Snubbed by the Browns in the 2016 draft, when he was still good, Carson Wentz has emerged as one of three new names on our Veteran Quarterback Tracker 2.0.
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Tony Grossi is a Cleveland Browns analyst for TheLandOnDemand.com and 850 ESPN Cleveland. He has covered the Browns since 1984.
When Browns GM Andrew Berry spoke on January 6 about the veteran quarterback market in 2025, he said, “There are probably also opportunities that we don’t see today that will pop up over the next several months. So, we’ll be flexible in that regard.”
Sure enough, a new name will be added to the marketplace when the Las Vegas Raiders reportedly release Gardner Minshew prior to the start of the new NFL business season on March 12.
Not excited? Neither were the Raiders. They dumped him after one season and $15 million guaranteed. For their money, the Raiders received two victories, nine touchdowns and 10 interceptions in nine starts by Minshew.
These are the murky waters in which the Browns will be swimming come next week.
Prior to March 12, the Browns are expected to do a fourth consecutive salary-to-bonus conversion of Deshaun Watson’s contract, which will reduce his $72.9 million cap number to roughly $39.3 million and create about $33.5 million in cap room.
Still, with Watson counting $39.3 million on the cap even without playing, and the quarterback taken at No. 2 overall estimated to count $7.1 million per Overthecap.com, it leaves little for the Browns to devote to their so-called bridge quarterback. That’s why they can’t be expected to chase, say, Sam Darnold, who will be the highest-priced quarterback in free agency.
Our second Browns Veteran Quarterback Tracker lists 10 quarterbacks and their odds on a 100-point overall basis.
This week’s quarterbacks in alphabetical order are:
Jacoby Brissett, Kirk Cousins, Justin Fields, Joe Flacco, Jimmy Garoppolo, Daniel Jones, Marchus Mariota, Gardner Minshew, Carson Wentz and Jameis Winston.
How we rank them, based on probability:
1. Kirk Cousins (age 36), 25 points.
Cousins’ odds dropped by 5 points from our first tracker based on increased belief that the Falcons might not make him available, after all. If he remains on Atlanta’s roster on March 17, Cousins would be guaranteed $37.5 million to serve as Michael Penix’s backup. If they let him go, Atlanta remains on the hook for $27.5 million and Cousins could sign with a new team for the NFL minimum of $1.255 million. That would make Cousins the cheapest of all the QBs listed, which is enough to secure him the No. 1 spot on this list.
2. Daniel Jones (27), 23 points.
The No. 6 overall pick of the 2021 draft has the highest ceiling on this list. His odds increased by one point after indications that the Vikings will attempt to re-sign Darnold. Jones finished the 2024 season on Minnesota’s active roster and appears ready to embark on a fresh start after four mostly miserable seasons with the Giants.
3. Joe Flacco (40), 15 points.
If you polled the Browns locker room, Flacco would be a runaway winner of this contest. Does that matter to Browns’ management? Probably not; he would’ve been re-signed in 2024 if it did. The hero of the Browns’ 2023 playoff season would like to return for a second act. The only negative is he might not be as effective over a 17-game campaign. But if the Browns nail their choice in the draft, Flacco could ease into a mentorship role whenever the team sees fit.
4. Carson Wentz (32), 10 points.
ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler was the first to report that Wentz indeed is on the Browns’ radar. Why? Nobody can figure. Wentz was snubbed by the Sashi Brown-Paul DePodesta-Andrew Berry regime in the 2016 draft because they didn’t consider him a potential top 20 NFL quarterback. Nine years later, his journeyman career has seen him sign with five different teams the last five seasons.
5. Jimmy Garoppolo (33), 9 points.
The Browns never liked Garoppolo enough to trade for or sign him when he was in his prime. Yet Garoppolo appealed to Bill Belichick, Kyle Shanahan and Sean McVay. Who’s right and who’s wrong?
6. Gardner Minshew (28), 6 points.
Despite a decent TD-to-INT ratio of 68-34, Minshew has produced only one winning season (7-6) in six years with four teams. But he is appealingly scrappy and has enough juice in his legs to avoid sacks. He is the prototypical bridge QB at this stage of his career.
7. Jacoby Brissett (32), 5 points.
His next team will be his sixth NFL stop in the last six seasons. Extremely likeable, he’s never had a winning season in nine years overall. He serves as his own agent.
8. Marcus Mariota (31), 4 points.
He has a streak of four teams in four years and is weighing the merits of leaving Super Bowl-contender Washington as Jayden Daniels’ seldom-used backup. He has been linked to the Jets and the Raiders, who hired his former college coach, Chip Kelly, as offensive coordinator.
9. Justin Fields (26), 2 points.
He reportedly is the QB the Steelers want to re-sign, which would put Russell Wilson in the free agent market. The 11th overall pick of the 2021 draft is eternally intriguing because of his athletic attributes.
10. Jameis Winston (31), 1 point.
When discussing the Browns’ future QB plans, Winston has never been mentioned by Berry or coach Kevin Stefanski. Not a single time has his name been uttered in six total press availabilities of the two top football decision-makers. Either they want to surprise everybody with a return engagement or he is not being considered. Still … kind of strange.