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The Cleveland Browns are running out of options as they continue to look to overhaul their quarterback room.
They have already swapped out Dorian Thompson-Robinson for Kenny Pickett after a trade with the Philadelphia Eagles, but there is still plenty of work to be done. Pickett is currently the only healthy quarterback on the roster after Bailey Zappe signed back with the Kansas City Chiefs and Jameis Winston inked a two-year deal with the New York Giants.
Russell Wilson was an option for the Browns as well after taking a visit to Berea, but the veteran quarterback has instead joined Winston in the Big Apple with the Giants. So what options are left out there for the Browns?
Let's explore how the Browns can still attack the quarterback position and round out the room with less than one month left until the 2025 NFL draft:
Here is the easy solution. Just take the quarterback with the second overall pick.
Many have it penned that Miami's Cam Ward will land with the Tennessee Titans first overall. If the Titans are just playing around to get a team like the Giants or Browns to leap up to the top pick, then Ward could be back on the table for Cleveland. However, that is not the assumption that I am working with here.
Sanders is the most accurate quarterback in the class and has a high floor as a pocket passer that would fit what the Browns have wanted to do offensively under Kevin Stefanski. Many national draft analysts have been mocking Sanders to the Browns as well, given the need at the position and the short supply of top quarterbacks in this year's class.
However, if the Browns do not have conviction about the player that high in the draft, they will not take him just to fill a need. So there have to be other options on the table in Berea.
The most realistic, and honestly only, veteran option for the Browns is to kick a Day 3 pick to the Atlanta Falcons for Kirk Cousins. Head coach Kevin Stefanski was his quarterbacks coach and offensive coordinator in Minnesota, so the two sides have a rapport already.
The issue is that Cousins is refusing to waive his no-trade clause until after the NFL draft so that he does not find himself in the same situation he was in last year with the Falcons. He does not want to land on a team that uses a high draft pick on a rookie quarterback who will inevitably take his job.
However, if the Browns opt to pass on a quarterback with the No. 2 overall pick, Cousins may waive his clause to come to Cleveland. After all, it may be the only destination left out there for him to find a starting job in 2025.
The one remaining option is for the Browns to run Pickett out as the starter, draft a Day 2 quarterback, and sign another random quarterback in free agency. This would be the worst-case scenario for the Browns, who are running out of other options ahead of the NFL draft.
Pickett is a fine backup option, and throwing a fifth round pick at the Philadelphia Eagles just to add a solid backup is fine. However, going into the season with him penciled in as the starter, as he currently is, would be a brutal misstep by the Browns.
Luckily, that cannot possibly be the plan in Berea.
One remaining NFL free agent that the Browns have been linked to is Carson Wentz, a player the team traded away the rights to select in the 2016 NFL draft. I maintain that signing Wentz in a room with Pickett would be the team's final cry for help before inevitably being fired. Here are some other remaining options left in free agency. Trigger warning: It's bleak.
With the amount of starting gigs now closed outside of Pittsburgh and Cleveland (and with the Steelers zeroed in on Rodgers), it feels like Cousins' only option on the trade market is the Browns. As mentioned, he has stated he does not want to sign with a team that drafts a quarterback in the first round. If the Browns pass on Sanders with the No. 2 pick, though, would he waive his no-trade clause to team back up with Stefanski?
I tend to think this is the likely option. The Browns may opt to draft a blue chip player over a quarterback, like Colorado's Travis Hunter or Penn State's Abdul Carter, then make a draft weekend trade for Cousins. This does not eliminate the potential that the Browns could double up and then select a name like Alabama's Jalen Milroe on Day 2 to complete the quarterback room, either.
With Cousins and Pickett in the room, the Browns could give Milroe the necessary time to digest a playbook, emulate Lamar Jackson on the scout team, and then integrate packages to get his blazing 4.4 speed onto the field as a rookie. Drafting Sanders with the second overall pick would be the easiest outcome to fill out the quarterback room, but we'll see if the Browns have the conviction to pull the trigger with the second overall pick.
This article originally appeared on Browns Wire: Browns have limited options left to overhaul QB room
Continue reading...
They have already swapped out Dorian Thompson-Robinson for Kenny Pickett after a trade with the Philadelphia Eagles, but there is still plenty of work to be done. Pickett is currently the only healthy quarterback on the roster after Bailey Zappe signed back with the Kansas City Chiefs and Jameis Winston inked a two-year deal with the New York Giants.
Russell Wilson was an option for the Browns as well after taking a visit to Berea, but the veteran quarterback has instead joined Winston in the Big Apple with the Giants. So what options are left out there for the Browns?
Let's explore how the Browns can still attack the quarterback position and round out the room with less than one month left until the 2025 NFL draft:
Just draft Shedeur Sanders with the No. 2 pick in the draft
Here is the easy solution. Just take the quarterback with the second overall pick.
Many have it penned that Miami's Cam Ward will land with the Tennessee Titans first overall. If the Titans are just playing around to get a team like the Giants or Browns to leap up to the top pick, then Ward could be back on the table for Cleveland. However, that is not the assumption that I am working with here.
Sanders is the most accurate quarterback in the class and has a high floor as a pocket passer that would fit what the Browns have wanted to do offensively under Kevin Stefanski. Many national draft analysts have been mocking Sanders to the Browns as well, given the need at the position and the short supply of top quarterbacks in this year's class.
However, if the Browns do not have conviction about the player that high in the draft, they will not take him just to fill a need. So there have to be other options on the table in Berea.
Trade for Kirk Cousins, pair him with a Day 2 rookie QB
The most realistic, and honestly only, veteran option for the Browns is to kick a Day 3 pick to the Atlanta Falcons for Kirk Cousins. Head coach Kevin Stefanski was his quarterbacks coach and offensive coordinator in Minnesota, so the two sides have a rapport already.
The issue is that Cousins is refusing to waive his no-trade clause until after the NFL draft so that he does not find himself in the same situation he was in last year with the Falcons. He does not want to land on a team that uses a high draft pick on a rookie quarterback who will inevitably take his job.
However, if the Browns opt to pass on a quarterback with the No. 2 overall pick, Cousins may waive his clause to come to Cleveland. After all, it may be the only destination left out there for him to find a starting job in 2025.
Run with Kenny Pickett and the island of misfit toys
The one remaining option is for the Browns to run Pickett out as the starter, draft a Day 2 quarterback, and sign another random quarterback in free agency. This would be the worst-case scenario for the Browns, who are running out of other options ahead of the NFL draft.
Pickett is a fine backup option, and throwing a fifth round pick at the Philadelphia Eagles just to add a solid backup is fine. However, going into the season with him penciled in as the starter, as he currently is, would be a brutal misstep by the Browns.
Luckily, that cannot possibly be the plan in Berea.
Remaining NFL free agents for the Browns to target
One remaining NFL free agent that the Browns have been linked to is Carson Wentz, a player the team traded away the rights to select in the 2016 NFL draft. I maintain that signing Wentz in a room with Pickett would be the team's final cry for help before inevitably being fired. Here are some other remaining options left in free agency. Trigger warning: It's bleak.
- Carson Wentz
- Aaron Rodgers
- Trey Lance
- Drew Lock
- Joe Flacco
- Case Keenum
- Easton Stick
- Teddy Bridgewater
- Tyler Huntley
- Desmond Ridder
So what will happen?
With the amount of starting gigs now closed outside of Pittsburgh and Cleveland (and with the Steelers zeroed in on Rodgers), it feels like Cousins' only option on the trade market is the Browns. As mentioned, he has stated he does not want to sign with a team that drafts a quarterback in the first round. If the Browns pass on Sanders with the No. 2 pick, though, would he waive his no-trade clause to team back up with Stefanski?
I tend to think this is the likely option. The Browns may opt to draft a blue chip player over a quarterback, like Colorado's Travis Hunter or Penn State's Abdul Carter, then make a draft weekend trade for Cousins. This does not eliminate the potential that the Browns could double up and then select a name like Alabama's Jalen Milroe on Day 2 to complete the quarterback room, either.
With Cousins and Pickett in the room, the Browns could give Milroe the necessary time to digest a playbook, emulate Lamar Jackson on the scout team, and then integrate packages to get his blazing 4.4 speed onto the field as a rookie. Drafting Sanders with the second overall pick would be the easiest outcome to fill out the quarterback room, but we'll see if the Browns have the conviction to pull the trigger with the second overall pick.
This article originally appeared on Browns Wire: Browns have limited options left to overhaul QB room
Continue reading...
