The Cleveland Browns have a choice to make between trying to compete in 2025 or ripping up the blueprint and starting over, and either path will begin with their next choice of quarterback.
Cleveland owns the No. 2 pick in the upcoming NFL draft and may select a QB in that spot. In fact, it’s possible the Tennessee Titans will pass on a signal-caller at No. 1, which would mean the Browns would have their choice of either Cam Ward of Miami or Shedeur Sanders of Colorado.
But several analysts — including Kevin Clark of ESPN — have linked Cleveland to a trade for Atlanta Falcons quarterback Kirk Cousins, or to signing him to a value deal in free agency if Atlanta cuts him.
“I immediately made the connection between the Browns and Kirk Cousins. Kevin Stefanski, the fact that they could get [Cousins] and then they don’t have to take a quarterback with the second pick,” Clark said on last week’s edition of “The Mina Kimes Show Featuring Lenny” podcast. “And then I thought, again, job protection: If Kirk Cousins goes to the Browns, and they go 5-12, doesn’t everybody get fired?”
“Yeah,” Kimes responded.
“If they draft Shedeur Sanders, and they go 5-12, don’t we have to give them at least two more years to figure it out?” Clark continued.
“At least some of them. Who knows?” Kimes added. “But I think that’s correct. It’s a lot riskier for Stefanski.”
“It’s a lot riskier for an injured Kirk Cousins to be the end of the project in Cleveland rather than resetting the timeline,” Clark said. “Again, this is not specific to these folks [with the Browns], this is specific to the league — that the No. 1 need is for everybody in charge to pay their mortgage.”
Browns May Face Decision Between Cam Ward, Shedeur Sanders
GettyMiami Hurricanes quarterback Cam Ward.
Considering those factors, and others, Kimes stated with a meaningful amount of certainty that she believes the Browns will take a quarterback with the second pick. She added, with a little less certainty but still decisively, that she expects the Titans may go with a higher-rated player at another position and consider a bridge contract for a veteran like Aaron Rodgers this offseason.
The question then becomes, which rookie prospect will the Browns choose? Kimes believes Ward has the higher ceiling. That said, Sanders has also impressed several NFL teams.
“[Sanders] doesn’t have dynamic physical traits, but he’s mobile, accurate, has a good arm and displayed important intangibles such as leadership, poise and the ability to navigate adversity during his time at Jackson State and Colorado,” Tashan Reed and Vic Tafur of The Athletic wrote on February 20.
Browns’ Call at QB Will Impact Other Offseason Decisions
Going with Ward or Sanders will indicate that the Browns are pressing the reset button, which perhaps wouldn’t be the case were they to acquire Cousins, who has amassed nearly 43,000 passing yards and 288 TDs in his 13-year career.
That decision could also have a domino effect on how Cleveland handles the rest of its offseason, namely what it decides to do about the trade request from former Defensive Player of the Year and Myles Garrett.
If the Browns deal Garrett for something like two first-rounders, that could set them up to address several other positions of need with young and inexpensive rookie talent over the next couple of drafts. However, moving in that direction could also lead other players — like cornerback Denzel Ward — to seek trades moving them out of Cleveland as they approach, or play out, their primes.
