The Cleveland Browns once again have uncertainty at the quarterback position, but Jameis Winston has a chance to prove he can be a part of the future in some regard.
NFL insider Albert Breer hinted that the future of Deshaun Watson was cloudy and that the Browns were no longer interested in building around him, rather adding competition to the quarterback room. That’s code for “he gone” whether he is on the roster for salary cap purposes or not.
So what do the Browns do at the quarterback position heading into the future?
The 2025 NFL draft crop of quarterbacks is slim pickings. If the Browns cannot fancy themselves into landing Colorado’s Shedeur Sanders, then it is well worth punting on the class. Even if they do land Sanders, bringing back Winston as the starter for 2025 to give the rookie time would be profitable in the long haul.
The same could even be said about the promising 2026 class as well. This begs the question: could Winston even see a potential two-year deal?
In the Week 12 win against the Pittsburgh Steelers in a snow globe, Winston managed a massive 54 percent success rate and a positive Expected Points Added per play (EPA/play). His four-game sample size is not big enough to make a huge judgement on, however, but the rest of the season will be.
Now 2-2 as the starting quarterback, we have three positive showings from Winston with limited turnovers and one classic Winston game in the loss to the Los Angeles Chargers. Can Winston prove he can be enough for another short-term deal to hang around in Northeast Ohio as a bridge quarterback?