Browns not ready to give Dorian Thompson-Robinson a look at QB

Editor's note: Tony Grossi is a Cleveland Browns analyst for TheLandOnDemand.com and 850 ESPN Cleveland. He has covered the Browns since 1984.

Second thoughts on Browns’ 27-14 loss to Pittsburgh Steelers …

1. At 3-10, the Browns are closer to claiming the first pick in the 2025 draft than making something positive of this season. Yet, the collaborative football operation headed by GM Andrew Berry and coach Kevin Stefanski is not ready to sit down interception-prone quarterback Jameis Winston to make a prolonged evaluation of unproven Dorian Thompson-Robinson. “I understand the question, but for me and for us, we’re just going to continue to do everything we can to play better,” Stefanski said. “Obviously, I think we can play better on offense. Certainly, as a team we can play better. But really the focus is making sure that we put our guys in position to find a way to win.” Asked if there may come a point where the organization needs to see DTR fully prepared as the starter over multiple games, Stefanski hedged, “My line of thinking, really, is about Kansas City and this week. That’s where I’ll really focus.”

2. Which leads you to wonder if Berry and Stefanski just want to get past Sunday’s game against the AFC powerhouse Kansas City Chiefs with Winston at the helm before giving DTR the final three games. Certainly Winston still gives the Browns the best chance to win. But, also certainly, the Browns have to make a truer evaluation of DTR to decide his place on the quarterback depth chart in 2025 and beyond.

3. DTR is the only quarterback drafted by the Browns in five years of the Berry-Stefanski era. As such, it makes their awkward handling of the fifth-round pick from UCLA in two seasons difficult to understand, and it does not generate confidence in the Berry-Stefanski partnership to choose a quarterback in the 2025 draft and develop him.

4. DTR was not served well as a rookie when Berry shockingly traded QB2 Josh Dobbs a week before the 2023 season and then made DTR the top backup to Watson. He and other teammates were stunned by the rash promotion. Four games into the season, DTR was forced to start against the Baltimore Ravens when Watson decided he was unable to play in pre-game warm-ups because of a shoulder injury. Thrown to the wolves without being properly prepared, DTR tossed three interceptions and was sacked four times in a non-competitive 28-3 loss. Six weeks later, DTR made his first NFL start and was able to cobble together a field-goal drive in the fourth quarter to defeat the Steelers. The emotional, redemptive moment brought him to tears on the field. DTR started the next game in Denver and was seemingly getting more comfortable before he was knocked out of the game with a concussion. DTR made two more brief appearances in relief and ended the season with a hip injury.

5. This season, DTR opened as QB3, but was surprisingly and mysteriously promoted to QB2 for the Week 7 game against the Bengals. It seemed another rash move. When Watson suffered his Achilles tendon injury and DTR was forced in just before the 2-minute warning of the first half, he did so again without taking any snaps in the practice week with the first-team offense. DTR was largely ineffective in six possessions (11 of 24, 82 yards, 2 INT) in the second half and gave way to Winston at the end. DTR then made a brief appearance in Game 10 against the Saints and injured a finger on his throwing hand. Under less-than-ideal circumstances in two seasons, the Browns haven’t ascertained whether DTR is simply a camp hand, a legit QB2, or a potential transition or spot starter.

6. I suppose part of the hesitancy to insert DTR as the starting quarterback is tied to the message it would send to the locker room, i.e. evaluating for 2025 is more a priority than winning in 2024. “I would tell you, obviously, Andrew and I collaborate on a lot of decisions and we’ll continue to do that and talk about those type of things,” Stefanski said. “But I think for me and for us as an organization, really, our focus goes to find a way to win this week v. Kansas City.”

7. I asked Wyatt Teller how the locker room would react if the Browns decided to sit some veterans to evaluate younger players over the last four games. “I feel like we all have to add plays to our resume, so that would be upsetting just from a player’s mindset if you’re sitting players that had been starting all year for the hope of next year because you still have games,” he said. “If you’re keeping score, we’re trying to win.” Is there a risk of losing the locker room if that happens? “The brothers in that locker room are tight,” Teller said. “There can be someone who’s upset, whatever, but that’s what good leaders do. They take the guys who are the outliers and they bring them together and say, ‘No matter what the situation is, we’re doing this together.’ Whatever the organization does, it doesn’t matter. Our job is to do what they ask.”

8. Winston has now made six consecutive starts – same as Joe Flacco last season if you include the wild-card game against Houston. Here’s how they compare: Flacco was 157 of 250 (.628) for 1,923 yards, 14 touchdowns, 10 interceptions and a passer rating of 88.47. Winston is 154 of 260 (.609) for 1,908 yards, 12 TD, 9 INT and a 82.98 rating. The Browns averaged 26.2 points with Flacco and 20.5 with Winston. One major difference: The Browns were 4-2 with Flacco and are 2-4 with Winston.