Jameis Winston will start under center Sunday for the injury-plagued Cleveland Browns, sources confirmed to ESPN’s Kimberley A. Martin.
Winston has ascended to the starting role after Cleveland’s top two quarterbacks — Deshaun Watson and Dorian Thompson-Robinson — both suffered injuries in last Sunday’s loss to the Cincinnati Bengals.
Browns coach Kevin Stefanski told reporters earlier this week that he would not decide on a starting quarterback until he received a medical update on Thompson-Robinson, who injured a finger on his throwing hand after replacing Watson.
Winston, a 10-year veteran, provides Cleveland with a more experienced option than Thompson-Robinson for Sunday’s game against the AFC North rival Baltimore Ravens. The former Heisman Trophy winner said Sunday that he was “prepared for whatever role” that the Browns set for him.
“That has been the story of my career the last few years,” Winston said. “I’m ready and prepared for whatever role it is I am to play. I’m here to serve.”
Fox Sports first reported Tuesday that Winston would start for the Browns, who once again face uncertainty at the quarterback position after Watson’s season-ending Achilles injury.
Winston replaced Thompson-Robinson on Cleveland’s final series Sunday and orchestrated a 12-play drive punctuated with his touchdown pass to David Njoku. He has started 80 NFL games since being selected No. 1 by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the 2015 draft.
The Browns (1-6) have failed to score 20 points in any of their seven games to start the season, their longest such scoring drought in 15 years.
ESPN’s Daniel Oyefusi contributed to this report.