After roughly 55 minutes of gameplay Sunday, much had happened for the Cleveland Browns. Starting quarterback Deshaun Watson went down in the final minutes of the 2nd quarter with what has now been confirmed to be a season-ending Achilles injury. On that same drive, second-year QB Dorian Thompson-Robinson came into the game and finished the drive with what would be Nick Chubb's first rushing touchdown in roughly 14 months.
The decision to move Thompson-Robinson above the offseason acquisition of Jameis Winston on the depth chart for Week 7 was the worst coaching decision.
During his rookie campaign, Thompson-Robinson filled in admirably for an injured Watson, but Cleveland's defense was the story of 2023, not the offense. He was responsible for one win and two losses as a starter to go along with 440 yards passing, completing 53.6% of his passes, and throwing for one touchdown compared to four interceptions. While he flashed some promise, Thompson-Robinson ultimately ended up on the IR, and the QB carousel continued for the Browns.
On Sunday, after what appeared to be an electrifying end to the first half, Thompson-Robinson was ultimately removed from the game with a finger injury after completing 11 of 24 passes for 82 yards, 0 TDs, and 2 INTs. He gained another 44 yards rushing. Much like his 2023 campaign, DTR showed flashes of being an electrifying player, but one who still needs much player development to become a dependable starter in the NFL.
After the injury to Thompson-Robinson, Browns fans finally got what they had been asking for - Winston at QB. In recent weeks, calls from fans and analysts throughout the NFL criticized the Browns coaching staff and front office for continuing to move forward with Watson, despite the historically bad play. After Stefanski confirmed that Watson would remain the starter, he doubled down on their commitment to Watson by demoting Winston to the emergency QB and promoting Thompson-Robinson to backup.
Last Sunday, Winston immediately looked like the Brown's best quarterback by a landslide. Coming in off the bench in the final drive of the game, Winston threw for 83 yards and a TD, all while keeping the Browns in the game for an on-side kick that would be unsuccessful.
The decision to promote Thompson-Robinson is puzzling, and the answer fans received did not offer much hope. Jameis Winston was signed in the offseason for this very reason and is an extremely experienced pro capable of coming in off the bench to sustain an offense. As of now, Browns coaches will tell you that Thompson-Robinson gave the Browns the best opportunity to win.
After Sunday's performance, both Thompson-Robinson and Winston proved that assumption to be false. Instead, what many believe to be true, is that Watson's time as the starter was nearing the end, and after he would inevitably be benched, the Browns wanted to evaluate Thompson-Robinson to see his potential moving forward. This is not a bad play by any means, but in my honest and humble opinion, they made that decision far too early.
Cleveland has the defense. All it has needed was quality QB play to win games, and had the Browns given the keys to Winston, who knows if they would have been capable of stringing together a bunch of wins and fighting their way back into contention - much like the Bengals.
As of now, Winston is the only option if the Browns want to win. Just as the Browns should have signed Joe Flacco in the off-season, they should have played Winston when Watson went down. Much like the rumors that Flacco was not signed to reduce anarchy among the fanbase, it very well could have been the case for demoting Winston; designed to protect Watson.
If winning is not their priority, and Thompson-Robinson is cleared, he'll likely get the nod to start. Only time will tell what Cleveland's front office and coaching staff were planning, and are planning for the future. As of now, Cleveland will have a top-five pick, and due to the Watson contract, they will presumably select a QB with that pick. Whether or not that QB is selected in the first round, or the later rounds as another developmental prospect, will likely be a tell to the Brown's plans with Watson.