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Daniel Oyefusi, ESPNDec 11, 2024, 06:00 AM ET
- Daniel Oyefusi covers the Cleveland Browns for ESPN. Prior to ESPN, he covered the Miami Dolphins for the Miami Herald, as well as the Baltimore Ravens for The Baltimore Sun.
The Cleveland Browns‘ 27-14 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday officially eliminated Cleveland from playoff contention, the latest blow in a disappointing season for a team that entered with hopes of a deep postseason run.
The defeat also marked the franchise’s 18th 10-loss season since returning to Cleveland in 1999, the most in the NFL during that span.
As the Browns returned from their mid-November bye at 2-7, players spoke of making a late-season run to the playoffs and rectifying a bleak season. Three of four losses since then have relegated Cleveland to playing for “the love of the game” and to be a spoiler, as safety Grant Delpit recently said, in the final month of the season.
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At the bye, Browns coach Kevin Stefanski was asked about giving the team’s young players more playing time to evaluate them, and Stefanski answered by saying that winning remained the utmost priority. He doubled down on that notion Monday, saying he would continue to start Jameis Winston at quarterback over second-year player Dorian Thompson-Robinson.
“Our focus right now is just trying to find ways to get a win,” Stefanski said.
With four games left in the season, it won’t be long until the Browns have to evaluate an aging and expensive roster that is in position to be retooled in the offseason. The current group of first- and second-year players could factor greatly into their plans for next year.
Here are five young players the Browns could benefit from evaluating over the final month of the season.
Thompson-Robinson, a 2023 fifth-round pick, impressed during training camp with a greater mastery of the offense compared to his rookie season and was one of three quarterbacks the Browns kept on the active roster entering Week 1. He was briefly promoted to the backup spot in Week 7 and thrust into action when Deshaun Watson suffered a season-ending right Achilles tendon tear but looked uncomfortable running the offense before leaving the game because of a thumb injury.
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In 2023, Thompson made three uneven starts before the Browns signed Joe Flacco, who helped lead the team to the postseason. The team has remained bullish on Thompson-Robinson’s potential, and he provides a running element that could help an offense that ranks 30th in rushing yards per attempt (3.8) this season.
With Watson struggling before another significant injury and Winston set to become an unrestricted free agent in the offseason, Cleveland would benefit from seeing if Thompson-Robinson can be a capable backup or short-term option paired with a rookie quarterback in 2025.
In August, Thrash was the recipient of the Maurice Bassett Award as the Browns’ most outstanding rookie during training camp and the preseason, as voted by the local media. The team’s trade of wide receiver Amari Cooper in mid-October and a recent concussion to fellow wideout Cedric Tillman has opened more opportunities for Thrash.
A 2024 fifth-round pick, Thrash played a combined 31 offensive snaps in Weeks 11 to 13 before a shoulder injury sidelined him in Week 14. He has caught three passes for 22 yards this season but led the team in receiving yards during the preseason. The Browns like Thrash’s ability to separate and play in multiple spots, both qualities that the offensive coaching staff value.
Jerry Jeudy is in the midst of a breakout season, but Elijah Moore is an unrestricted free agent after the season ends and Cleveland’s wide receiver room is otherwise unproven.
Receiver Jamari Thrash has only 3 receptions but led the Browns in that category in the preseason. Ron Chenoy/Imagn Images
Zinter, a 2024 third-round pick, started three games earlier in the season when right guard Wyatt Teller was sidelined by a knee sprain. Zinter struggled in those starts, being credited with six sacks allowed. His 89.2% pass block win rate would rank 11th worst out of 62 guards if Zinter had enough games played to qualify.
Zinter, though, hasn’t had much live action since breaking his left tibia and fibula in November 2023. After drafting the Michigan product in April, Berry called the 2023 unanimous first-team All-American selection a “rock-solid all-around player.” With Teller being 30 years old and entering the final year of his deal in 2025 — he said Monday that he would like a contract extension to stay in Cleveland — and Joel Bitonio acknowledging the end of his career is imminent, the Browns hope Zinter can factor in at one of the starting guard spots in the future.
The 2024 sixth-round pick has carved out a role on special teams as a rookie with his size and physicality but has played only 19 defensive snaps in packages with extra linebackers.
Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah remains on injured reserve because of a neck injury. Devin Bush is an unrestricted free agent after the season, and Jordan Hicks will be 33 entering the final season of the two-year deal he signed with the team last offseason. Berry said Watson could provide a similar skill set as former Brown Sione Takitaki as a bigger linebacker and could handle the role of defensive communicator in the future.
Mitchell, a 2023 fifth-round pick, started three games as a rookie because of injuries. He has played 22% of the defensive snaps this season, down from 34% as a rookie, but is in line to get significant snaps at slot corner as Greg Newsome II deals with a hamstring injury.
The Browns have one of the top cornerbacks in the NFL in Denzel Ward, but Newsome and third-year player Martin Emerson Jr. have struggled. Both are also entering the final years of their rookie contracts in 2025.
