The Cleveland Browns are starting fresh in Week 8.
It’s not because they chose to; they just had to adapt to the circumstances.
Deshaun Watson is out for the season, leaving Jameis Winston and Dorian Thompson-Robinson as the guys in charge.
Notably, this will also be the first time since Kevin Stefanski took over as head coach that he will allow his offensive coordinator to call plays for the remainder of the season.
That seemed long overdue to some, but the timing of this decision seems strange.
At least, that’s how Mike Florio feels.
Talking on NBC Sports, the renowned insider stated that he believes the Browns’ front office and ownership wanted to try to prove they were right with Deshaun Watson by having Stefanski get the most out of him.
“Was Stefanski directly involved in calling the plays for Watson as part of this effort to do everything they could to get the most out of Deshaun Watson?” Florio said.
That way, they could prove that they weren’t wrong about him.
That meant that they wanted Stefanski to be the one coaching him, calling the plays, and propping him up.
Now that Watson is done for the season — and perhaps even done in Cleveland as a whole — there’s no more pressure, thus opening up the door for Ken Dorsey to finally handle play-calling duties.
Truth be told, Florio’s conspiracy theory actually makes a lot of sense.
There were multiple rumors and reports about Stefanski giving up play-calling this season, but the Browns kept tight lips about that until the beginning of the season.
This was a natural transition, and perhaps it’ll end up being a blessing in disguise for a team that’s desperate for any sort of offensive spark.
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