Dorian Thompson-Robinson’s slide has been swift — from starting quarterback for the Cleveland Browns to an afterthought in the UFL in just a few years, with no clear sign that the downward trend is slowing.
Thompson-Robinson, who started five games for the Browns across the 2023 and 2024 seasons, has opened the UFL season as a backup with the Orlando Storm.
Head coach Anthony Becht has handed the starting job to Jack Plummer, an undrafted free agent with no NFL experience outside of some practice squad stints. And so far, Plummer has done nothing to lose his grip on the QB1 spot.
Jack Plummer Is Running Away With the Job
Plummer beat out Thompson-Robinson during UFL training camp, and he has been one of the better quarterbacks in the league through two weeks. In the Storm’s Week 1 win over the Columbus Aviators, Plummer completed 17 of 22 passes for 245 yards and a touchdown, posting a league-best 127.1 passer rating. In Week 2 against the Louisville Kings, he went 18-for-23 for 182 yards and two touchdowns to help Orlando improve to 2-0.
Thompson-Robinson did see the field briefly in Week 2, but only because Plummer was briefly sidelined with an injury. Thompson-Robinson entered and completed 2 of 3 passes for 19 yards, adding a six-yard scramble.
Plummer returned to close out the half with a long touchdown strike, while those three pass attempts accounted for the entirety of Thompson-Robinson’s statistical output as he tries to get his career back on track in the UFL.
Dorian Thompson-Robinson Showed Early Promise With Browns
The Browns took Thompson-Robinson in the fifth round (No. 140 overall) of the 2023 draft out of UCLA, where he left as the program’s all-time leader in total offense.
He made an early impression, winning the backup job behind Deshaun Watson as a rookie after a strong preseason. His number was called when Watson went down with a shoulder injury, but the results were uneven. In all, Thompson-Robinson completed 121 of 230 passes for 880 yards with one touchdown and 10 interceptions during his time in Cleveland.
The Browns traded him to the Philadelphia Eagles last offseason as part of the Kenny Pickett deal. Thompson-Robinson was waived by Philadelphia before the start of the regular season. He worked out for several NFL teams but did not land a roster spot.
The Storm took Thompson-Robinson in the UFL quarterback draft in January, giving him what looked like a real shot to revive his career. Early buzz was strong, with Thompson-Robinson viewed as the favorite to start for the expansion franchise. Instead, Plummer has earned the role. The Storm are 2-0 and there is no indication the quarterback situation is about to change.
Meanwhile, the Browns are not much closer to solving their quarterback issues. Cleveland heads into its offseason program with an open competition between Watson, Shedeur Sanders and Dillon Gabriel.
Sanders started the final seven games of last season for Cleveland as a rookie, going 3-4 while throwing for 1,400 yards, seven touchdowns and 10 interceptions. Meanwhile, Watson is looking to revive his career after missing the entire season while recovering from two Achilles surgeries.
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