Exploring the Browns QB situation with Jameis Winston set to start against the Ravens

Winston will start over Thompson-Robinson, despite DTR being elevated to backup for last week’s game against the Cincinnati Bengals. The Browns entered the season believing they had two quality backups and informed both QBs that things could flip this season.

Although Winston was the backup until last week, he was also essentially the short-yardage QB for QB sneaks. Last week the choice was made to have a playing package ready for Thompson-Robinson, so DTR was the backup – and when he played in Watson’s place 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 all week.

That paved the way for Winston, whose boom-or-bust style has been the story of his career. The rush often consisted of 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 will have more of it too 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 out of harm’s way for the most part, Cleveland should be fine.

Dorsey is back to calling today (as he did during his time as the Bills’ OC) and moving forward. There are different answers to the question why. There’s no good time to make a move into play-calling, but Stefanski said in the spring he was open to it, one of the reasons he hired Dorsey. Because there was a huge change coming when Winston started, it was also a new start for the offense.

In addition, there was a time management problem for Stefanski. The offense was struggling and Stefanski still spent most of his time working with that unit. If it didn’t help, that time wasn’t used properly.

The move gave Stefanski the freedom to attend more defensive meetings this past week, allowing him to coach the entire team and, just as importantly, be available to the entire team. With upcoming games against the Ravens and Chargers before their Week 10 bye, the Browns have a two-game window to evaluate and figure out if it works.

Being balanced on offense, which Chubb is more involved with, will be paramount, as will attacking all levels of the defense, which Winston can do with his arm. Also probably expect more play action and looks under center as it suits Winston’s skills better.

Yes, there is the question about Watson’s future. With eleven weeks of the regular season left and an entire offseason to discuss what to do, it’s safe to say there have been no meetings around this topic in the past week. Watson has a two-year contract and his $92 million salary is fully guaranteed. Considering 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 moments last year where it looked like Watson was on the verge of looking like his old self again, but a shoulder injury ended his season. This year the entire season never got going as Watson was ineffective in seven starts, throwing five touchdowns and three interceptions.

Watson’s future will be the story of the Browns’ offseason, but not this week.