{"id":8670,"date":"2025-01-01T02:13:47","date_gmt":"2025-01-01T02:13:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=8670"},"modified":"2025-01-01T02:13:47","modified_gmt":"2025-01-01T02:13:47","slug":"breaking-browns-linked-to-4-time-pro-bowl-qb-in-effort-to-dump-deshaun-watson","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=8670","title":{"rendered":"BREAKING: Browns Linked to 4-Time Pro Bowl QB in Effort to Dump Deshaun Watson"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"post-featured-container-id\">\n<div id=\"post-featured\">\n<div>\n<figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/GettyImages-2179825804_8fa45a-e1735334912701.jpg?quality=65&amp;strip=all&amp;w=780\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 820px) 95vw, 780px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/GettyImages-2179825804_8fa45a-e1735334912701.jpg?quality=65&amp;strip=all&amp;w=780 780w, https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/GettyImages-2179825804_8fa45a-e1735334912701.jpg?quality=15&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1100 1100w, https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/GettyImages-2179825804_8fa45a-e1735334912701.jpg?quality=35&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1350 1350w\" alt=\"Browns Linked to 4-Time Pro Bowl QB in Effort to Dump Deshaun Watson\" width=\"780\" height=\"439\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p>Getty Images<\/p>\n<p>Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>The Cleveland Browns have tried to make it work with Deshaun Watson, but even despite a contract restructure last week that means he will probably begin next season on the roster, it\u2019s highly likely the franchise will start a new quarterback in 2025.<\/p>\n<p>Cleveland has risen through the ranks of the NFL\u2019s worst-performing teams to the No. 3 pick in the draft with just one game remaining. The Browns will probably remain in that slot as massive underdogs against the Baltimore Ravens in Week 18, though they could jump a spot or two depending on whether the New England Patriots and\/or Tennessee Titans have any interest in winning their final contests of the campaign.<\/p>\n<p>Should Cleveland remain in the third spot, there is a reasonable chance that the top two QBs in the draft \u2014 Shedeur Sanders of Colorado and Cam Ward of Miami \u2014 will already be off of the board by the time the Browns pick. If not, a swing on either player makes the most sense. If so, trading back and amassing assets could be the move.<\/p>\n<p>In any scenario where the Browns can\u2019t \u2014 or choose not \u2014 to draft Sanders or Ward, an inexpensive free agent option becomes essentially the only path forward. Bleacher Report\u2019s NFL Scouting Department suggested on Monday, December 30, that the franchise prepare a pitch for Atlanta Falcons quarterback Kirk Cousins.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf Cousins is cut, it will set up a situation like Russell Wilson had in his free agency,\u201d B\/R wrote. \u201cHe can essentially sign for the minimum, and it will only offset his payment coming from the Falcons. That\u2019s an ideal situation for a Browns team that would love to just have competency under center.\u201d<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h2>Browns Won\u2019t Trade for Kirk Cousins<\/h2>\n<div id=\"attachment_5223684\">\n<div>\n<figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Kirk-Cousins-2-e1734492327581.jpg?quality=65&amp;strip=all&amp;w=782\" alt=\"Browns Linked to 4-Time Pro Bowl QB in Effort to Dump Deshaun Watson\" width=\"782\" height=\"440\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-5223684\" data-lazy-load=\"\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-5223684\">GettyAtlanta Falcons quarterback Kirk Cousins.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>The Falcons are nearly certain to cut Cousins ahead of March 17, when the team owes him a $10 million roster bonus on the four-year, $180 million contract he signed ahead of the 2024 campaign.<\/p>\n<p>Atlanta will undoubtedly try to trade him, though that is now highly unlikely given that any team dealing for Cousins would have to pay him $27.5 million in 2025. By waiting to sign him in free agency, an organization like the Browns could probably ink Cousins for the league minimum or maybe a bit more, depending on what kind of market exists for his services after the first wave of signings.<\/p>\n<p>That market would undoubtedly be stronger if Cousins continued playing throughout the year the way he did at its beginning.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h2>Kirk Cousins Big Get for Browns on 1-Year Bridge Deal<\/h2>\n<div id=\"attachment_5223665\">\n<div>\n<figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/MixCollage-17-Dec-2024-09-05-PM-636-e1734491157690.jpg?quality=65&amp;strip=all&amp;w=782\" alt=\"Browns Linked to 4-Time Pro Bowl QB in Effort to Dump Deshaun Watson\" width=\"782\" height=\"439\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-5223665\" data-lazy-load=\"\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-5223665\">GettyQuarterback Kirk Cousins of the Atlanta Falcons.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>The QB tallied 17 TDs compared to 7 INTs through the first nine games of campaign, as the Falcons jumped out to a 6-3 record.<\/p>\n<p>However, Cousins fell off a cliff over the next five outings. He threw 1 TD compared to 9 INTs as the team went 1-4 over that stretch and fell behind the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the race for the NFC South Division and a home playoff game over Super Wildcard Weekend.<\/p>\n<p>The Falcons replaced Cousins with rookie QB Michael Penix Jr., who is now the future of the franchise, while Cousins is on his way out.<\/p>\n<p>That doesn\u2019t equate to a great situation for Cleveland. However, the Browns\u2019 roster is solid around the position, while Watson has been a nightmare on his $230 million deal that runs through 2026.<\/p>\n<p>Acquiring a competent QB at value is of critical importance for Cleveland\u2019s prospects in 2025, and if they can\u2019t do it by drafting a rookie, then signing a four-time Pro Bowler in Cousins to a contract worth just $1 or $2 million is a strong one-year bridge option.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Cleveland Browns make sense as a destination for Falcons QB Kirk Cousins if the team can&#8217;t land Shedeur Sanders or Cam Ward in the draft.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":8671,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8670","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cleveland-browns"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.7 - 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