The Cleveland Browns have had their best quarterback play in recent years coming from their backups.
Joe Flacco led the team to the playoffs in 2023, but they didn’t even make him an offer to return the following campaign.
Likewise, Jameis Winston was their best quarterback last season, and while the bar was very low, it still would have made sense to re-sign him as a backup.
Instead, they chose not to pursue him, and he just signed with the New York Giants.
According to team insider Terry Pluto, that’s because of the turnovers.
In his latest column, he says that the Browns opted to let Winston leave because of his turnover issues:
“Last weekend, I wrote about how the Browns led the NFL in turnovers the last two seasons. They consider Flacco to be turnover-prone. It’s why they also have no interest in Jameis Winston coming back,” Pluto said.
That makes sense, as Winston is known for his unmatched ability to put the ball in the opposition’s hands.
He’s someone who can routinely throw for 350 passing yards and four touchdowns while also logging four turnovers.
He’s been in the league for quite a while now, and chances are he’s not going to change his tendencies at this point.
He’s played under some great head coaches, and no one was able to coach those issues out of his game.
Unfortunately, he was still the best option the team had right now, especially given their budget.
But now that he’s gone, the team will have to hope Russell Wilson signs with them, and while he’s not anywhere close to his prime, at least he’s never been a turnover-prone quarterback.
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