Tag: Dorian Thompson-Robinson

Saints rule out 2 players, 6 more questionable vs. Browns on final injury report

The New Orleans Saints ruled out two players against the Browns, with six questionable on the final Week 11 injury report:

Believe it or not, this is a big improvement. The New Orleans Saints ruled out just two players against the Cleveland Browns, with six more questionable on the final Week 11 injury report. Just one starter is out for sure — left guard Lucas Patrick (ankle) — and three others are in the questionable group between center Erik McCoy (groin), linebacker Pete Werner (hand), and cornerback Kool-Aid McKinstry (hamstring). Werner at least will be a game-time decision.

That’s a far cry from where the Saints had been in regards to injuries for much of this season (and last year, and the year before that). Interim head coach Darren Rizzi made it a point to revise the daily practice schedule, but whatever the training staff is doing differently is working, too.

But that’s not to say the Saints have an advantage in health this week. The Browns ruled out just one player, defensive tackle Mike  Hall (knee),  and  the other five players listed on their injury report this week all practiced fully on Friday and will be available for Sunday’s game. That includes backup quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson (right finger) and wide receiver Jerry Jeudy (knee). Check the final Week 11 injury report for yourself:

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Browns name their starting QB for Week 11 vs. Saints

Jameis Winston will get to start against his former team in Week 11. The former Saints QB is going to lead the Browns out of the tunnel at the Caesars Superdome:

Jameis Winston will get to start against his former team in Week 11. The former New Orleans Saints quarterback is going to lead the Cleveland Browns out of the tunnel next Sunday at the Caesars Superdome. Winston stepped into the lineup after injuries sidelined Deshaun Watson and Dorian Thompson-Robinson, and he hasn’t looked back.

Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski announced Monday that Winston will remain the team’s starter coming out of their bye week, which means Winston has an opportunity to beat the last team he suited up for. Winston spent the last four years of his career with New Orleans, but he’s played against the Saints before. He started five seasons for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. So what was his record against the black and gold?

Winston went 3-9 against the Saints during his time with Tampa Bay, throwing nearly as many interceptions (10) as touchdowns (11) and taking 24 sacks. He’s grown a lot since then but  remains a volatile passer with 5 touchdowns and 3 interceptions in just two starts with the Browns.

So we’ll see if he can take advantage of a banged-up Saints secondary to make some plays on Sunday. Winston made a lot of friends in the New Orleans locker room during his four years with the team, but when they kick off this week it’ll be all-business between thee whistles.

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Browns QB Dorian Thompson-Robinson leaves Bengals game with finger injury

Cleveland Browns quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson left the game against the Cincinnati Bengals with a finger injury

Cleveland Browns quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson left the game against the Cincinnati Bengals with a finger injury. Thomspon-Robinson suffered the injury after getting knocked to the ground on an errant pass. Thompson-Robinson was filling in for an injured Deshaun Watson. Watson is feared to have torn his Achilles.

Thompson-Robinson was escorted to the locker room for examination. Kevin Stefanski told the media he’d have an update on Thompson-Robinson’s injury on Monday. Quarterback Jameis Winston finished the game for the Browns. Winston was demoted to third-string quarterback earlier today.

Thompson-Robinson struggled against the Bengals. The quarterback struggled to throw the ball against the Bengals. Instead, he carved up the Bengals’ defense with his legs. 

Thompson-Robinson has experienced some bad hands in his short stint in Cleveland. Every time he gets a chance to play, injuries set him back. The second-year quarterback has played sparingly across five games. Hopefully, the quarterback will be ready to play for the rest of the season. The Browns will need him.

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Report: Deshaun Watson to have ‘short leash’ vs Bengals

One report indicates the Browns may be ready to see what they have in Dorian Thompson-Robinson

The Cleveland Browns are reportedly getting fed up with quarterback Deshaun Watson and will give him a short leash against the Cincinnati Bengals.

After naming Dorian Thompson-Robinson the backup quarterback for this game against their AFC North foe, the Browns have reportedly told the second-year gunslinger to be ready. The OBR’s Brad Stainbrook has reported that Watson will have a short leash against the Bengals and the Browns could turn to Thompson-Robinson with their season already effectively over.

With two years left on his contract, it makes sense for the Browns to see if Thompson-Robinson can be a backup quarterback and spot starter for them if they have to go out and get a new quarterback. They may even need to start the second-year quarterback in 2025 before drafting the quarterback of the future in 2026 once Watson comes off the books.

Regardless, it seems like the time as the starting quarterback in Cleveland are numbered for Watson.

Report: QB Dorian Thompson-Robinson notified he has made the 53-man roster

DTR isn’t going anywhere

The Cleveland Browns will be rostering three quarterbacks this season as second-year player Dorian Thompson-Robinson has been notified that he has made the 53-man roster.

According to The OBR’s Brad Stainbrook, the Browns never intended to trade Thompson-Robinson despite receiving multiple calls from other teams around the NFL. Stainbrook wrote:

“Dorian Thompson-Robinson was notified he’s making the 53 man roster after an impressive training camp following a season ending injury in 2023. While Cleveland may have received calls about the quarterback, the Browns never intended to trade him away.”

Stainbrook then mentioned that while the calls are still coming in about Thompson-Robinson, the Browns would have to be blown away to move him to another team. This means that Tyler Huntley, who now sits as the fourth quarterback, could be traded or he will be released.

In an ideal world, the Browns would love to cut Huntley and get him back on their practice squad. For Thompson-Robinson, however, his hard work has paid off.

Vetoed rule makes Dorian Thompson-Robinson’s pathway to the 53-man roster clearer

A third QB now becomes an almost certainty.

Originally rostering just two quarterbacks a year ago, Dorian Thompson-Robinson won the backup quarterback job. A year later, he has done all that he can to make sure that he remains on the initial 53-man roster in Cleveland.

And due to a rule change veto by the NFL Players Association, his pathway to staying on the active roster just got clearer. This offseason, a rule change was enacted that would allow for teams to promote a practice squad quarterback every week as an emergency third quarterback that would not count against the gameday roster.

However, the NFLPA has vetoed that rule (according to Tom Pelissero), so that the third quarterback who is designated as the emergency player on gameday either has to use one of their practice squad elevations or has to be a member of the 53-man roster.

For a team that had as many struggles with quarterbacks as the Browns did a year ago, they must retain Thompson-Robinson on their active roster in case of emergency. He has proven to leap in year two thus far, and as the third-string quarterback, he still has plenty of opportunities to learn and let the information soak in.

Keep the young man around.

Dorian Thompson-Robinson caps off strong preseason with deep bomb to Jamari Thrash

DTR gets the Browns on the board!

The Cleveland Browns have gotten stellar play out of second-year quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson for the second year in a row, and he has capped it off against the Seattle Seahawks with a deep bomb to rookie wideout Jamari Thrash for a touchdown.

Thompson-Robinson moved the pocket off of a run fake, reset his feet, and launched the ball 50 yards down the field for the rookie Thrash. The former UCLA quarterback has been mentioned in potential trade talks, but he is giving the Browns a great reason to hold onto him.

With two years left on his contract beyond this season, Thompson-Robinson continues to look like the backup quarterback of the future in Cleveland. If the Browns opt to keep three quarterbacks on their roster, his spot on the 53-man roster is safe.

As the Browns rested the majority of their starters, including quarterback Deshaun Watson, Thompson-Robinson continues to take advantage of an increased number of reps.

Browns rumored to be shopping QB Dorian Thompson-Robinson, should Raiders inquire?

Should Raiders be in the mix to trade for Browns QB Dorian Thompson-Robinson?

Dorian Thompson-Robinson’s football career was launched in Las Vegas. The Bishop Gorman grad attended UCLA and went on to be selected in the fifth round of the 2023 draft. And after stepping up for Deshaun Watson for thre games last season, he’s now buried on the depth chart behind Watson and Jameis Winston.

This has led reported trade attempts by the Browns as they hope to get something in return for a player who may not see the field for them.

Up until last week, the Raiders hoped Anthony Brown could compete for the backup job. But he never panned out and they released him in favor of journeyman Nathan Peterman.

Shortly after that, they decided on Gardner Minshew as the starter over Aidan O’Connell. A competition in which neither of them stepped up to claim the job, leaving the coaches to make a tough decision between basically the lesser of the evils.

It’s safe to say the Raiders have one of the least enviably quarterback situations in the league. And you have to ask yourself if adding someone like Thompson-Robinson to the mix would be valuable.

I think it would.

You’d have to think at very least he would be a better potential option than Peterman. And at best, he could be a more viable option to start than AOC should Minshew struggle early in the season.

What it could come down to is compensation. Which I wouldn’t imagine would be much, considering most teams would probably rather just wait to see if the Browns waive DTR and they can scoop him up for nothing. But any team willing to part with a late round pick or perhaps even just a late round pick swap, may just land him.

At this point, the Raiders are in no position to be turning their nose up at potential competition at a position which basically has two quality backup caliber guys and a third guy who is probably not worth a roster spot.

Browns would be wise to keep Dorian Thompson-Robinson amid trade rumors

Dorian Thompson-Robinson has apparently been in trade talks, but the Browns would profit more from keeping their second-year quarterback

Cleveland Browns quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson was the first name the organization pivoted to after Deshaun Watson underwent season-ending shoulder surgery a year ago. Thompson-Robinson logged a handful of starts in his rookie season, going 1-2 while throwing for 440 yards, a touchdown, and four interceptions.

It was a year full of learning for one of 2022’s most electric college football players. Thompson-Robinson threw for 3,169 yards and accounted for 39 total touchdowns while leading the UCLA Bruins to a sparkling 9-4 record, their first nine-plus win season since 2014. The Browns selected him with the No. 140 overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft.

While Thompson-Robinson’s first season in the NFL left much to be desired, that’s how it works with young quarterbacks drafted in the later rounds. He took his lumps early and didn’t get discouraged; reports from training camp show that the ball is jumping out of his hand and that he’s one of the most improved players from last year’s roster.

The Browns are financially committed to Watson for the next three seasons and intend to roll with him as their starter for this season and beyond. That doesn’t mean they can’t get value from Thompson-Robinson—starting quarterbacks get injured every season, and some are just bad. Several teams across the NFL could theoretically take a shot with Thompson-Robinson and strike gold.

It appears that Cleveland will have suitors for him on the trade market. Reports surfaced on Tuesday that they “have discussed a potential trade of second-year quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson with multiple teams, two league sources with knowledge of the discussions told The Athletic.”

Retaining the talented second-year player makes more sense. Teams inquiring about Thompson-Robinson’s services likely aren’t in a buying mindset – only one potential starting quarterback has suffered a season-ending injury to date, Minnesota Vikings rookie J.J. McCarthy. The Browns shouldn’t be in a rush to give up an asset for cents on the dollar.

If they keep Thompson-Robinson rostered heading into the season, there’s a chance things might break their way and they could find the right deal. If not, it’s never bad to keep a young player rostered while they continue to improve through the infancy stages of their early career.

Browns QB Dorian Thompson-Robinson could be perfect trade target for Rams before Week 1

With questions at backup QB, the Rams should consider making a move for Browns QB Dorian Thompson-Robinson

When the Los Angeles Rams signed Jimmy Garoppolo this offseason, they knew he would be unavailable for the first two games of the season due to a PED suspension. Despite his looming absence, the Rams didn’t make another move at quarterback because they had Stetson Bennett on the roster still.

Well, through two preseason games, Bennett doesn’t exactly look like someone who’s ready to play meaningful snaps in a regular-season game. He’s thrown a league-high five interceptions, three more than any other quarterback, and has also lost a fumble.

Luckily for the Rams, there’s a quarterback whose name is being floated on the trade market and would be a perfect fit in Los Angeles: Dorian Thompson-Robinson.

According to The Athletic, the Browns are willing to discuss a trade involving their second-year quarterback out of UCLA, knowing they already have Deshaun Watson and Jameis Winston atop the depth chart. They’ve even talked to a few teams about a trade of Thompson-Robinson, though it’s unclear which teams have called. Might the Rams be one of them?

Thompson-Robinson was drafted 140th overall last year, coincidentally with a pick the Rams gave the Browns to acquire Troy Hill in 2022. As a fifth-round rookie in 2023, Thompson-Robinson started three games, went 1-2 and had one touchdown to go with four interceptions.

It wasn’t a great showing, but he was also a Day 3 rookie who was thrust into a situation he probably wasn’t fully prepared for. With another year under his belt now, Thompson-Robinson should be better equipped to play in the NFL. In two preseason games this summer, he’s completed 27 of 35 passes for 260 yards and only one interception.

Thompson-Robinson is known for his athleticism, but he’s been much more of a passer than a runner this preseason; he’s carried it just one time for 2 yards. That athleticism, however, is what could draw the Rams to him.

Sean McVay loves mobile quarterbacks, even if he hasn’t had one as his starter yet. Bryce Perkins, John Wolford, Carson Wentz and Blake Bortles have all been backups in Los Angeles, and all of them are relatively mobile – to varying degrees, of course. Heck, even Bennett is an athletic and mobile quarterback.

Thompson-Robinson has 4.56 speed and can make plays with his legs, whether on designed runs or when the play breaks down. That’s something McVay could use in his offense if needed.

Acquiring Thompson-Robinson wouldn’t cost much. After all, he was only a fifth-round pick last year.

If the Rams are losing confidence in Bennett’s ability to back up Stafford in Weeks 1 and 2, perhaps a trade for Thompson-Robinson would help. He’s at least someone with regular-season experience and he’s looked good in the preseason thus far.

The Rams could keep Stafford, Bennett and Thompson-Robinson all on the initial 53-man roster and then when Garoppolo returns, decide which of the two young backups to keep. It’s a deal that could make sense for both parties.