If these quarterback needy teams try to snag him, Cleveland will have great options in the draft.

NFC Divisional Playoffs: Los Angeles Rams v Philadelphia Eagles | Brandon Sloter/GettyImages

Quarterbacks are very difficult to come by these days.

The Cleveland Browns are becoming distinctly aware of that fact this offseason, especially as their entire quarterback room consisting of Deshaun Watson, Jameis Winston, Dorian Thompson-Robinson, and Bailey Zappe presented themselves as non-answers to the glaring positional hole in 2024.

For that reason, the Browns will be hunting for yet another signal caller this offseason, adding to a long list of hopeful saviors to their offensive woes. They have a few avenues to try to go down to address that hole, with the NFL draft being the cheapest option for the team as they continue to be financially strapped.

However, there are a few other teams vying for a QB in the draft in addition to the Browns. The New York Giants, Las Vegas Raiders, and Tennessee Titans are just a few of the teams also seeking to take a quarterback in this year’s draft, but a new rumor about their alleged interest in trading for Matthew Stafford might increase Cleveland’s options at No. 2 overall for a quarterback.

Latest rumors about Matthew Stafford trade interest

According to The Athletic’s senior NFL reporter Dianna Russini, Stafford’s star has risen in recent weeks since the Los Angeles Rams officially gave the 37 year old permission to test his value on the market this offseason. The two teams that have reportedly had “notable” interest in him are the Giants and Raiders.

“Teams are anticipating the Rams will now be driving up the asking price if they decide to move him,” added Russini in her post to Twitter/X on Wednesday.

As we’ve discussed in recent days about the Browns’ flexibility – or lack thereof – on the free agent and trade market this offseason, going for quarterbacks like Stafford or Kirk Cousins is basically impossible given the teams’ cap situation. They’re too in the red to go for either signal caller, so they need to bet big on Cam Ward or Shedeur Sanders in the draft at quarterback, instead.

That’s why the Raiders and Giants’ interest in Stafford is significant. Those are two teams that would have likely wanted to trade up to the Browns’ spot in the draft in order to take either Ward or Sanders, but with their interest in trading for Stafford, they may not need to do that at all. That would remove competition for either of this draft’s top available quarterbacks.

This also hypothetically knocks Stafford off the board for the Browns. That’s for the best, and almost saving the team from themselves given previous reporting that they were also interested in the aged signal caller. Trading for Stafford as a bridge quarterback option as the asking price is just going up would make no sense for them as they seek to gain flexibility, not lose more of it.