The Cleveland Browns are talking trade calls on quarterbacks Jameis Winston and Tyler Huntley as the team works to trim the roster to 53 players.
The Browns quarterback depth chart is impressive but the team will be forced to make some tough decisions about who will sit behind Deshaun Watson. It’s been assumed that Winston would be the top backup to Watson after signing a one-year deal with Cleveland this offseason. He’s become a charismatic leader in the locker room, support for Watson and a fan favorite with his antics.
However, the Browns are now gauging what they can get for the former No. 1 overall pick.
“The Browns will field calls for Jameis Winston and Tyler Huntley, and could trade one of them,” Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com reported on Tuesday, August 27. “With several teams, including the Vikings and Chargers, looking for quality backup quarterbacks this season, both Winston and Huntley could draw interest.”
The Browns have informed second-year quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson that he’ll make the 53-man roster. The Browns initially tried to see what they could get in trade talks involving Thompson-Robinson, per The Athletic. But the team has changed its tune.
The former fifth-round pick has done well in the preseason and the Browns may be comfortable handing him the backup role. In all, Thompson-Robinson completed 38 of 55 passes for 375 yards with one touchdown and one interception.
Browns Have Faith in Dorian Thompson-Robinson
Cleveland used similar tactics last season. Joshua Dobbs seemed locked in to be Watson’s backup, with Thompson-Robinson as the No. 3. But the Browns surprisingly shipped Dobbs to the Arizona Cardinals, handing the rookie the primary backup role.
Watson played in just six games due to injury and Thompson-Robinson was forced into action as a rookie. He went 1-2 in his starts, passing for 440 yards, 1 touchdown, and 4 interceptions.
Thompson-Robinson has some growing to do, but the Browns have been pleased with his trajectory.
“He had some nice moments,” Browns coach Kevin Stefanski said on August 25 after the team’s preseason finale. “Obviously a really nice play on that throw down to Jamari Thrash, taking a hit as he threw it. So performed well. Again, this goes back to Dorian’s done a nice job the second he got cleared (from a hip injury), which was back in June. He’s done a nice job since.”
Browns Have Yet to See Deshaun Watson in Action
The Browns face some uncertainty with Watson. He’s participated in almost all of training camp and took most of the reps in joint practices against the Minnesota Vikings.
However, Watson has not seen the field for a live game since his shoulder injury in November. He was slated to face the Seattle Seahawks in the Browns’ final preseason game but Cleveland changed course.
“With Deshaun, just with considerations to the guys who were out on offense. Not just the offensive line, but just didn’t feel like it would be best to put him out there in this setting,” Stefanski said. “Very, very confident in the amount of work that he’s gotten to date throughout the spring and summer, and he’ll be ready to roll Week 1.”
Watson has played in 12 games with the Browns. He’s passed for 2,217 yards, 14 touchdowns, and 9 interceptions.
Cleveland opens the regular season on September 8 against the Dallas Cowboys.
J.R. DeGroote covers the Cleveland Browns and Los Angeles Lakers for Heavy.com. He graduated from Arizona State and has decades of experience in digital media with previous stops at SBNation and Bleacher Report. He has won multiple state, regional and national honors for sports reporting and photography. More about J.R. DeGroote
