Kevin Stefanski is more involved in the pursuit of the next drafted quarterback by the Browns than anytime in his six years as coach. (TheLandOnDemand)
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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.
INDIANAPOLIS, IN
On the issue of finding their quarterbacks in free agency or trade, and in the draft, the biggest question facing the Browns is this:
Can Kevin Stefanski save the Browns’ quarterback search?
Is the submissive head coach willing to assert his expertise in the decisions that will shape the team’s fortunes – and perhaps Jimmy Haslam’s dome stadium complex in Brook Park -- in the immediate future?
Choosing quarterbacks has been mostly in the province of GM Andrew Berry and the Browns’ grossly overvalued analytics department. Their notable acquisitions have been Deshaun Watson in a mega-deal gone bad and Dorian Thompson-Robinson in a fifth-round flier draft stab.
In all, 11 quarterbacks have started games in Berry’s five seasons. The only one acquired by Berry who provided excitement and inspiration was Joe Flacco, the former Super Bowl MVP who was signed to the practice squad only after he was forced to try out. And after Flacco won four of five starts to lead the Browns to the playoffs in 2023, Berry did not invite him back, ostensibly to protect Watson and avoid an inevitable division of the locker room and fan base.
So now Berry is on the prowl again for a veteran and a rookie to lift the team from – according to the 33rd Team Website -- the worst quarterback situation in the NFL.
There is no quarterback “expert” in the building.
The only change Berry has made in his “process” is giving Stefanski an expanded role. Though the coach disputed that characterization in his media availability at the NFL Combine on Wednesday, the fact is Stefanski attended East-West Shrine Game and Senior Bowl workouts for the first time in six seasons as Browns coach for the purpose of interviewing and observing the quarterbacks on hand.
Stefanski said he and newly promoted offensive coordinator Tommy Rees are participating in all interviews with quarterback prospects. Most were conducted on Wednesday. The coach conceded he and Rees will attend quarterback “pro day” workouts and any individual QB workouts the Browns schedule.
Asked what he’s looking for in redoing the Browns QB room, Stefanski said, “I think we're obviously looking in a bunch of different areas there. There's some really exciting young players in this draft that you're looking at. There's obviously work to be done in free agency and all those type of things, but I think we're looking in all avenues, if you will.
“I'm open to a bunch of different areas.”
Rees previously said decision-making is his No. 1 priority in assessing quarterbacks. Stefanski concurred.
“Decision-making, obviously, is very high on the list, whether it's 1, 2, 3,” he said. “Accuracy being very important as well, but decision-making … processing [is foremost]. I think every single play as a quarterback, you're doing something, whether it's a run check or it's a motion, a decision that you're making based on a safety's depth. All those types of things factor into decision-making.”
Throwing accuracy is higher on Stefanski's list than arm strength.
“It is. I think accuracy, obviously, that innate ability to put the ball where it needs to be is important,” he said. “I've been around guys that you wouldn't say have 'big arms' from arm strength and still get it done. So I think all these players are different. All their traits are different. So that's where it's so important for us right now down here, on the 30 visits, on the pro days, just to get to know the person, get to know the player.”
Stefanski sat in on the 20-minute Browns interviews with all the quarterbacks on Wednesday. He said he asks them pretty much the same questions "to compare apples to apples."
“I think that the [interviews] here are important,” he said. “I think you can learn a little bit, albeit quickly, so you try to put some tape on or get 'em on the [white] board, whatever you do. I know different teams have different philosophies there, but I think you do get something out of these meetings for sure. You get a feel for the person, feel for the player, how they see the game, and then … you bring guys to Cleveland and you have those 30 visits.
“Now you can spend a day with them. Some things that teams do, and we have a version of this, is you can install plays to them. You can walk through those plays, you can put 'em on the board and see how they retain those plays. So there's a lot to learn and this is a piece of it. This combine is a piece of it. The 30 visits are a piece of it. The pro days are a piece of it. All of it's a big evaluation. It's all encompassing.”
Stefanski had kind words for all the quarterbacks he interviewed, including top prospects Cam Ward of Miami and Shedeur Sanders of Colorado, along with the next wave of Jaxson Dart of Ole Miss, Jalen Milroe of Alabama, Will Howard of Ohio State, Kyle McCord of Syracuse, and others.
On Sanders, Stefanski said: "Shedeur is a very, very impressive young man, was raised the right way. Obviously, is a heck of a football player. That's evident off the tape. But really impressed with the person.
"I think he certainly has a great resource in his dad [Deion Sanders] to understand what it takes to be a great pro. He played for [ex-Browns head coach] Pat Shurmur at Colorado. Pat being a longtime NFL coach, so he understands that as well. So yeah, I think he's taking advantage of those people close to him."
On Ward, Stefanski said: "Very, very impressed with Cam as well. Just his career. Where he's been is a unique path. But knows football really well. Was very impressed with his meeting in terms of his recall going back to his Washington State days and how he saw defense, how he progressed, how his processing worked."
If the Browns decide to bypass the top two QBs, which is hard to believe, the coach feels others in the class are worthy, too.
“This is a really good class from top all the way through,” Stefanski said. “There's really good players throughout this draft at that position. I could go through some other positions, but I'm impressed with the whole group.”
While Stefanski’s role in these quarterback draft evaluations is expanded, keep in mind that it is in Berry’s job description to have final say in personnel matters. Ultimately, he will make the final call.
“We work collaboratively,” Stefanski said. “This is an organizational decision in all these things, so I'll work very closely with Andrew, with our entire staff, in making these decisions.”
On other matters, Stefanski:
* Followed the corporate line on Myles Garrett’s trade request and insisted it isn’t affecting plans for the 2025 season.
“I think the world of Myles. I understand the business of football and I understand these things happen from time to time, but I expect Myles on our team this year, next year, the year after that and so on. He's part of the present, he's part of the future,” he said.
* Admitted that new offensive line coach Mike Bloomgren was recommended by former assistant and offensive line guru Bill Callahan.
* Said the team is redesigning its running system.
“We're putting in a system that's going to be certainly new to 2025 Cleveland Browns,” he said.
* Suppressed any reaction to the possibility of Nick Chubb not being a part of the team.
“You know, it goes back to this is the business of football. I think you guys know how I feel about Nick, so we'll let this thing play out,” he said.
* Disclosed that Watson is rehabbing from his second Achilles tendon surgery in the team’s headquarters.
“He's there every day right now. I get to see him, so he’s working very hard. Obviously the No. 1 thing for him is to get healthy,” he said.
* Revealed the Browns will not return to The Greenbrier Resort to start training camp, but said he is working on scheduling joint practices with two teams in preseason.