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If you\u2019re a casual NFL fan and wonder why the Cleveland Browns have never played in a Super Bowl, their recent quarterback decisions might help explain it. Their trade of veteran Joe Flacco to the rival Cincinnati Bengals on Tuesday is yet another example.<\/p>\n
Flacco, an 18-year veteran and Super Bowl champion, was a team captain but was benched last week for rookie Dillion Gabriel, who made his first start in a close loss to the Minnesota Vikings. Gabriel is the 41st different quarterback to start a game for the Browns since 1999.<\/p>\n
That decision isn\u2019t out of the ordinary until you consider that the team is currently paying eight different quarterbacks a total of $41.6 million and only two of them, Gabriel and fellow rookie Shedeur Sanders, are on the active roster.<\/p>\n
Four of the eight players are still employed by the team. The two rookies, who make just over $2 million combined, are joined by fourth-year veteran Bailey Zappe, who is currently on the team\u2019s practice squad. Zappe\u2019s salary is $315,000.<\/p>\n
Disgraced former star Deshaun Watson is on the physically unable to perform list, recovering from a ruptured Achilles, but is present in team meetings. Watson faced multiple sexual misconduct allegations, an 11-game suspension by the league and dozens of civil lawsuits over\u00a0three years, though no criminal charges were filed.<\/p>\n
In addition to the scandals, Watson has played in only 19 games for the Browns due to injury, prompting team owner Jimmy Haslam to call the 2022 trade a \u201cbig swing and miss\u201d this summer. The 8-year veteran is making a fully guaranteed $35.9 million this season, and when asked on Wednesday if Watson might see playing time this season, head coach Kevin Stefanski deflected.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s been a great teammate from the jump, like I\u2019ve told you guys in every quarterback meeting and all those guys when you\u2019re in that room, everybody\u2019s preparing, working hard, working together.\u201d Stefanski said. \u201cSo, he\u2019s doing a great job there.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Browns would have incurred a $172.3 million salary cap hit had they released Watson during the offseason.<\/p>\n
The Browns are also still paying four quarterbacks, three of whom play for other teams. Jameis Winston is owed $2.2 million and signed with the New York Giants over the summer. The team traded Kenny Pickett to the Raiders, but still owes him $8000. Sending Flacco to the Bengals still costs the Browns $999,000, and they owe current free agent Dorian Thompson-Robinson $171,000. Add it all up, and that\u2019s nearly $3.4 million of what the NFL calls \u201cdead cap money.\u201d<\/p>\n
The headliner in all of this, however, remains Shedeur Sanders. Stefanski said he hadn\u2019t made up his mind yet when asked if Sanders would be the main backup for Sunday\u2019s game against the Pittsburgh Steelers.<\/p>\n
Do the Browns have their future quarterback on the roster, or will Sanders be starter number 42 in the near future? If the team knows, they\u2019re not saying. Browns offensive coordinator Tommy Rees said on Thursday that Coach Prime\u2019s son has improved but is still a work in progress.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor Shadeur, we\u2019re looking for constant improvement throughout the season, and he\u2019s done that.\u201d Rees said. \u201cI think you see the growth and the familiarity of the offense and what we\u2019re asking of those guys. You know, I think the level of preparation it takes week to week, when you\u2019re putting a new game plan together, that\u2019s a learning curve for all rookies. So, I think he\u2019s gotten more used to that, gotten up to speed, doing a nice job.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sanders said he\u2019s been ready to play since he arrived in camp, but knows being the main backup is a coach\u2019s decision.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou tend to get a bit more excited when you can see a light at the end of the tunnel.\u201d Sanders said on Thursday.<\/p>\n
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The Cleveland Browns are paying 8 different quarterbacks a total of $41.6 million and only two of them are on the active roster.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":35037,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-35036","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cleveland-browns"],"yoast_head":"\n