Dorian Thompson-Robinson to start at QB for Cleveland Browns against Pittsburgh Steelers
BEREA — Dorian Thompson-Robinson is going to get a second chance.
The rookie will replace the injured Deshaun Watson as the starting quarterback Sunday when the Browns (6-3) play host to the Pittsburgh Steelers (6-3) in a critical AFC North game. Watson will undergo surgery on his right shoulder to help prevent further structural damage after he sustained a displaced fracture of his glenoid last Sunday against the Baltimore Ravens.
The last time the fifth-round pick out of UCLA started, his first career NFL start, he was 19-of-33 passing for 121 yards with three interceptions and a 25.3 passer rating in a 28-3 Week 4 home loss to the Ravens. Still, Browns coach Kevin Stefanski said he believes that can benefit Thompson-Robinson this time around.
“I would hope all of our players learn from every opportunity," Stefanski said Wednesday. "Whether you start or don't, whether you get 10 plays or 60 plays, I think you take learning experiences from every rep you get practice and game.”
It was a different injury to Watson's shoulder that put Thompson-Robinson in the position to make his first career start. That one was a rotator cuff strain Watson spent more than a month battling, although the severity of that injury was not known at that time.
Even though Watson had barely thrown a pass over the course of the week leading into the game, the thought was he would start against Baltimore. However, after a brief workout just under three hours before kickoff, he was ruled out and Thompson-Robinson was thrust into the role.
"I think with Dorian in that game, again, that was a tough spot that he was in," Stefanski said. "So I think this week, having a full week of preparation, knowing that he's going to be the starter I think is important. Every backup will tell you, and it's the truth. They have to be ready to go after the first play. After the second play. If the starter [loses] a shoelace, you have to be ready to go.
"So he's prepared himself all season, and just felt like this was the right thing for the team.”
The rookie was put in the position of being the Browns' backup when general manager Andrew Berry traded veteran Joshua Dobbs along with a 2024 seventh-round pick to the Arizona Cardinals in exchange for a 2024 fifth-round pick on Aug. 24. Dobbs started seven games for the Cardinals before being dealt at the trade deadline to the Minnesota Vikings, for whom he's won two games in place of the injured Kirk Cousins.
Part of that was because of the way Thompson-Robinson performed over the course of, at that time, the first three preseason games. He finished the preseason 37-of-58 passing for 440 yards with two touchdowns.
"He's the guy," cornerback Martin Emerson Jr. said. "We seen it. We seen him. We seen him in preseason. Honestly, kid's a baller, man. You really can't coach some things that he have. I mean, the first game he came out, it's a little letdown against Baltimore, obviously at home, but he didn't know who he was going to play until what? Two hours before the game? So it is going to be very important for him to get those reps with the ones and just keep building it and just getting better week by week."
Some of that growth came while Thompson-Robinson was forced to sit back and watch as the Browns went with P.J. Walker, who was on the practice squad to start the season, as Watson's backup coming out of the Week 5 bye. Walker went 1-1 in two starts, against the San Francisco 49ers and Seattle Seahawks, while coming off the bench to salvage a Week 7 win at the Indianapolis Colts after Watson left with 3:04 remaining in the first quarter.
Thompson-Robinson spent the last two weeks inactive as the No. 3 quarterback once Watson returned to start in November. During that time, he relied on conversations with close friend and fellow rookie teammate Cedric Tillman, the receiver who was also his high school teammate at Bishop Gorman in Las Vegas.
With the Browns trading Donovan Peoples-Jones to the Detroit Lions, Tillman's playing time has increased over the last two weeks after he inactive for the previous three games Even before being inactive, he had only caught one pass in four games.
"I told him to look at my situation," Tillman said. "Not necessarily playing as much in the beginning, but just kind of earn the coaches' trust and have more opportunities to be out there."
Chris Easterling can be reached at ceasterling@thebeaconjournal.com. Read more about the Browns at www.beaconjournal.com/sports/browns. Follow him on Twitter at @ceasterlingABJ