The Cleveland Browns will move forward with Jameis Winston leading the offense after placing quarterback Deshaun Watson on Injured Reserve.
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Head coach Kevin Stefanski announced the move on Wednesday as the Browns prepared for an upcoming matchup with the rival Ravens. Winston will try to help the team secure its second win of the season.
"He's won a lot of football games, he's seen a lot of football, so we have total confidence in him," Stefanski said about Winston during his Wednesday press conference.
Winston was the backup for Watson during the first six weeks of the season. However, the team demoted him to emergency quarterback last weekend against the Bengals and elevated second-year QB Dorian Thompson-Robinson to the backup role.
Once Watson left the game with a ruptured Achilles, Thompson-Robinson came into the game. He then sustained a finger injury that led to Winston taking control of the offense.
The former No. 1 overall pick in the 2015 NFL Draft completed five of his 11 attempted passes for 67 yards and one touchdown.
Winston will now move forward while working with a new play-caller. Stefanski announced that Ken Dorsey will take over this role starting with the Ravens game.
Dorsey, a record-setting quarterback for the Miami Hurricanes, previously served as the offensive coordinator of the Buffalo Bills.
The team finished second in the NFL in yards per game in 2022 but struggled on offense to start the 2023 season. The Bills replaced Dorsey with Joe Brady after a 5-5 start to the season.
Dorsey joined the Browns as offensive coordinator ahead of this season, but Stefanski has called the plays through the first seven weeks of the season. That will now change as Winston takes over as starting quarterback.
"I'm very confident in Ken, and I'm very confident in our offensive staff," Stefanski said on Wednesday. "I feel that this is... when you're talking about playing good football and putting game plans together, it's never one person's job.
"It's really a collaborative effort. I have a ton of faith in all of our coaches and Ken calling plays does not change that collaborative approach."
