NFL free agency: A veteran option for Browns roster that shouldn’t be overlooked

Browns roster currently does not have a starting quarterback or high level veteran backup

It just so happened that the Cleveland Browns made some quarterback history in the past few years.

In the 2023 season, the Browns tied an NFL for most starting quarterbacks in a single season with five, tying the 1987 New England Patriots. This past season, Cleveland broke the record for the most starting QBs in consecutive seasons by starting four, thus making the new record of nine starters in two seasons.

Proud moments for the franchise no doubt.

When QB Deshaun Watson went down with an Achilles tear last year, this set in motion a new condition for the team. Jameis Winston is a free agent and won’t be re-signed having thrown eight interceptions in three games. Bailey Zappe had one start and may be retained to compete for QB3 but he is also a free agent. Drafted in the fifth round of the 2023 NFL draft, Dorian Thompson-Robinson (DTR) signed a four-year deal which means he is under contract through the 2026 season.

Going into the 2025 training camp, the QB room is currently: DTR. And he is not considered an NFL-starting caliber quarterback.

The Browns are devoid of a starting quarterback. And a backup. Yikes. That’s like your girlfriend broke up with you and your emergency fallback girlfriend got engaged.

What type of rabbit will Browns GM Andrew Berry pull out the hat for this situation?

It is almost a certainty that Berry will draft a young QB in this year’s draft. He has to. DTR either isn’t the answer, will never be the answer, or needs a lot of time to develop. In any regard, in 2025 he most likely won’t be the starter or the backup in the present future.

The thought process here is that Berry will sign a veteran who has plenty of NFL starts and draft a young buck who is more advanced and a year away from starting who can compete in training camp and win the backup spot.

Rookie signal callers start all the time. Russell Wilson was drafted in the third round even though the Seattle Seahawks had signed Matt Flynn to a huge three-year deal worth $20.5 million as a free agent to be their starter. After the smoke cleared in training camp, it was Wilson who started Week 1 and Flynn was subsequently traded away after zero starts.

Which quarterback will Berry draft this year?

In Round 1 at the top of the draft, it has been rumored that the Tennessee Titans, holder of the first overall pick, are enamored with QB Cam Ward of the University of Miami. If for some reason they select another player, then Ward to the Browns could be the pick.

If you research draft sites and their Big Boards, not all of them have Shedeur Sanders in the first round at all or at the back end of Round 1. However, Berry may be in love with him and select him with the second pick.

If not, names that would make sense for Cleveland include:

1. Round 2, pick #33: Colorado; Jaxson Dart (6’-2”, 225 pounds) – Ole Miss
2. Round 3, pick #67: Dillon Gabriel (6’-0”, 200 pounds) – Oregon
3. Round 3, pick #94: Jalen Milroe (6’2”, 225 pounds) – Alabama
4. Round 4, pick #103: Will Howard (6’-4”, 235 pounds) – Ohio State; Riley Leonard (6’-4”, 216 pounds) – Notre Dame
5. Round 5, pick #165: Kurtis Rourke (6’-5”, 223 pounds) – Indiana
6. Round 6, pick #181: Tyler Shough (6’-5”, 225 pounds) – Louisville

First off though, the veteran

Quite a few names have been swirling around the pot, and a few just might be appealing to Berry.

Aaron Rodgers has the largest pedigree and is a first-ballot Hall of Famer. Yes? No? Maybe? Rodgers has to be the top QB on the free-agent list.

Next up is Sam Darnold if the Minnesota Vikings decide not to re-sign him. And they just may keep him. After Darnold is Justin Fields, the backup QB with the Pittsburgh Steelers. Wilson is next followed by Jameis Winston.

These are the five top free-agent quarterbacks on the market this year.

Now, Kirk Cousins may be released from the Atlanta Falcons which would enable him to replace a name on this list. Daniel Jones has been a possibility. And the Los Angeles Rams just might be interested in trading Matthew Stafford.

But here and now, let’s offer yet another guy. Someone already familiar to Browns fans. Coaches, too. Plus, the front office. A quarterback that has a lot of experience, has quite a few NFL starts, has been successful as a starting QB in this league, and is available.

First though, a bit of an introduction.

This seasoned veteran has 12 years of experience. He is 6’-1” tall and weighs 215 pounds. He throws right. He has 66 NFL starts and has played in 80 games.

This quarterback still owns eight NCAA records including Most Career Passing Yards with 19,217 and Most Career Passing Touchdowns with 155. He is the only college quarterback to ever eclipse the 5,000-yard passing yardage threshold in three different seasons. He won the Sammy Baugh Trophy twice and was named the Conference USA Most Valuable Player twice.

Since he has been employed in the NFL, he has passed for 15,175 yards, tossed 79 TDs with 51 picks, has a career completion percentage of 62.3%, and has a career QB rating of 84.6. He has been sacked 131 times. He has 150 rushes for 451 yards and added six scores as a runner.

He spent all of 2024 on IR after dealing with a painful foot injury that prevented him from operating at his normal capacity. He had injured his foot in his team’s final preseason game against the Rams with the final cutdown day just days away and the season opener one week ahead.

This player has leadership abilities, he has toughness and intelligence. He is also an unrestricted free agent.

Casey Austin Keenum.

What he brings to Cleveland

Keenum is undefeated as a Browns starting quarterback. Yep: 2-0-0.

With Keenum being on IR all of last year, he is fresh despite being 37 years old. Not only has Keenum been in Kevin Stefanski’s system while with the Browns, but the two were together in that magical season with the Minnesota Vikings back in 2017. Remember the home playoff game against the New Orleans Saints where the Saints cornerback whiffed on the tackle? That was a Keenum throw. And another Vikings win.

That year, Minnesota finished 13-3-0 and captured the 2017 NFC North Division crown while earning a first-round bye in the playoffs. In the divisional round, the Vikings beat New Orleans 29-24 with 10 seconds remaining. That game has been coined the “Minneapolis Miracle.”

During that 13-win season, Keenum completed 325 throws on 481 completions for 3,547 yards while tossing 22 touchdowns against just seven interceptions, and ended the year with a 67.6 completion percentage and a 98.3 QB rating. Stefanski was Minnesota’s QB coach that year and would be promoted to their OC for the next two seasons.

Keenum is the answer to the Browns’ need for a starting quarterback.

And he could remain the starter and groom whichever young buck Berry drafts this year until that player is ready.

Last year with the Houston Texans, Keenum’s final year cost against the cap was $3.29 million. That is cheap. Back in 2020, he had inked a three-year, $18 million deal with the Browns to be Baker Mayfield’s backup. Signing him to a similar contract should be about right and would become a salary cap-friendly agreement that won’t hurt Cleveland’s cap situation.

There are those who believe if the Browns had given Keenum the reins to the offense when Mayfield was injured in the playoff year of 2020, that Mayfield would have returned the next season 100% and still be Cleveland’s quarterback thus eliminating sending all those valuable draft picks to the Houston Texans in the Watson trade.

Keenum is a coach’s kid. He is a natural teacher. His leadership and mentorship abilities would fit right in with grooming the new quarterback and bring him along on a gradual trajectory instead of being thrown to the wolves like a lot of young quarterbacks are in today’s NFL. That is what hurt Sam Darnold when he entered the league and now has finally blossomed into a respectable player instead of being a total bust. It just took experience.

The position of quarterback takes time. The NFL is so many levels above the college game and everything comes at you harder and faster. Playbooks are enormous.

Take a deeper look at the top free-agent quarterbacks this year.

Aaron Rodgers has had an astounding career – just not in the last two seasons. For all the right reasons, Rodgers would most likely not work out in Cleveland.

Russell Wilson could remain in Pittsburgh.

Winston is an exciting player to watch and the Browns would score 30+ points per game like clockwork as Winston’s total yards would not just exceed 300 yards but top 400 and almost eclipse 500. He has always had this one bad habit: he throws too many passes to the other team at the worst possible time of the drive.

Sam Darnold has had one good season. Period. If that appeals to Berry, then it does.

Fields just may be the Browns’ answer and has a lot of potential. One question: If he is so good, why didn’t he start for Pittsburgh this past year? That may be cause for concern.

Keenum would be the Browns’ answer for their next starting quarterback. The new kid Berry drafts would become the backup, and DTR and Zappe or another name not yet on the roster can fight it out for QB3.

It just makes sense. Sign Keenum to a two-year deal for cheap and let him lead the offense until the the new kid would be ready to take over.