The Browns Will Get To Test Their Plan B
Credit: Stephen Lew-USA TODAY Sports
The 2024 Cleveland Browns finally get to take the field for their first preseason game on Saturday. Much like the 2023 Browns for most of the year, Cleveland will start their preseason without Deshaun Watson leading the offense.
It’s not unusual for a team to sit their star quarterback out for the first preseason game. Most teams heavily limit their starter’s exposure in the preseason, and the Browns are no different. Coach Kevin Stefanski only expects his starters to partake in around 10 plays against the Green Bay Packers. The problem is, it isn’t unusual to see Watson not on the field. Since Cleveland traded for him, Watson has started just 12 games, which is nearly matched by the time he was out serving a suspension (11 games) and with injury (11 games).
After playing QB Roulette last year with a hodge-podge of Joe Flacco (five starts), Dorian Thompson-Robinson (three starts), P.J. Walker (two starts), and Jeff Driscoll each starting in the regular season, the Browns prioritized getting more stability in their backup role. For $4 million, Cleveland took out an insurance policy on their $63 million starter in the form of Jameis Winston, who will start the first preseason game.
Chances are, we’re going to see Winston at some point this season. Watson’s shoulder issues make him an injury risk going forward, and it’s also worth pointing out that he hasn’t had a high-level season since 2020. Despite Cleveland’s 8-4 record in Watson’s starts, the supposed franchise QB has a passer rating of just 81.7 as a Brown, compared to the 104.5 rating he enjoyed in his four seasons with the Houston Texans. Poor performance could cause the Browns to view Watson as a sunk cost, even with so much money invested in him for the next two seasons.
Is Winston any threat to overtake a healthy, productive Watson on the depth chart? Absolutely not. Winston has his own red flags as a starter. His 34-46 record as a starter is nothing to write home about, and the fact that he’s the only player since Vinny Testaverde in 1988 to throw 30 interceptions in a season is notable, but far from honorable.
But in a pinch, he should be better than Flacco, whose magic ran out completely when the playoffs rolled around. Winston spent four years with the New Orleans Saints, mostly backing up a combination of Drew Brees, Andy Dalton, and Derek Carr. When called upon, however, he showed some life.
Particularly, the start of the 2021 season saw him start the first eight games of the season for the Saints before a torn ACL ended his campaign. But what a campaign it was. In Week 1 against Green Bay, Winston went 14-for-20, but five of those passes connected for touchdowns. It was one of five games where he would post a passer rating above 100. While more of a “game manager” than a franchise-type quarterback performance, Winston posted a 5-2 record and a 14-to-3 touchdown-to-interception ratio.
While a slow start in 2022 (coming off the knee injury) cost him the starting gig by Week 4, Winston showed proof of concept for what the Browns would need from him in case of emergency. With Amari Cooper, Jerry Jeudy, David Njoku, and Nick Chubb as his supporting cast, Winston would simply need to be a game manager. It’s a formula that worked last year with the Browns when it came to Flacco, and yes, Watson.
Now Cleveland gets to see how well it works. Winston will get time with the starters, and has a chance to make an impression that if things go wrong with Watson, it’ll work out fine with Winston under center. Barring injury, it’s not a move the Browns would make likely, considering what they have invested in Watson. But Cleveland has Super Bowl aspirations in 2024, and can’t afford to wait for the ghost of Peak Watson if he struggles again. If Winston can make a statement with his preview with the starters, he will give the team some comfort in making that shift, knowing that they have someone who can make the worst-case scenario a little more palatable.
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