Browns Digest

Former NFL QB Suggests Browns Should Make Change Under Center

The Cleveland Browns dropped to 1-4 on the season after a loss to the Washington Commanders on Sunday

Spencer German

Oct 6, 2024; Landover, Maryland, USA; Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson (4) and quarterback Jameis Winston (5) stand on the sideline during the fourth quarter of the game against the Washington Commanders at NorthWest Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Peter Casey-Imagn Images
Oct 6, 2024; Landover, Maryland, USA; Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson (4) and quarterback Jameis Winston (5) stand on the sideline during the fourth quarter of the game against the Washington Commanders at NorthWest Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Peter Casey-Imagn Images / Peter Casey-Imagn Images
In this story:

Despite suffering an embarrassing 34-13 loss to the Washington Commanders in Week 5, Cleveland Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski made it clear that he'll be sticking with Deshaun Watson as the team's starting quarterback.

One former NFL QB thinks he should reconsider.

During Cleveland's beat down in Landover, Md. retired NFL journeyman Ryan Fitzpatrick took to X to make a suggestion for the Browns, posting only a gif of quarterback Jameis Winston putting on his helmet during his time with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Notably, Fitzpatrick and Winston were teammates in Tampa Bay for two years in 2017 and 2018, so his affinity for the former No. 1 overall pick is no surprise. Winston did actually take over for Watson late in the fourth quarter of the game once the Commanders victory was well in hand. He completed just one pass for 16 yards.

Regardless of what Fitspatrick – who is now an NFL analyst on Amazon Prime's Thursday Night Football broadcast – thinks, Stefanski has no plans of making a QB change at this juncture of the season. Things are looking bleak for Cleveland though after a 1-4 start to the season.

Led by Watson, the Browns offense is averaging just 15.8 points per game. They've converted just 18.2% of their third downs this season (12 total) and have amassed just 1,197 yards of total offense through five games.

Fitzpatrick is no stranger to serving in the backup QB role like Winston is for the Browns this year. He spent the better part of his 17-year career serving as the top backup for a number of the nine different teams he played for, and often wound up being called upon to take over the offense.

Now he's calling on Winston to follow in his footsteps in Cleveland.

Published
Spencer German
SPENCER GERMAN

Spencer German is a contributor to the Northeast Ohio cluster of sites, including Cavs Insider, Cleveland Baseball Insider and most notably Browns Digest. He also works as a fill-in host on Cleveland Sports Radio, 92.3 The Fan, one of the Browns radio affiliate stations in Cleveland. Despite being a Cleveland transplant, Spencer has enjoyed making Northeast Ohio home ever since he attended college locally at John Carroll University, where he graduated in 2013.

Home/News