NFL insider hints at the Browns ruining Jameis Winston's fun before season's end

The Cleveland Browns' past few years have featured more of the same: a quarterback carousel. This franchise is no stranger to shuffling at the game's most important position.

Over the years, the Browns have had far too many names starting under center. This franchise is still starving for a franchise quarterback, and somehow, they keep getting it wrong.

At one point, the Browns took the gamble of all gambles when they traded for Deshaun Watson. We know how that's worked out. Legal troubles aside, Watson has been a shell of his former self and doesn't look anything like a franchise quarterback at this stage in his career.

Since Watson's season ended due to injury, this year, it's been veteran Jameis Winston getting the nod. And, in four starts, Winston has provided the Browns a lift. He's given the offense some life, and is enjoying himself quite a bit in the process.

If we were to look ahead to next year, all recent signs and reports point to the Browns making Watson earn his role as the starting quarterback all over again. Now, who Watson will be competing with is a completely different question altogether.

There are some fans who might not believe this upcoming quarterback class is the one to target for a franchise quarterback and, thus, the Browns could opt for a stop-gap type solution for 2025. Maybe, just maybe, that's Winston.

But, according to one NFL insider, the Browns could be looking at another name on their roster and, believe it or not, that opportunity and change could come sooner rather than later.

Dorian Thompson-Robinson could replace Jameis Winston as the Browns' starter before season's end

According to ESPN's Dan Graziano, there's apparently been a lot of buzz coming out of Cleveland around the organization wanting to see what they have in second-year pro and last year's fifth-round pick, Dorian Thompson-Robinson.

"As much fun as the Jameis Winston story is, there has been a lot of chatter coming out of Cleveland that the Browns might want to get a look at Dorian Thompson-Robinson before the end of this season to see whether and how he might fit into their future QB plans," Graziano wrote. "Don't be surprised to see Thompson-Robinson get a start or two before the season is over."

That would be pretty wild. Winston is clearly the better quarterback, even though we've only seen Thompson-Robinson on a limited basis.

The second-year pro has gone 1-2 in three starts and, for his career, has thrown just one touchdown to six interceptions. He's fine in a pinch, but as a long-term solution? There's been nothing to tell us he fits that mold, to this point.

If anything, the Browns inserting Thompson-Robinson over a healthy Winston would tell the fan base this organization is attempting to tank this season away, which is exactly what some veteran players would tell you they're not going to do.

We'll have to see if there are any legs to this report, and if Winston ends up getting benched for some reason, we now might know why.