Should the Cleveland Browns have replaced quarterback Deshaun Watson with Jameis Winston earlier in the year? Troy Aikman seems to think so. Photo Credit: Jeremy Reper-Imagn Images Sep 15, 2024; Jacksonville, Florida, USA; Cleveland Browns quarterback Jameis Winston (5) talks with quarterback Deshaun Watson (4) in the fourth quarter at EverBank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeremy Reper-Imagn Images
By Michael Dixon on

Jameis Winston became the starting quarterback for the Cleveland Browns in Week 8 when he replaced Deshaun Watson, who suffered a season-ending injury the week before. But should the Browns have made the move earlier?

Troy Aikman wondered that during Week 13’s Monday Night Football game between the Browns and Denver Broncos.

After throwing a pick-six, Winston led the Browns a drive late in the first drive which culminated in a four-yard touchdown pass to David Njoku. During the drive, Aikman and Joe Buck discussed Cleveland’s struggles this season.

“Yes, he’s the reigning coach of the year,” Buck said of Browns coach Kevin Stefanski. “But this has been a disappointing season. But these guys are still playing for him. They’re playing on defense, they’re playing on offense and they’re giving Denver a game here tonight.”

“This is a tough league,” Aikman replied. “We all talk about parity but when it comes to your hometown team, nobody wants to hear it. Kevin Stefanski is an outstanding football coach and he’s proven that. Two-time coach of the year. What he did to that group last year to get them into the postseason — they started four quarterbacks, they were decimated with injuries. And I get it. This year hasn’t been what people thought coming in.”

Aikman then addressed Cleveland’s quarterback situation.

“But the albatross is Deshaun Watson,” he said. “If you go to Jameis Winston earlier in the year, does this look different? Because I would say the defensive struggles, in at least a small part, have had to do with how inept the offense has been moving the football.”

Aikman raised the question again later in the game.

“I go back to it,” he said. “You can’t help but wonder what this year might have looked like for Cleveland if Jameis had taken over from the start, or at least much sooner than when he did. I know Deshaun Watson goes down with a torn Achilles. But it had been a real struggle offensively watching him.”

It’s fair to wonder.

Certainly, Winston is not without his flaws. He threw three interceptions on Monday night, including a pair of pick-sixes.

Through Monday’s game, Winston completed 61.3% of his passes for 1,763 yards with 11 touchdowns and seven interceptions. By comparison, at the time of his injury, Watson had completed 63.4% of his passes for 1,148 yards with five touchdowns, three interceptions and a 79.0 passer rating.

Beyond just the numbers, Winston’s influence seems to trickle down to the rest of the team. The Browns were 1-6 in Watson’s starts and are now 2-3 in Winston’s. Cleveland’s Jerry Jeudy had a big game on Monday, catching nine passes for 235 yards. Those 235 were more than Watson had passing in any game this season.

Winston has his ups and downs. But he’s been better this season than Watson was. Generally speaking, the Browns have followed suit.

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