Cleveland Browns studs and duds from 2019 preseason opener

Dud: Drew Stanton

Mayfield and the first-team offense were able to pick apart the Washington secondary on the first drive of the game, but that was not the case for the ensuing drives. With Drew Stanton under center, the Browns passing game sputtered.

Stanton was on the field for two drives, completing three of his eight pass attempts for 63 yards, with a quarterback rating of 66.1. Two of Stanton’s completions were chunk plays, as Jaelen Strong and Higgins were able to generate yards after the catch.

The Browns seem to be prepared to have Stanton as their backup quarterback for 2019, but his performance in the preseason opener was slightly concerning. He made several errant throws and could have been intercepted twice when the Browns were in the redzone.

When the Browns signed Stanton last offseason, the expectation was he would be a mentor for Mayfield as the No. 3 quarterback. And then entering this season, he would help Mayfield in his transition to being the starter. But at the same time, the Browns front office did not address the quarterback position until they signed Garrett Gilbert, making Stanton the backup.

Gilbert played well in the opener, but it seems unlikely he would be able to overtake Stanton as the backup. Stanton has the experience teams want from a backup quarterback, and they’d be willing to put Stanton in games knowing he should be able to control a game, despite making some errant throws.