The reasons the Browns signed Tyler Huntley as a surprise and will exercise caution with Dorian Thompson-Robinson
Ohio’s Cleveland Due to the overwhelming focus on Deshaun Watson’s comeback from shoulder surgery, Dorian Thompson-Robinson’s comeback from a hip injury that ended the season has gone unnoticed.
However, Browns general manager Andrew Berry hinted on Tuesday that the team would take its time with Thompson-Robinson when the offseason program gets underway on April 15.
“At the NFL annual meetings in Orlando, Florida, we always want to be cautious and mindful of our guys coming back from injury concerns,” he stated.
However, he insisted that hiring former backup quarterback Tyler Huntley from the Ravens on March 17 had nothing to do with it.
Berry remarked, “We’ve always had four quarterbacks.” “We have two quarterbacks returning from injuries that ended the season. Tyler was simply us being adaptive and flexible to a springtime chance that, to be honest, we hadn’t anticipated.
He stated that despite Thompson-Robinson being thrown into the fire for three starts and some spot play, the Browns are undoubtedly not concerned with his rookie performance. Thompson-Robinson, a 1-2 player selected in the fifth round of the 2023 draft out of UCLA, had his best performance on November 19, a 13-10 victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers. Thompson-Robinson was so moved by the game that, following the game-winning field goal drive, he broke down in tears.
The 28-3 loss to the Ravens in Week 4 was both his previous home start and his NFL debut. Two and a half hours prior to kickoff, he found out he was starting in place of an injured Watson.
Thompson-Robinson displayed all the moxie the Browns saw in him during his four seasons as a starting quarterback at UCLA against the Steelers. With 1:18 left, the score knotted at 10, and supporters yelling “DTR! DTR!” he took over at his 35 and completed his first four throws for 39 yards. Including a spike, he completed a 4-for-5 drive to put Dustin Hopkins in a comfortable field goal range. The Browns finished with a 7-3 record and a 13-10 victory after Ice Man, Hopkins, hit a 34-yard game-winning field goal with two seconds left. This was tied for the best start to a season since 1999.
Given that receivers were dropping passes left and right during Thompson-Robinson’s 28-yard second-half touchdown pass, the drive was all the more impressive.
Sadly, it would turn out to be Thompson-Robinson’s only triumph of the year. After suffering a concussion in Week 12 against the Broncos, he was replaced as the starting quarterback by Joe Flacco for the remainder of the campaign. Christmas Eve’s 36-22 triumph over the Texans saw Thompson-Robinson relieve him briefly before he sustained the game-ending hip injury.
A few days later, in the locker room, he informed Cleveland.com that “my hip is messed up” and that he was waiting on test results. He had a dejected expression on his face and was using a crutch. Although he was placed on injured reserve for the season and has been recovering this summer, he did not have surgery.
The Browns were fortunate to sign Huntley in free agency for a one-year contract of $1.292 million. In the event that Thompson-Robinson requires longer time, Huntley will assist Jameis Winston in filling in as the backup quarterback.
Huntley was thought to have had an opportunity to join with the Steelers during free agency. However, after they acquired Justin Fields, he was left out.
“We saw Huntley as an incredibly wonderful opportunity for our company,” Berry remarked. “I’ll let Tyler talk about it; but, a few things might have gone a bit differently, so it’s possible he was unintentionally caught standing in a musical chairs game.
But we thought that was a fantastic chance for us. The position of quarterback is the most crucial one. No matter what, we would keep adding offensive and defensive linemen. We wouldn’t play quarterback the same way.
Even though its quarterbacks, QB1 and QB3, are still recovering, the Browns feel optimistic about their quarterback room going into the offseason program.
