The quarterback position has been anything but stable for the Cleveland Browns for decades, and this unfortunate trend is about to continue now that Deshaun Watson is out for the year with a torn Achilles.
Jameis Winston will be taking over as the starter and is slated to add to an unfortunate team record when he makes his first start for the team when it takes on the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday.
According to NFL on CBS, Winston will become the Browns’ 39th starting quarterback since 1999, when the team returned to the NFL, which is well ahead of the second-place Chicago Bears with 30, followed by the Washington Commanders with 28 and the Miami Dolphins with 27.
Most starting QBs since 1999
(when Browns returned to NFL)Browns 38
Bears 30
Commanders 28
Dolphins 27Jameis Winston would make No. 39 for Cleveland pic.twitter.com/rJhVwFCANa
— NFL on CBS 🏈 (@NFLonCBS) October 23, 2024
The Browns had five starting quarterbacks just last season, yet still found a way to make it to the playoffs, but that outcome isn’t looking promising this time around with a 1-6 record and a rough schedule ahead of them.
Many fans had been clamoring for Winston to take over the starting job anyway, but nobody saw it unfolding the way it did with Watson going out for the year with another injury.
Watson hadn’t thrown for 200 yards in a game all year and the Browns still haven’t eclipsed 18 points a single time, but at least Jameis has shown he has the ability to be a gunslinger to put up points, albeit at times that comes along with plenty of mistakes.
If the season is going to be a lost cause, at least now there will be a fun quarterback in place who the team will seemingly be able to rally around.
NEXT: Former Coach Reacts To Browns' Decision To Start Jameis Winston