The Cleveland Browns received some brutal news earlier this week when it was revealed starting quarterback Deshaun Watson has to undergo a procedure on his right throwing shoulder. He has a broken bone and the surgery will result in him missing the remainder of the 2023 season.
With Watson sidelined, the team is turning to Dorian Thompson-Robinson for their Week 11 matchup with the Pittsburgh Steelers. This will be the second start of the season for Thompson-Robinson, as the fifth-round rookie started in Week 4 against the Baltimore Ravens.
The results were disastrous, as Cleveland lost 28-3. Thompson-Robinson threw three interceptions and was sacked four times. It was bad enough that the Browns turned to veteran P.J. Walker whenever Watson couldn’t get on the field in the weeks after.
With those two as the only options on the roster, speculation has run rampant that the Browns could look to bring in someone else to start for the team. CBS analyst Matt Ryan, who has not officially retired from the NFL, was floated as a potential target. Another player who isn’t currently active and was floated as a target for the team was Tom Brady.
Brady retired from the NFL over the winter and has remained adamant he won’t be returning. His partial ownership of the Las Vegas Raiders would certainly complicate things as well. But, John Breech of CBS Sports suggested him as someone the Browns could look to bring in.
“The Browns have a strong roster from top to bottom and the addition of Brady would potentially make them a Super Bowl contender. It will be interesting to see if the Browns reach out because if they do, it wouldn’t be surprising to see him at least contemplate taking the job, considering it would give him a legitimate shot at an eighth Super Bowl ring,” Breech wrote.
The New York Jets could have looked into bringing Brady in, but he shot that down almost instantly. Playing behind a bad offensive line isn’t something that would get Brady to come out of retirement.
However, that isn’t as big of an issue for the Browns, who are 15th in the offensive line rankings heading into Week 11. That is something Brady could certainly work with if he wanted to come out of retirement and try winning an eighth Super Bowl ring.
The Browns have a roster set to contend; the only thing they are now missing is a quarterback to bring it all together. While luring Brady out of retirement seems unlikely, Cleveland does have a situation that could at least pique his interest.
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