The Cleveland Browns originally signed quarterback Josh Dobbs to give the team a veteran presence behind franchise starter Deshaun Watson.
However, the Browns traded Dobbs to the Arizona Cardinals on Friday. That cleared the way for Dorian Thompson-Robinson, a fifth-round selection out of UCLA, to be named the surprise backup quarterback entering his rookie season.
After the trade, the Browns rescinded the previously announced waiving of Kellen Mond, as the team will retain his services in some capacity to give depth to the quarterback room.
The ascension of Thompson-Robinson was about “more than the statistics” according to Lance Reisland of cleveland.com.
“The Browns’ fifth-round draft pick has shown tremendous poise and savvy that comes with having 48 starts at the college level,” Reisland wrote. “During his five-year college career, Thompson-Robinson threw for 10,710 yards and 88 touchdowns and added 2,539 yards rushing.”
Head coach Kevin Stefanski voiced his support of “DTR” earlier in the week, before the team traded Dobbs.
“Just speaking to DTR, he’s coming along,” Stefanski said. “He’s making great strides. We’re excited about his future. And just the focus for him and all our guys is to continue to work. Going into Week One, you look at your depth chart and you just want guys to continue to grow and get better because as you all know, there’s times that guys are unavailable due to injury or otherwise So, it is a constant striving to get better.”
The NFL world was quick to react to the major decision:
Dorian Thompson-Robinson definitely earned the backup spot for Cleveland. He's been the best QB from this draft class in the preseason.
— Chris Hilling (@cityonahilling) August 24, 2023
QB2 SZN pic.twitter.com/ibu40fztH7
— Nick Karns (@karnsies817) August 24, 2023
“I’m so proud of him. What people are seeing in the NFL is what we saw here everyday … I always knew he was going to make it no matter who picked him.”
– Chip Kelly on Dorian Thompson-Robinson’s Preseason success pic.twitter.com/75MeyzBKhd
— GoJo and Golic (@GoJoandGolic) August 22, 2023
There’s no doubt that with the training camp/preseason that #Browns Dorian Thompson-Robinson has had that he deserved his promotion yesterday. pic.twitter.com/poprLJ5FhZ
— Brandon Little (@BrandonLittleBL) August 25, 2023
Check out Dorian Thompson-Robinson 👀
3-for-3 all perfect balls, all in stride. #Browns https://t.co/4p2dkD4pZd— Roberto Shenanigans (@Rob_Shenanigans) August 25, 2023
