Jameis Winston has become the favorite to land the starting quarterback job with the Cleveland Browns this season with Deshaun Watson out for the year with an Achilles rupture and with Dorian Thompson-Robinson potentially sidelined with a finger injury.
Winston, in his 10th pro season, is primed to take over signal caller duties. He threw for one touchdown – the only passing touchdown from the Browns all afternoon during Week 7 and just the team’s sixth on the season – and looked generally poised in comparison to Thompson-Robinson, who seemed a bit frantic under center.
Winston has yet to see true starter minutes this season, and last season with Cleveland he was still a backup to Joe Flacco as the team miraculously made it to the postseason. Winston still has the ability to throw downfield and work within a system, though, and that feels like exactly all the Browns need to have a respectable remainder of the season.
Not that Winston needed a ton of support in the first place, but it surely helps that Hall of Fame QB and NFL analyst Kurt Warner is singing his praises ahead of Week 8.
“I will also say this & have believed it for years [Jameis Winston] is one to the 32 BEST QBs in the world!!! Yes, has to improve his decision making at times BUT based on the quality of good reads and throws he makes in a given game, there’s NO DOUBT in my mind when u look around NFL!,” said Warner on Twitter on Tuesday – two days removed from the Watson injury and Winston’s first real minutes of the season.
Winston has the best case to start
Winston just feels like the no brainer pick. He’s the veteran QB on the team’s depth chart and can at minimum keep the team at bay while it either gets active at the trade deadline or while it still tries to compete for the rest of the season. At 1-6, though, Cleveland should just be getting the most picks and team friendly contracts back in exchange for as many quality starters as possible.
Winston, even in that scenario, can be a great quarterback to turn to as a leader in a locker room that might be thinning out soon. Providing a voice players can respect in the huddle in addition to someone who has been around the organization long enough to know what players need to hear to be motivated is important.
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