Browns Must Reunite with $7.5 Million QB After DTR Injury

Adding to the Denver Broncos’ injury woes following their Week 12 win over the Cleveland Browns, rookie quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson suffered a head injury.

Concussions are significant both for their severity and the impact they have on the individual athlete. That means the Browns will once again face serious questions about their starting quarterback. This is an unwanted phenomenon that has been an unfortunate theme for Deshaun Watson through the first half of the 2023 season. “Thompson-Robinson has been diagnosed with a concussion and that has been ruled out,” Camryn Justice of Cleveland told News 5 on Sunday, Nov. 26. “This is a potentially lingering injury, and the Browns will need to reevaluate their quarterback situation.”

Cleveland’s options for adding a player under center have been few, but former Browns third-round pick Colt McCoy is still available and will be the organization’s first call Sunday night. The Browns have issues with PJ Walker and Joe Flacco as their top two QBs.

Cleveland signed quarterback Joe Flacco, 38, to the practice squad on Nov. 20 and could promote him to the active roster for the Week 13 road game against the Los Angeles Rams.

Flacco is P.J. Once you’ve backed up, you can start from LA. Walker once again played poorly in his role as Thompson-Robinson’s replacement. Walker went 6-of-13 with two tackles and a tackle for a loss of 56 yards against Denver. He also played safety against the Broncos defense. At 7-4, the Browns sit in third place in the AFC North division, but remain a playoff force. Still, Flacco and Walker could legitimately compete for the title of worst 1-2 quarterback in the NFL, depending on how Flacco plays in Week 13 and how he looks against the Rams. As a result, if Thomson-Robinson is likely to miss any real time, the Browns will need to add another QB. Tennessee Titans tight end Ryan Tannehill would be a great option if he were available, but Cleveland would likely have to negotiate Tennessee’s release in order to do so. Carson Wentz signed with the aforementioned Rams in early November, making McCoy the best free agent to go to Cleveland. The fact that he has franchise experience is a bonus. Colt McCoy has had average success with the Cardinals over the last two seasons.

The Browns selected McCoy in the third round of the 2010 NFL Draft (No. 85 overall). He started 21 games for Cleveland over the next two years, compiling a 6-15 record. The Browns demoted McCoy to a backup quarterback in 2012 and traded him to the San Francisco 49ers the following year.

McCoy has found success around the league since recently signing a two-year, $7.5 million contract with the Arizona Cardinals. He played the first season of that contract before the Cardinals released him and compiled a 3-3 record as Arizona’s starter over the last two years.

McCoy is not eligible to play anywhere in the NFL in 2023, but is scheduled to work out with the Minnesota Vikings in early October. The 37-year-old QB has 7,975 passing yards, 34 touchdowns and 32 interceptions in his professional career.