The Cleveland Browns enter today’s game against the Baltimore Ravens with plenty of questions, present and future.
The future one will garner endless attention: Will Deshaun Watson be the team’s starting QB in 2025? Head coach Kevin Stefanski declined to explore it this week, saying he believes in Watson -- who had surgery to repair his torn Achilles on Friday and will miss the remainder of the season -- but said he’s "not getting into all those things down the road.”
At some point it will need an answer, just not right now.
The present question is more pressing: Can Jameis Winston be a version of what Joe Flacco gave the Browns last year?
Two veterans with starting experience who became backups in their 30s, both capable of igniting an offense with the deep ball. While the Browns already have as many losses (six) as they did all of last season and traded Amari Cooper to the Buffalo Bills earlier this month, switching to Winston could help improve an offense that has struggled this season.
That question of what Winston will bring to Cleveland will begin to be answered today.
But that is not the only major change for Cleveland, whose offense is last in yards per game and 29th in points per game.
Winston is once again a starting QB in the NFL, getting the call over second-year quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson, who was the backup last week. Stefanski has handed over play-calling to offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey, who will call the game from the coaching booth.
There also will be a new left tackle, with Dawand Jones stepping in for the injured Jedrick Wills to man a position he’s barely played. It was quite a week in Cleveland, one that left all members of the organization struggling to catch their breath but optimistic of things to come.
After conversations with several sources with knowledge of their situation, here is where it all stands for the Browns:
The current QB situation
Winston will start over Thompson-Robinson, despite DTR being elevated to be the backup for last week's game against the Cincinnati Bengals. The Browns went into the season believing they had two quality backups and informing both QBs that it could flip-flop this season.
In fact, while Winston was the backup until last week, he was also the short-yardage QB for QB sneaks. Last week, the choice was made to have a package of plays for Thompson-Robinson ready, so DTR was the backup -- and when he played in place of Watson, it was up-and-down (11-of-24 passing for 82 yards with two INTs). He also suffered a right finger injury in the loss to the Bengals, but was a full participant in practice throughout the week.
That paved the way for Winston, whose boom-or-bust ways have been the story of his career. The boom has often been deep passes, similar to how Flacco led Cleveland to the playoffs last year. Winston’s preparation has always impressed, and this week was no different.
Winston also will have more of Nick Chubb available this week, as his workload should increase in his second game back from a devastating knee injury last year. If Winston can keep the ball mostly out of harm’s way, Cleveland should be OK.
The new play-caller
Dorsey is back calling plays today (as he did during his stint as the Bills' OC) and moving forward. As for why, there are several answers. There is no good time to make a switch in play-calling, but Stefanski said in the spring he was open to it, one of the reasons he hired Dorsey. With a huge change coming with Winston starting, it was a fresh start for the offense, too.
Plus, there was a time management issue for Stefanski. The offense was struggling, and Stefanski was still spending most of his time working with that unit. If it wasn’t helping, that time wasn’t being used well.
This move freed Stefanski up to attend more defensive meetings this past week, for instance, allowing him to coach the whole team and, just as importantly, be available to the whole team. With upcoming games against the Ravens and Chargers before their Week 10 bye, the Browns have a two-game stretch to evaluate and figure out if it’s working.
Being balanced on offense with Chubb more involved will be paramount, as will attacking all levels of the defense, which Winston can do with his arm. Expect to also likely see more play-action and under-center looks, because that fits Winston's skill set more.
The future at QB
Yes, there is the question of Watson's future. With 11 weeks of the regular season left and an entire offseason to discuss what to do, it’s safe to say there were not meetings centered around this topic this past week. Watson is under contract for two years and his $92 million salary is fully guaranteed. Considering that he will be coming off a season-ending Achilles injury, there will be contingency plans at the QB position, regardless.
All options are on the table. There were plenty of times last year when it appeared Watson was poised to look like his old self, only for a shoulder injury to end his season. This year, the entire season just never hit its stride as Watson was ineffective in seven starts, throwing five touchdowns and three interceptions.
Watson's future will be the story of the Browns' offseason, just not this week.