When the Cleveland Browns take the field for Sunday’s game against the Kansas City Chiefs, they’ll do so with Jameis Winston at quarterback.
Speaking to reporters on Monday, Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski revealed that the team has no plans to make a change regarding Winston’s status as Cleveland’s starter at this time.
“Our focus right now is trying to figure out ways to get a win,” Stefanski said, according to The Athletic’s Zac Jackson.
Stefanski said Jameis Winston will remain the starting QB
“Our focus right now is trying to figure out ways to get a win.”
— Zac Jackson (@AkronJackson) December 9, 2024
Stefanski’s answer comes one day after Cleveland fell to 3-10 on the season following a 27-14 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers. The defeat marked the Browns’ second straight and fourth in the past five games, all of which have come with Winston serving as Cleveland’s starting quarterback.
While the 2013 Heisman Trophy winner has provided an upgrade to the Browns’ passing game following Deshaun Watson’s season-ending torn Achilles injury, Winston’s play has also been far from perfect. Appearing in 11 games this season (six starts), the former No. 1 overall pick has completed 60.9 percent of his passes for 1,975 yards, 13 touchdowns and nine interceptions.
Five of those interceptions have come in the last two weeks alone.
Between Winston’s turnover-prone play and the reality that Cleveland has all but been eliminated from postseason contention, some have wondered if the Browns might be better off getting a look at one of the younger quarterbacks on their roster. In addition to Winston, Cleveland also has Dorian Thompson-Robinson and Bailey Zappe at quarterback, with neither player having received significant playing time to this point in the 2024.
Nevertheless, it appears that the Browns will be sticking with Winston, although Stefanski’s answer was noncommittal. Should Cleveland lose to the two-time defending Super Bowl champions on Sunday, it will be interesting to see whether the Browns stick with Winston moving forward or finally give one of their younger guys a look in the final month of the regular season.
