There is interesting quarterback news to report in Cleveland today, though it is likely not the news Browns fans were hoping to receive. While struggling QB1 Deshaun Watson is still operating as the starter, the Browns have demoted Jameis Winston to the emergency third-string passer for today’s game against the Bengals. Second-year pro Dorian Thompson-Robinson will serve as Watson’s backup.
Cleveland signed both Winston and Tyler Huntley this offseason, eschewing the chance to re-sign Comeback Player of the Year Joe Flacco after Flacco’s surprising success down the stretch of the 2023 season. That decision has been heavily scrutinized in light of Flacco’s strong play with the Colts in relief of Anthony Richardson in 2024 and Watson’s continued struggles (Huntley was released as part of final cutdowns in August).
Per Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com, the Browns considered Thompson-Robinson and Watson as untouchable in trades this offseason, though the club would have been willing to deal Winston then and would still be willing to move him prior to the November 5 deadline, especially now that he has been demoted. Cabot says that if Watson is ultimately stripped of his starting duties – a move that HC Kevin Stefanski has thus far resisted while insisting that ownership has not ordered him to keep Watson in the lineup – Thompson-Robinson, not Winston, would be the player to replace him.
Cleveland is said to be quite high on DTR, a fifth-round selection in 2023 who enjoyed an impressive preseason this summer. Prior to Flacco’s run as a starter last season, Thompson-Robinson started three games as a rookie and generally performed like a raw Day 3 pick in his first professional campaign: he posted a 1-2 record and completed 60 of 112 passes (53.6%) for 440 yards and one touchdown against four interceptions.
Still, the Browns are bullish on his upside, and should Stefanski decide to pull the plug on Watson, the club will want to know what it has in DTR so it can plan accordingly for the future. Cabot notes that the team has wanted to see what Watson could do with a healthy O-Line, a healthy David Njoku, and a healthy Nick Chubb, With today’s game against Cincinnati marking Chubb’s first action since a brutal knee injury in Week 2 of the 2023 season, Watson is as well-equipped as he can be at this point (the team’s recent trade of Amari Cooper aside).
As such, Cabot says the club will be monitoring Watson’s performance closely. If he does not exhibit noticeable improvement in short order, Cabot believes the 1-5 outfit will hand the reins to Thompson-Robinson.
Tony Grossi of TheLandOnDemand.com is a bit more skeptical, as he suggests that Watson – despite ranking 28th in the league with a 76.6 quarterback rating – still has something of a long leash. Grossi confirms, however, that Winston is not hurt, thereby confirming that the DTR promotion is merit-based.
So, Winston was demoted after fans called for Watson to be benched. Coincidence?
On a side note, it’s good to see Chubb back on the field.
Remember when Mary Kay said they weren’t gonna trade Cooper? Good times!
Yeah, I’ll listen to Tony before her every single day.
Too bad they didn’t demote Watson
And now he’s QB1. Watson’s season is likely over.
Demoted to QB2 more like.
They demoted the wrong QB.
The Watson injury is the best thing that could happen to the Browns. (Assuming its lengthy)
Im not being funny – they clearly were not benching him. Now they can have some cover.
Watson went down with nobody around him. Early reports are it’s an Achilles.
Didn’t know about it right away cos Fox doesn’t believe in updating other games until halftime. (My CBS game is at 4:05)
Most likely currently in talks to deal Winston. No clue as to where. Saints? Raiders? Denver? No clue.
If Watson tore his Achilles, his season is over. Winston ain’t goin’ nowhere.
From demoted and inactive to next week’s probable starter in just a few hours. Crazy day for him.
OK. We’ve identified what the problem is. The B/U QB who never played sucked. Things will be better now.
this demotion was destined to be another Watson-related fail; so he obliged
Dustin Hopkins is headed for a demotion if he keeps missing PATs.
(After the fact) Doh ! Back-up QBs Matter !
Whoever wears number 17 for Cleveland. Was really 11 days early for Halloween , for dressing as an NFL QB. And the inept Cleveland demoted Winston for number 17. I watched the game today and as number 17 was trick or treating as a QB…Jamie’s Winston the demoted one just sat as the new 3rd string QB. Number 17 hurts his wrist. So recently demoted Winston led Cleveland to a TD. He looked pretty good.
The whole Brown ownership and management have been tricking the city of Cleveland for a few years. And they get all the treats (money)
Stefanski will be fired after this season. He’s going to shoulder the blame for the Dumbshawn debacle. If I was him I would throw Jameis in there and tell him to throw the ball 50 times a game. They are in danger of losing their fan base with the idiotic way they run this team. At least with Jameis it will look like they’re trying to do something. And who knows he may actually do something with all the weapons Cleveland has on offense
The Browns are going to lose their fan base? It just won’t be the same rooting for the Cleveland State Vikings.
People eventually get tired of the same old $hit month after month, year after year, decade after decade. Especially when the tickets cost so much, concessions are ridiculous and it costs 25-50 dollars to park. These guys haven’t had a decent team in a decade. And the owner seems to be a self appointed football genius. People get tired of seeing the same movie over and over. We’re different this year seems to be their rallying cry. If you can’t score points with Nick Chubb, Jerry Judy, and Elijah Moore then something is very wrong. There’s to many other things to occupy fans time in Cleveland than paying to watch their team get pummeled every week.