Cleveland Browns: 10 greatest quarterbacks in team history

CLEVELAND – SEPTEMBER 28: Quarterback Tim Couch

10. Tim Couch

After almost two decades since he was taken No. 1 in the 1999 NFL Draft, Tim Couch is viewed as a sympathetic figure among most Browns fans.

In the short time after he left Cleveland, many saw Couch as a bust. Only lately have pundits, and fans alike, started to realize what Couch was up against when he quarterbacked Cleveland.

With an offensive line that might as well have been strung together with scotch tape and cardboard, Couch was constantly on the run.

When he was healthy, he guided the “new” Browns to their only playoff appearance since the team’s re-birth in 1999 during the 2002 season.

During that crazy campaign, Couch showed flashes of what could be. He posted an 8-6 record as a starter en route to the aforementioned playoff berth. He also threw 18 touchdown passes in just 14 starts.

Unfortunately, the UK product didn’t get to play in the Wild Card game against the Steelers, as an injury ended his season in the final game of the 2002 regular season.  Kelly Holcomb stepped up and threw for over 400 yards in the Browns’ playoff loss.

From that point on, injuries, and a quarterback controversy sunk Couch’s chances in Cleveland.

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His time here was brief, but Couch managed to throw 64 touchdowns from 1999-2003, which ranks seventh all-time in Browns’ history. His 11,131 passing yards are fifth on Cleveland’s all-time list.