Kirk Cousins would be a natural one-year bridge QB in Kevin Stefanski's offense.
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Editor's note: Tony Grossi is a Cleveland Browns analyst for TheLandOnDemand.com and 850 ESPN Cleveland. He has covered the Browns since 1984.
The Browns are looking for a veteran quarterback again.
This will be the fifth year in a row they’ll bring in a new journeyman, following short-lived stints with Case Keenum, Jacoby Brissett, Joe Flacco and Jameis Winston.
Keenum (2-0), Brissett (4-7), Flacco (4-2) and Winston (2-5) all etched their names on the infamous list of 40 quarterbacks to start at least one game for the Browns in their expansion era – 11 alone in Kevin Stefanski’s five seasons as head coach. But this year’s acquisition will take on a more defined role.
As the Browns dig out from the Deshaun Watson era, the veteran addition this season figures to be the “bridge” QB – the temp starter to energize a demoralized and dysfunctional offense and take the team to the next young hopeful selected from the draft.
Depending on which quarterback the Browns choose in the draft, the veteran addition may be the starter for the opening month, the whole season, or possibly into 2026.
The Browns will be limited in their veteran search because Watson still counts $72.9 million on their 2025 salary cap, though that will be reduced to about half that number in an imminent salary conversion. Still, the Browns can’t expect to devote another $10 million+ in cap number to a QB that might be displaced by a rookie at some point in 2025.
With that in mind, we unveil our first Veteran Quarterback Tracker for the 2025 season. Periodically, we will monitor the QBs in the running to be the Browns’ opening-game starter, with their odds based on a 100-point basis.
(Note to Myles Garrett: Cover your eyes.)
This week’s 10-man field in alphabetical order:
Jacoby Brissett, Kirk Cousins, Justin Fields, Joe Flacco, Jimmy Garoppolo, Daniel Jones, Aaron Rodgers, Cooper Rush, Russell Wilson, Jameis Winston.
How we rank them:
1. Kirk Cousins, 30 points.
He’s the early favorite for two reasons. He is guaranteed $27.5 million by the Atlanta Falcons in 2025 and could be had for as little as the NFL minimum salary $1.255 million when they release him prior to March 17. (If they don’t, another $10 million roster bonus becomes guaranteed.) Also, he’s familiar with the Stefanski offense back to their 2018-19 seasons together with the Minnesota Vikings. The big question is how much Cousins has left in his age-37 season following Achilles tendon surgery in 2023 and shoulder and elbow injuries in 2024.
2. Daniel Jones, 22 points.
Banished by the Giants after an underachieving six-year stint, he finished the 2024 season on the Vikings’ active roster but figures to enter free agency if Minnesota re-signs Sam Darnold. Jones, 28 in May, had only one winning season with the Giants. One of his 24 career wins came in Cleveland last year, when he spun a 20-15 Giants victory with a 109.4 passer-rating day. He is an underrated athlete with good mobility and could benefit from a change of scenery out of the media capital of the world and under the auspices of Stefanski’s offense.
3. Justin Fields, 15 points.
Fields could still be re-signed by the Steelers. If not, he is an intriguing possibility for the Browns because of his age (25), his athletic skills and the probability of favoring a one-year prove-it deal to re-ignite his career and rekindle new interest in him next season. In four years since being the 11th overall pick of the 2021 draft, offensive coaches Matt Nagy, Luke Getsy and Arthur Smith have failed to harness Fields’ immense physical talents
4. Jimmy Garoppolo, 10 points.
Nobody on this list comes close to Garoppolo’s .671 career win percentage (43-21) or 96-to-51 TD-to-INT ratio, and he is one of four to start a Super Bowl. Injuries have been his bane since leading the 49ers to the Super Bowl in 2019. Two years of relative inactivity as Rams backup under offensive guru Sean McVay could set him up for one last run as a starting, and winning, quarterback.
5. Joe Flacco, 9 points.
Though he hasn’t started more than eight games in a season since leaving Baltimore in 2019, Flacco is a natural physical freak, healthy as ever at age 40 and still able to throw the ball as well as anybody – an NFL-version Nolan Ryan. He was loved in the Browns’ locker room while taking the 2023 team to the playoffs in a December run as exciting as any in the Haslam ownership era. Flacco still has the competitive spirit to start and would be willing to return to Cleveland for a second act.
6. Jacoby Brissett, 5 points.
The definition of journeyman quarterback – he’s played on five teams in five years – Brissett leaves a positive impression wherever he lands. He’s run the Stefanski offense like every other offense he’s played in, however – win one, lose two.
7. Russell Wilson, 4 points.
The ending of his season in Pittsburgh pretty much verified he can’t play the position like he did in his heyday.
8. Cooper Rush, 3 points.
Dak Prescott’s backup for seven seasons in Dallas, he is likely to return in that capacity in 2025. He seems comfortable as a backup.
9. Jameis Winston, 2 points.
He has a better future as a social media content creator than as a repeat Browns starting quarterback.
10. Aaron Rodgers, 0 points.
The fact national “insiders” list Cleveland as a potential destination for the drama king is a sad commentary on the state of the Browns.