The Cleveland Browns will not start Deshaun Watson at quarterback for their third preseason tune-up Thursday night against the Philadelphia Eagles.
Watson received what will likely be his only preseason snaps last week against the Washington Commanders. Instead, head coach Kevin Stefanski announced on Tuesday that rookie fifth-round pick Dorian Thompson-Robinson will get the start.
This is somewhat of a surprising decision given that veteran Joshua Dobbs got the start in the Hall of Fame Game with Watson sitting out. Dobbs then replaced Watson this past weekend. Meanwhile, former Minnesota Vikings third-round pick Kellen Mond is still in the conversation for a spot on the 53-man roster.
Even then, Thompson-Robinson’s performance thus far during the exhibition slate and training camp has been eye-opening. Through two games, the former UCLA standout has completed 17-of-21 passes for 184 yards with two touchdowns and zero interceptions. The tape tells a similar story:
At this point, common logic seems to suggest that Dobbs will be Watson’s primary backup when the Cleveland Browns open the regular season against the Cincinnati Bengals. He has more experience than Mond and Thompson-Robinson combined. But that’s not a given.
Cleveland Browns QB situation getting interesting
The larger question here is the QB3 spot in Cleveland. Thompson-Robinson has outplayed both Dobbs (8-of-16, 77 yards, 0 TD, 1 INT) and Mond (20-of-31, 171 yards, 2 TD, 1 INT).
For the Browns, it could be a numbers game at this point in the summer. Selected in the third round by Minnesota back in 2021, Mond was waived by the Vikings last August and picked up by Cleveland. He’s thrown all of three regular season passes in the NFL.
It’s highly more likely that the Browns will be able to hide Mond on their practice squad than Dorian Thompson-Robinson. Even then, Cleveland’s brass has had a ton of praise for the rookie from UCLA all summer.
“I would say that’s certainly one of the things that were excited about being able to draft Dorian was how much football he has played in his life and in that college career,” Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski said on August 1. “How many times do we talk about banking reps and getting reps in the preseason and getting reps in the offseason? And he’s one that has played in a lot of games and been in a lot of big ones, so I think all of that serves him well.”
What we see Thursday night from these three backups will certainly be telling. It could even lead to Thompson-Robinson challenging Dobbs for the QB2 spot.