ESPN REPORT: A Setback Browns Star Suffers Shoulder Surgery Since….

CLEVELAND, Ohio — With so much attention on Deshaun Watson’s return from shoulder surgery, Dorian Thompson-Robinson’s return from a season-ending hip injury has flown under the radar.

But Browns GM Andrew Berry indicated on Tuesday that the club might slow play it with Thompson-Robinson as the offseason program opens April 15th.

“We always want to be cautious and mindful of our guys coming back from injury concerns,” he said at the NFL annual meetings in Orlando, Fla.

Regardless, he said the signing of former Ravens backup quarterback Tyler Huntley March 17th was independent of that.

“We’ve always had 4 quarterbacks,” Berry said. “We have two quarterbacks coming off season-ending injuries. Tyler was just us being flexible, adaptable to an opportunity that quite honestly we didn’t expect in the spring.”

He noted that the Browns definitely don’t have any concerns about Thompson-Robinson’s rookie performance after he was thrown into the fire for three starts and some spot duty. Their fifth-round pick in 2023 out of UCLA, Thompson-Robinson went 1-2, with his crowning achievement being the 13-10 victory over the Steelers on Nov. 19. The game so was emotional for Thompson-Robinson that he dropped to his knees after the gamewinning field goal drive and shed some tears.

His previous home start, and his NFL debut, was the 28-3 loss to the Ravens in Week 4 in which he discovered 2 1/2 hours before the game that he was replacing an injured Watson.

Against the Steelers, Thompson-Robinson showed all the moxie the Browns saw in him at UCLA, where he started four seasons. Taking over at his 35 with 1:18 remaining, the score tied at 10, and fans chanting “DTR! DTR1″, he completed his first four passes for 39 yards, going 4-for-5 on the drive including a spike, to get Dustin Hopkins into a cushy field goal range. With two seconds remaining, Hopkins, Ice Man himself, nailed the 34 yard gamewinner to push the Browns to a 13-10 victory and 7-3 record — tied for the best start to a season since 1999.

The drive was all the more remarkable considering that Thompson-Robinson had thrown for a total of 28 yards in the second half, with receivers dropping passes left and right.

Unfortunately for Thompson-Robinson, it would prove to be his lone victory of the season. He was knocked out of the 29-12 loss to the Broncos in Week 12 with a concussion, and Joe Flacco started the rest of the season. Thompson-Robinson relieved him for a brief period in the 36-22 victory over the Texans on Christmas Eve, but suffered the season-ending hip injury in that game

With a glum look on his face and walking on a crutch, he told cleveland.com a few days later in the locker room “my hip is messed up” and that he was awaiting test results. He didn’t undergo surgery, but was placed on injured reserve for the season and has been rehabbing this offseason.

Fortunately for the Browns, they were able to sign Huntley in free agency to a one-year deal worth $1.292 million, and he’ll help Jameis Winston carry the backup load if Thompson-Robinson needs more time.

Huntley was believed to have had a chance to sign with the Steelers in free agency, a source told cleveland.com, but became the odd man out when they traded for Justin Fields.

“We looked at (Huntley) as a really fantastic opportunity for our organization,” Berry said. “I’ll let Tyler speak on it, (but) a couple things maybe went a little different direction so maybe he got caught standing in a game of musical chairs unexpectedly. But we felt that was a great opportunity for us. Quarterback’s the most important position. We wouldn’t stop acquiring offensive or defensive linemen. We wouldn’t do the same at quarterback.”

Tags: Cleveland Browns news Deshaun Watson’s

ESPN REPORT: A Setback Browns Star Suffers Shoulder Surgery Since….

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