Browns, QB Jameis Winston finalizing one-year contract 

If anyone learned the importance of having a quality backup quarterback in 2023, it was Browns general manager Andrew Berry, who was forced to give up Joe Skinny a call in the middle of the season due to the multiple injuries suffered by the Browns quarterbacks. What ended up happening was nothing short of a fairy tale. Flacco rediscovered his aerial talent, stringing together the best four games for a Browns quarterback in franchise history, leading Cleveland to a playoff berth as a wild-card qualifier and winner Comeback Player of the Year Honors.

Flacco spoke on multiple occasions about how much he enjoyed his half-season in Cleveland, where he said he “felt like a kid again,” and said he would be Very interested in a possible reunion in 2024. That outcome now seems nearly impossible after the Browns drafted a quarterback who is much closer to the Watson archetype than Flacco, a move that can also be interpreted as Cleveland stopping fans from clamoring by Flacco at the first moment. sign of difficulty with Watson.

Winston’s career began as the Buccaneers’ first overall pick in 2015, but he never lived up to the sky-high expectations that come with winning the Heisman Trophy. He has struggled with turnovers for most of his career, becoming the first member of the 30-touchdown, 30-interception club in his final season in Tampa, and while he has shown flashes of growth in New Orleans, he has rarely shown enough consistency to be taken seriously as a starter.

He will join a Browns team starting in 2024 with a new offensive coordinator in Ken Dorsey, who is expected to work with head coach Kevin Stefanski to design a new scheme that maximizes Watson’s skills and the group of weapons he surround. including recent receiving addition Jerry Jeudy. If Watson is forced out of action again, Winston can step in with a similar skill set that should make that transition more seamless than what Stefanski was forced to make with Flacco in 2023.

The plan, however, is for Watson to play the entire season. But as the NFL learned in 2023, a season in which 66 different quarterbacks started for one team, backup is often just as important as Plan A.