The Cleveland Browns Benching of Jameis Winston Sends Clear Signal of What Comes Next

After another loss today to the Kansas City Chiefs that dropped their record to 3-11, the Cleveland Browns have some serious and hard truths to face as the offseason approaches. The biggest being that they do not appear to have a starting quarterback or running back on this team right now, and the future is looking bleaker by the week.  They blew the best days of Myles Garrett and Nick Chubb and there is no denying that!

These are the truths the Cleveland Browns front office needs to face and fix, or things will never get any better.

They do not have a qualified quarterback on this team.  Jameis Winston has proven once again that he can have a flash in the pan week, snazzy interview here and there, but overall, he is not the guy you want leading your team.  Of course, his passing numbers are going to be high when they have no run game to speak of, (more on that later), but at the end of the day, passing yards don’t always equate to wins, smart decision making does, and he has never had that trait.

As for DTR, he is just God awful with zero touch downfield and inadequate decision-making skills.  DTR is a career third string quarterback, not enough good enough to be a QB2.  Even with a fantastic recovery, Deshaun Watson won’t be able to start until Thanksgiving of next season, thus leaving the Browns in a major jam moving forward.

Honestly, the only answer is to sign a journeyman quarterback in the offseason and hope he can find some fire until Watson gets back.  He would need to keep them in the playoff hunt and help develop the weapons around him.

With that being said, who are those weapons you may ask?  That is a great question, and the options are slim.  Even if Jerry Jeudy has developed as a true number one, you still need to hope Tillman and Bell can develop around him as Moore has proven to be a bust.  Again, with a journeyman quarterback coming in, or even a rookie, they are going to need a solid running game and after this season it looks like the furthest thing possible.

Jerome Ford is a great third down back, but he is not the answer full time, and Chubb’s best days are behind him.  The Browns will resign Chubb, but it simply doesn’t look like there is anything in the tank.  They have now wasted the best days of Myles Garrett and Nick Chubb, truly sad.

Then, this all leads us to Kevin Stefanski, Ken Dorsey and Andrew Berry.  I’ll keep it short and sweet, Stefanski deserves a chance with the same backfield for numerous years in a row while Dorsey calls the plays.  As for Berry, I would personally volunteer to take him to the airport on the way out of town.  Stefanski has done his job, Berry simply has not.

In conclusion, the Cleveland Browns will enter the offseason with no running game, no starting quarterback and 2 years left on the worst contract in professional sports history clouding the books.  Good luck with all of that!  In other news, the Denver Broncos, a team many of you left for dead, are now 9-5 and one of the best teams in the AFC.