Jameis Winston's role as QB1 shaky after Kevin Stefanski's latest comments
Jameis Winston might finally be turning back into the Winston most NFL fans have known him to be his entire career - a turnover machine.
His two interceptions against the Pittsburgh Steelers added onto a bad week for the current Cleveland Browns starting quarterback, who was just trying to steady the offense for the rest of the season and potentially see a run to a Wild Card spot if everything fell right for the team.
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Instead, Winston has gone from a darling and revelation for this Browns team to another potential bust signing, showing that he may not be worth bringing back next year as a bridge quarterback if the team doesn't trust Deshaun Watson at the position either. It's a big blow to the Browns' plans for the rest of the season and for 2025, as they now look to the draft to try and fix their roster holes.
Kevin Stefanski gives vague answer about Winston's status for Week 15
As if the losses and season couldn't get any worse for the Browns, they now have four games left to play against three teams vying for a solidified postseason seed and one against an AFC North divisional rival.
Their Week 15 game against the Kansas City Chiefs should be a doozy, especially if the perennial Super Bowl champions keep the game close as they have kept every game they've played.
So, the fact that head coach Kevin Stefanski told reporters after the team's Week 14 loss to the Steelers that he couldn't commit to naming Winston as the team's starting quarterback moving forward just adds another notch to an already dreadful week.
It could be because the Browns are now eliminated from the playoffs officially, so the team might want to give a look at Dorian Thompson-Robinson for a majority of snaps for the year. Winston surely wouldn't be opposed since he was never guaranteed a permanent starting role in the first place, but it must sting to know you hadn't locked down a starting job despite ample opportunity to do so.
Stefanski was committal on struggling kicker Dustin Hopkins after the game, saying "he's our kicker" to the media after the loss. To have that level of dedication to a 64 percent kicker but not Winston must mean something is up ahead of their Week 15 contest. At 3-10, anything goes for the Browns.
Experimentation is necessary to get a full read on your draft needs. Winston might end up being victim to that method for these last four games of the year.