The Cleveland Browns have had to turn to Jameis Winston to be their starter the last three weeks. During that stretch, Cleveland has gone 1-2. Many Browns fans came into this year with more questions than hopes for the season. Primarily surrounding quarterback Deshaun Watson, and whether or not he could get back to even closely resembling the quarterback he was in Houston.
After repeated depressing performances from Watson and the Brown offense, fans began calling for Winston to start or even third stringer Dorian Thompson-Robinson. Anyone but Watson. Eventually, they would get their wish, Watson would go down with a season ending Achilles injury against the Cincinnati Bengals.
What Jameis Winston Brings to the Browns
Jameis Winston is a former first overall pick of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He played college football at Florida State, where he would lead the Seminoles to an undefeated season while winning the 2014 BCS National Championship. Winston also was the winner of the Heisman Trophy that season. He was the first freshman in NCAA history to win the Heisman and lead his team to a National Championship in the same season.
When it comes to QB Jameis Winston, the question has never been about talent. Clearly, he has the ability to be an exceptional starting quarterback in the NFL. It’s been about decision making and not turning the ball over. The thing many failed to see was that Winston played on a bad Buccaneers team with even worse coaching for the first four years of his pro career. He was asked to put on the cape and go win the game on his own each and every week. Which is why the former Heisman winner has 148 career touchdown passes to 102 interceptions.
Why It Makes Sense to Keep Jameis Winston in Cleveland for 2025
No matter where Jameis Winston plays, he is always described the same way, one of the best teammates anyone has ever had. The former Seminole is a true teammate and a natural leader on the field and in the locker room. Winston led the Browns to an upset win over the Baltimore Ravens in his first start this season, and last week put up numbers that make you realize it’s not the quarterback that is the problem in Cleveland.
Winston would complete 30/46 pass attempts for 395 yards and two touchdowns, no interceptions. In what would be a loss to the New Orleans Saints.
Salary Cap Hell
The Cleveland Browns made one of biggest trade mistakes in NFL history when they went all in on acquiring Deshaun Watson. Because of this mistake, they now have no quarterback and are in salary cap hell. With a questionable quarterback draft class this year, meaning no clear-cut franchise savior. The best move for Cleveland might be to resign Winston to a deal in the neighborhood of $10M and make him their starting quarterback going into the 2025 season. Doing this could allow the Browns to resign other core players and bring in more talent instead of falling further behind in a very competitive AFC North division.
Jameis Winston has starter ability, if Kevin Stefanski can pull that out of him and limit the turnover mistakes. Don’t be surprised if you’re hearing Jameis Winston get compared to the likes of Geno Smith or Baker Mayfield the way they resurrected their careers on new teams.
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