Winston said he hopes “this team or another team gives me an opportunity to show what I’m capable of.” If you’re thinking Winston’s interceptions have painted a clear picture of who he is to NFL evaluators, you’re probably right.
The Browns will explore several avenues for addressing their salary-cap situation and remaking their quarterback room in 2025. On the quarterback front, they’re not likely to encounter a lot of affordable options, so Winston returning will be one possibility. It’s unlikely Winston will come back, but it’s possible. Stay tuned.
The Browns will add a rookie quarterback at some point — maybe in the first three rounds — and probably keep Thompson-Robinson. But they’re not likely to have the cap space to add anything more than a bridge quarterback unless they shed money and players as part of a commitment to an established veteran, and it’s hard to see that scenario unfolding. In any case, they’re going to have to clear money on some level because of Watson’s contract and the age and pay grade of a lot of their established veterans on both the offensive and defensive lines.
Through some standard deletions and potential restructures, they can create more cap room before they start making big decisions. They’ll also need around $15 million in free space to sign their rookie class. We’ll continue to track that and dive further into the cap situation in the coming weeks and months.
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• On Wednesday, running back Nick Chubb was officially placed on injured reserve with the broken foot he suffered against the Kansas City Chiefs. Chubb turns 29 next week and is headed for free agency in March. It’s hard to say what his future in Cleveland might be. Obviously, he’s a popular player in the locker room and with the fan base, but the Browns will have to determine what they think Chubb has left as a player — and he will have to determine where he feels the Browns are headed and how he might fit in that plan. Look for Jerome Ford to be the clear lead runner over the final three games with Pierre Strong Jr. and D’Onta Foreman getting evaluation opportunities. Strong is under contract for next season, Foreman is not.
With Chubb off the active roster, the Browns signed undrafted rookie tight end Brenden Bates off the New York Jets’ practice squad. Regardless of whether Njoku will play this week, Bates isn’t in the team’s immediate plans. It’s the time of year when teams eliminated from postseason contention start looking ahead, and the Browns think Bates is worth evaluating for the future in a position group that’s pretty open going forward. Njoku is under contract for one more season, and No. 2 tight end Jordan Akins is eligible for free agency.
The Browns are going back to kicker Dustin Hopkins this week. Their kicker last week, Riley Patterson, is headed to Atlanta after the Falcons signed him via the Browns’ practice squad on Wednesday. Patterson first joined the Browns last Christmas and was their kicker for the final two regular-season games plus the playoff loss in Houston.
Hopkins was given last week off after missing six of his last nine field goal tries. Kicker is another position that’s at least on the offseason watchlist for Cleveland, even after Hopkins signed a three-year extension in July.
(Top photo: Jason Miller / Getty Images)
