Cleveland Browns quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson largely looked like a 2023 fifth-round draft pick as he completed 44-of-81 pass attempts for 327 yards with no touchdowns and three interceptions over two straight losses that dropped Cleveland to 3-13 on what’s become a disastrous campaign for the organization.
On Tuesday, Browns insider Tony Grossi of ESPN Cleveland/The Land on Demand shared why the club wants to get a look at backup signal-caller Bailey Zappe in Saturday’s season finale at the 11-5 Baltimore Ravens.
“The reason the Browns want to play Zappe is to determine whether he should be re-signed for a longer look over the spring season and training camp,” Grossi explained. “Zappe will be a restricted free agent. The Browns could tender a contract offer to Zappe that would severely restrict his ability to move to another team.”
Zappe entered the NFL when the New England Patriots made him a fourth-round pick during the 2022 draft. The biggest reason he’ll be on Cleveland’s active roster this coming weekend is that Week 1 starter Deshaun Watson went down with a ruptured Achilles on Oct. 20. While Watson played poorly before he suffered a season-ending injury for the second consecutive fall, he’s expected to remain with the Browns through the offseason largely because they’re stuck with what’s left of the fully guaranteed five-year, $230M contract they gave him in March 2022.
Veteran Jameis Winston became somewhat of a Cleveland cult hero serving as Watson’s replacement but was eventually benched after he tossed a total of 12 interceptions over seven starts. Grossi said that “the Browns’ total shutdown of Winston over the last three games is a strong indicator he will not be back in 2025 and the team will look again for a cheap veteran QB to bridge the gap to the next young starting hopeful.”
The fact that the Browns are turning to Zappe months after he was discarded by the Patriots shows how desperate Cleveland is to find competition for Watson. Some have already linked the Browns with Atlanta Falcons quarterback Kirk Cousins and with Aaron Rodgers of the New York Jets, but perhaps Zappe will look like a revelation against a Baltimore team looking to claim the AFC North division title.
Zappe won two starts as a rookie but seemingly never received a legitimate chance to win the full-time New England QB1 job before the Patriots traded Mac Jones to the Jacksonville Jaguars this past March and made Drake Maye the third overall choice of the 2024 draft. The Browns have little to lose in seeing what Zappe can offer them at Baltimore’s M&T Bank Stadium, but history suggests Cleveland fans shouldn’t hold their breaths hoping that the 25-year-old will be anything more than a break-glass-in-case-of-emergency option against an advertised Super Bowl contender.
