As much as the team’s approach on its head coach and his staff has been a critical factor, as much importance as there is on next month’s free-agent strategy, and as fascinating and weighty as the decisions in April’s NFL draft will be, the one thing that the Cleveland Browns will have to do in the coming weeks that will most determine how things shake out for the team in the short and long terms is pick a quarterback. Any quarterback.

And it’s not a great time to be doing that. The NFL draft is not stocked with great choices, with Fernando Mendoza likely going No. 1 and no other QBs on the board truly worthy of a first-round pick. The best trade option is likely Mac Jones, the light-armed QB with a 25-32 career record. In free agency, Daniel Jones will almost certainly return to the Colts and Malik Willis, with six career starts, is the wild card.

But maybe, just maybe, there is a wildcard in all this: Former Saints quarterback Derek Carr, who abruptly retired last year.

Browns Could Be ‘Intrigued’ by Derek Carr

Could the Browns pursue and land Carr? For a team that can’t afford to turn up its nose at any option, maybe. Carr is a four-time Pro Bowl quarterback who has 169 starts under his belt (77-92) and walked away after going 5-5 with an average of 214.0 yards per game, and a 101.0 quarterback rating in 2024.

Carr retired because of a shoulder injury, walking away from the remainder of the four-year, $150 million contract he’d signed in New Orleans.  But he reportedly is eyeing a comeback, and the Browns (you might have heard) need a quarterback.

Cleveland.com Browns beat reporter Mary Kay Cabot noted this week that there is plenty of intrigue around Carr, including in Cleveland. “I would be somewhat intrigued by Derek Carr,” she said on “The Orange and Brown Talk” podcast. “You called him an old guy but he is now young in terms of quarterback years in terms of the NFL. He is 34. I don’t think that is bad at all.

“It’s also now, in modern day quarterback years, it’s not old. You can still get out there and play at the age of 35. I would be somewhat intrigued by that one.”

Derek Carr Looking for a Super Bowl Opportunity?

Again, the Browns should be intrigued by all their quarterback options.

But consider Carr a longshot, for multiple reasons. For one thing, he has confirmed he would come back, but only for a shot at a Super Bowl, and that probably has him thinking Vikings a lot more than he’s thinking Browns. Cleveland does have the defense for a Super Bowl, but it’s a roster packed with offensive holes.

There’s also money. It’s doubtful that Carr is going to want to come back for a minimum salary, and the Browns already have almost $50 million invested in quarterbacks. Carr could command a Sam Darnold-type payout, three years and $100 million, if he is committed to a return.

Browns Not Looking for Old QBs Again

Finally, there is the matter of age. Carr is not necessarily old, but the Browns would prefer not to go back to the Joe Flacco plug-and-play veteran model.

Said Cabot: “Andrew Berry did say the last time we talked to him in the sidebar interview after Todd Monken’s introductory press conference, he basically said, we’re not going to be going out and signing a lot of older guys. So we need to keep that in mind.

“I don’t think they’re going to do that. They already have someone in that almost age bracket, that 30-something age bracket, and that is Deshaun Watson. I think if they are going to go outside of the building, they are either going to draft a quarterback that, we just don’t know what they’re thinking, or find someone in the Malik Willis age bracket.”