Familiar Browns preseason hero cements himself as trade bait for QB-needy teams

The Cleveland Browns may be paying Deshaun Watson a boatload of money, but their backup quarterback situation is one worth watching. It may have been Joe Flacco leading this team to the playoffs last season, but what we saw out of Dorian Thompson-Robinson at stretches last year was apparently nothing to sneeze at. He played exceptionally vs. the Green Bay Packers on Saturday.

Thompson-Robinson completed 14-of-18 passes for 134 yards in the Browns' 23-10 defeat to the Packers. Even though newcomers Jameis Winston and Tyler Huntley both completed well over 60 percent of their passes, it was the volume Thompson-Robinson threw for that was most impressive. He completed over 75 percent of his passes to average more than seven yards per passing attempt.

While there is still some cause for concern regarding if Watson will ever get back to being the player he once was, we have seen Huntley and Winston play well at times in the league, as well as the occasional flash of brilliance out of Thompson-Robinson last year during his rookie season. The worst part is at least one of these four players is not going to make the team. Who could be traded?

Since he does not carry the clout or the contract, there is a chance it could be Thompson-Robinson.

Dorian Thompson-Robinson may be elite trade bait for Cleveland Browns

While most teams are fairly settled at the quarterback position as the first week of NFL preseason games winds down, injuries are bound to happen at some point. Currently, no team is in a truly desperate spot to abruptly trade for a quarterback. Keep in mind that Thompson-Robinson is only in year two out of UCLA. That means he is under contract for this season and the two following this one.

Thompson-Robinson was an intriguing prospect coming out of high school in Las Vegas. His commitment to play for Chip Kelly at UCLA was a little bit strange, but the multi-time Pac-12 performer certainly made it work for him. At the end of the day, Thompson-Robinson grew as a player and found a way to make it for him starring for the Bruins. It has helped shape his pro game a ton.

I think what we have seen is Thompson-Robinson takes to great coaching. From Kelly to Kevin Stefanski in Cleveland, the results speak for themselves. Thompson-Robinson has shown at times that he can spot-start in the league, even if he was only a fourth-round rookie last season. Not every team is going to need him, but somebody could be calling up the Browns soon if their guy gets hurt.

All I know is the pressure is mounting for Watson to live up to the hype of his contract and later trade.