Once again analyzing the QB options for Cleveland after recent Deshaun Watson update
Cleveland Browns fans, the 2024 season is over, and while I can't say I'm glad Cleveland isn't playing next week, it does feel good knowing the Browns won't ruin my Sunday again for at least another eight months. And, when I say they ruin my day, I mean the entire day.
As a fan whose career has relocated me many times over the last decade-plus, I currently reside in Hawaii where the Browns kickoff on Sundays at 0700 in the morning HST for a 1:00 PM kickoff EST.
So, rather than my day being almost over when the Browns disappoint us, it has only just begun, and I get the blessing of coasting through another twelve hours before I get to sleep off the crushing defeat.
But, Cleveland does have that little event in April that either gives Browns fans hope for the future or leaves us wondering if we even care about winning: the 2025 NFL Draft.
The draft, while it may not be on a Sunday, primarily, does offer a similar feeling of despair should Andrew Berry and the front office make a series of questionable selections. Questionable, of course, is debatable; something I believe doesn't make sense, may make sense to another. The 2025 draft will potentially catalyze Berry's legacy in Cleveland.
For the last five years, the Browns have drafted only twice in the first round, and those two players have had little impact on the current team. While they shouldn't be considered busts at this juncture, they have not lived up to their draft status.
Jedrick Wills Jr. will likely be released in the off-season, and Greg Newsome II should have been traded by the deadline. He could still be shopped in the off-season as the third-year player has been largely responsible for the collapse of Cleveland's top-ranked defense.
The good news is that Berry seems to have more stock in signing proven free agents than relying on rookies to make an immediate impact. Free agency in March should offer some sort of vision for what Browns plan is going into April, and I fully expect the aggressive GM to be active in both the trade market as well as free agency to fix the quarterback position.
While the rest of the team clearly has big holes that need to be filled, the 2024 season has proved that QB is the most important position to fix for a complete turnaround in 2025. The way I see it, the Browns have three options in front of them.
Deshaun Watson reportedly ruptured his Achilles that he had previously had surgery to repair. While we can't celebrate the injury itself, we must understand this almost certainly guarantees.
Cleveland will pursue a QB in the off-season, and with Watson likely being out for the 2025 season, it opens the door financially for Cleveland to chase higher-end QBs with Watson's cap hit being insured. I would look for Berry to be aggressive in acquiring Watson's replacement before the draft.
First Option: Acquire a proven Veteran QB capable of starting 2025 and beyond
This is not the nuclear option, and I am in no way suggesting the Browns should go after a QB who will put them behind again as the Watson trade did.
In fact, the Watson trade alone, and the financial difficulties due to it, will likely handcuff the Browns in their evaluation and selection moving forward. Cleveland must go after a good starting QB who is released in the off-season and will be paid by another team in the 2025 season.
The Pittsburgh Steelers were able to use this route for 2024 by acquiring Russell Wilson and paying him the veteran's minimum, largely because Denver was paying his salary this season. The first, and most polarizing option that comes to mind is Kirk Cousins.
In 2019, under current Browns head coach Stefanski, Cousins ranked 8th overall while throwing for 3,603 yards, 26 touchdowns, and six interceptions with a passer rating of 107. Cousins was rated as an elite QB with the potential to be QB1 if he was able to throw every pass from play action. Pairing Cousins with Stefanski again could make the most sense for Cleveland to have a complete turnaround in 2025.
This option also allows Cleveland to draft a developmental quarterback in the draft and not overreach for one in the first round. Many people will argue that Cleveland should do both, but fans in Cleveland will be calling for Cousins to be benched after one bad game if a first-round rookie is waiting in the winds.
A quarterback battle in Cleveland next season is just about the last thing the Browns want going into the season.
Cleveland will likely have to wait out the Falcons who have recently said they're content with Cousins in the backup role for 2025. While this feels unlikely, it's not impossible, but it's more likely that Atlanta is doing their due diligence to try and acquire draft capital out of Cousins rather than releasing him.
Cleveland will likely not bite for multiple reasons, including Cousins's contract. Atlanta will likely release Cousins if they don't get any solid trade offers before his roster bonus in March.
Second Option: Sign an unproven, younger QB player capable of being a franchise QB
Justin Fields, Justin Fields, Justin Fields, or Justin Fields. Obviously the first name that comes to mind, and extremely undervalued by Pittsburgh and many other organizations across the NFL. Fields could be more than just a bridge QB, and could potentially be the franchise QB that Cleveland has been looking for.
Stefanski would have the opportunity to run his system while adding twists for RPO and QB keepers to ease a banged-up Nick Chubb (who Cleveland must retain for the sake of their culture).
Fields isn't the only option out there currently, as many teams across the NFL may be ready to move on from their former first-round picks: Will Levis of Tennessee, Bryce Young of Carolina, and Trevor Lawrence of Jacksonville; could all be worth a phone call from the Browns.
Would those teams pull the trigger by moving their current quarterbacks? For the right price most likely, but Cleveland isn't capable of overspending. These types of players aren't worth gambling on Browns future, but they could succeed in the right offense. Stefanski may be capable of developing them into a franchise QB.
Browns fans should watch the situation in Minnesota closely as well. With ties between the Browns and Vikings front office and coaching staff; there could be reason to believe either Sam Darnold or J.J. McCarthy will be available in March.
Darnold, presumably the favorite to start for Minnesota in 2025, is coming off a career resurgent season and could have landed himself a permanent gig with the Vikings.
The big question would be: are the Vikings willing to gamble on Darnold's one-hit wonder over what they evaluated in McCarthy? My guess is probably not.
Third Option: Draft a starting caliber QB
My least favorite and presumed least likely option would be for Cleveland to draft their QB of the future to start right away in 2025. While this seems far-fetched, or outside of what the Browns are currently trying to accomplish, it would not be something new for Browns fans to witness. The biggest issue: this QB class is weak in NFL-ready QBs.
The top three QBs in the 2025 class are Miami's Cam Ward, Colorado's Shedeur Sanders, and Jalen Milroe from Alabama. Cleveland owns the second overall pick, and none of the QBs in this class should be, not won't be, but should be drafted in the top five.
It's simply the need for franchise QBs that will drive them all to be selected in the first round, and one can only hope that Cleveland refrains from taking a developmental pick when they have the opportunity to draft an immediate impact player in the top 10.
Draftwire has Sanders ranked seventh, Ward ranked 32nd and Milroe ranked 91st. Pro Football Focus has Milroe as the top QB at number 12, Ward at 14, and Sanders at 21, and Sports Illustrated has Ward as the top QB at number 13, Sanders at 17, and Milroe at 24.
If Cleveland must take a first-round QB, Milroe would be my choice because he has a monster arm and can make almost any throw. Sanders has a weaker arm but possesses more accuracy and Ward has a natural ability to make plays happen and extend plays with his athleticism. The Browns would be wise to either trade the pick or draft the best available player not named Travis Hunter.
My favorite QB in this draft class is Ole Miss QB Jaxson Dart. I believe he has the athleticism, big arm strength, and running abilities to be successful in Stefanski's PA system. It allows Cleveland to either trade the second overall pick to some unfortunate team that will make a big mistake, or simply take the best available player that is not Hunter, Ward, or Sanders.
All of which I believe will not succeed in Cleveland, and will require a pretty good situation to be successful.
Dart is not capable of being a day-one starter, but neither are any of the other QBs in my opinion. He would, however, benefit extremely well from sitting behind an experienced player like Cousins for a year or two as he learns to master Stefanski's system, the system in which Cleveland would be wise to retreat back into. Dart's draft profile ranks him as an elite QB in play-action passing - sound familiar?
