Janis Joplin famously sang that “freedom is just another word for nothin’ left to lose.” That is a sentiment that Cleveland Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski can relate to regarding the team’s quarterback situation in 2024.
The season began with a seven-game stretch of historically bad play from quarterback Deshaun Watson that resulted in the Browns going 1-6 and putting playoff talk on hold. That was followed by seven games where the offense was more watchable but ultimately just as ineffective with Jameis Winston at quarterback, resulting in a 2-5 record and officially ending any hopes of the playoffs.
That has helped to contribute to the Browns, who entered the season with playoff aspirations, currently sitting at 3-11 and waiting for the season to come to a merciful close on January 5.
.@DoriansTweets shares his thoughts on becoming the starting QB for Week 16 pic.twitter.com/e4YEHb39jg
— Cleveland Browns (@Browns) December 18, 2024
The record also provided Stefanski with the freedom to make another quarterback change, this time to Dorian Thompson-Robinson, who was confirmed on Wednesday as the starter for this week’s game against the Cincinnati Bengals.
This is the second consecutive season that the Browns have turned to DTR as the starter. He made three starts as a rookie in 2023, completing just 53.6 percent of his passes, threw one touchdown against four interceptions, and took six sacks. Like Winston, Thompson-Robinson led the Browns to a surprising home win over the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Thompson-Robinson came on in relief this season after Watson was injured in Week 7 against the Bengals, and proceeded to throw two more interceptions while completing just 45 percent of his passes. Those interceptions, seven in just 146 pass attempts, are an undesirable trait that DTR shares with Winston, but without the occasional heroics to slightly offset them.
To his credit, DTR is aware that turnovers are an issue and he is focusing on cutting down on the mistakes, as he said on Wednesday (quote via a team-provided transcript):
“It’s not like I’m in here walking on eggshells or playing conservative, but I know that I have to get this team up and down the field. And it starts with the first play, it ends with the last, and we’re trying to end with a kick every drive. So that’s the biggest thing is, like I said, getting guys in and out of the huddle, showing coach that I can run this offense operationally, and then protecting the ball. Ball security is job security and making sure that the other team doesn’t touch it is probably my main concern.”
The biggest concern about DTR relates to his health and continued availability. He left his second start of last season with a concussion, suffered a dislocated hip in the Wild Card loss to the Houston Texans, and had to leave this year’s game against the Bengals with a finger injury.
It is hard not to be pessimistic about the move in yet another season of musical chairs at the quarterback position. But with the season lost weeks ago and no meaningful improvement from the offense over the past seven weeks, it is also hard to come down too hard either way on the decision. (Is this what fan apathy feels like?)
The Browns are embracing the freedom of a lost season to make another switch at the quarterback position. Whether or not Thompson-Robinson can play well enough to have the team feeling good enough for one Sunday remains to be seen.
