Browns Agree to Deal with Winston – The Cleveland Browns are adding veteran depth and have zeroed in on their backup quarterback to Deshaun Watson. The organization has agreed to terms on a contract with former No. 1 overall pick, Jameis Winston, per The Athletic. The specific details of Winston’s deal with the Browns were not immediately made public. While the two sides can, and reportedly have, agreed to terms, the team cannot become official until the kick off of the new league year, which starts on Wednesday.
Winston had several suitors that were interested around the league as the legal-tampering window opened up on Monday.
CBS Sports HQ senior NFL insider Josina Anderson reported earlier that the Tennessee Titans and New York Giants, respectively, were among the teams that did show preliminary interest in the veteran along with Cleveland.
This decision slots Winston in as one of the Browns top backup signal callers to Watson along with second-year QB Dorian Thompson-Robinson. It also could prove to be the end of Joe Flacco’s time with the franchise, who is a free agent. Flacco was signed in the middle of last season ‘off the couch’, following a rash of injuries at the position. The 16-year veteran out of Delaware, went 4-1 down the stretch for the team, which helped spring them to a playoff berth. That run, however, was short lived and did not seem to have been enough for Cleveland to opt for a reunion, rolling with Winston instead.
As for Winston, this signing marks the end of his four-year run in the Bayou, with the New Orleans Saints. The 30-year-old signed with the club back in 2020 and served as a spot starter throughout his tenure. In totality, Winston started in 10 games for the franchise over that stretch and went 6-4 in those starts. Before that, Winston entered the league as the No. 1 overall pick of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the 2015 NFL Draft out of Florida State. In his five years in Tampa, he was 28-42 as the starter and while he led the league in passing yards during his final year with the club, he also led the league in picks. For his career, Winston is 34-46 as a starter with a 61.2% completion percentage and an 87.0 passer rating.
He will now sit behind Watson, who is recovering from season-ending shoulder surgery that he suffered in mid-November.
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LB Queen Leaving Raiders to Join Rival Steelers – Patrick Queen was one of the standouts of the Baltimore Ravens’ suffocating defense in 2023. A year later, he will be matched up against the Ravens in the AFC North, also known as the ‘Black and Blue’ division, agreeing Tuesday to a deal with the Pittsburgh Steelers, according to CBS Sports lead NFL insider Jonathan Jones. The linebacker will sign a three-year contract with the rival Pittsburgh Steelers worth $41 million, Queen told ESPN.
Queen’s deal is averaging roughly $13.7 million per season through the 2026 campaign, according to Adam Schefter. That makes the former first-round draft pick the seventh-highest-paid linebacker in the league, and the richest to hit this year’s free agent market.
Queen, 24 years-of-age, was widely regarded as the top player at his position to hit the open market, fresh off a career-high 133 tackles in 2023. His production as both a run stuffer and pass defender, including 3.5 sacks and six pass breakups, earned the former LSU Tiger’s star his first All-Pro honors. While Baltimore reportedly had interest in bringing him back in the fold, the Ravens were considered long shots to extend him after already committing top dollar to fellow linebacker Roquan Smith and 2024 free agent defensive lineman Justin Madubuike.
Now Queen will headline a Pittsburgh linebacker corps that struggled through a snake bitten injury season in 2023, shuffling several in-season additions. While he did not necessarily live up to his own pre-draft hype to start his Ravens career, Queen saw a dramatic uptick in his numbers after Smith came on the scene, via trade from the Chicago Bears in 2022, also finishing that season with 110+ tackles and six pass deflections.
Prior to his deal with the Steelers, Queen also drew interest from the Carolina Panthers, per CBS Sports Lead NFL Insider Jonathan Jones.
