3 trade destinations for Dorian Thompson-Robinson after latest Browns rumors

Zac Jackson of The Athletic reported on Tuesday that the Cleveland Browns have been looking into trading Dorian Thompson-Robinson. Jackson said that the Browns might be using DTR as leverage to find an experienced offensive lineman due to the number of injuries they've had at the position this summer.

The Browns drafted Thompson-Robinson in the fifth round of last year's draft out of UCLA and the rookie had to start three games. He threw for 440 yards, one touchdown, and four interceptions while rushing for 65 yards during his time on the field in 2023.

While Browns fans don't really want to see the team part ways with a quarterback that Kevin Stefanski can develop, the team loaded up on backup options after what happened last season. Jameis Winston is going to be the backup behind Deshaun Watson while Tyler Huntley has been battling it out with DTR for the third-string job.

If Thompson-Robinson is in a fight for the third-string job on the roster, perhaps the Browns are making the smart decision here by trying to move him. Who could be a possible trading partner for the Browns here? Let's take a look at some options.

Green Bay Packers

Teams with elite (or close to elite) quarterbacks aren't going to be the same without their QB1 but it's worth saying that if the Packers lose Jordan Love for an any extended amount of time, they'll be screwed. Their backup situation has looked pretty pitiful this preseason with Sean Clifford and Michael Pratt both failing to impress while quarterbacking the backups and third-stringers.

That being said, perhaps a deal could be worked out with Green Bay. Thompson-Robinson would be a much better backup option for Matt LaFleur and there might not be as much need for Packers fans to panic if Love had to miss a few games.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

If the Browns want to continue the theme of sending Thompson-Robinson to an NFC team, perhaps the Buccaneers could make sense as a landing spot for him. Browns fans are familiar with the QB1 in Tampa Bay, as former number one overall pick Baker Mayfield is leading the charge there now, and doing quite well for himself.

That being said, the backup quarterback situation in Tampa Bay could be better with Kyle Trask attempting just 10 passes in two seasons. The Bucs previously spent a second-round pick on Trask in 2022 and luckily for them, they haven't had to turn to him yet so maybe he does end up being good.

That being said, Thompson-Robinson has more game experience in just one year than Trask does in two so this could be a move that's tempting for Tampa.

Buffalo Bills

If the Browns feel comfortable allowing Thompson-Robinson to stay in the same conference as them, the Bills could be a possible trade partner for them. Buffalo has seen injuries occur to two backup quarterbacks on their depth chart with Mitchell Trubisky potentially missing the start of the regular season and Shane Buechele also suffering an injury.

Not only could adding DTR give Josh Allen a more promising backup option for the season but he could also serve as a longer-term backup as well. Trubisky has proven that he's fine as a backup but Thompson-Robinson is six years younger and could be developed more into what the Bills want behind Allen. It's also worth noting that Allen and Thompson-Robinson play a similar style, which is not the case for Trubisky.

Now, of course, it's worth noting that the Browns would need something back from these teams if they sent DTR to join their squads. If the goal is to find a decent offensive lineman, the Browns might have to sweeten the pot by sending DTR and a draft pick.

We'll see what ends up happening with Dorian Thompson-Robinson and if he's still a member of the Cleveland Browns by the time the regular season rolls around.