Cleveland Browns Cannot Let Others Dictate Quarterback Market

It is too early to officially say who will be the Cleveland Browns starting quarterback. If they are truly wanting to add to the position, they better do what it takes to get their guy rather than settling for those that other teams don’t want.

Every NFL team now has their head coach and general manager in place. In less than a month, the 2017 NFL Combine will be here and before we know it the 2017 NFL Draft will be the focus of attention. So, what does all of that mean for the Cleveland Browns and their QB situation? A lot.

The Browns could be content on relying on Robert Griffin III and/or Cody Kessler for 2017, but let’s assume they are not. Drafting a mid round signal caller after taking Kessler is not the route to go, so if they add another quarterback it will be via a trade or one selected no later than the second round.

Regardless of how they go about adding to the position, a draft pick(s) will be used on what hopes to be their franchise quarterback. With Browns head coach Hue Jackson heading into his second season, the franchise is in a better spot in finding that player than in previous years.

However, Cleveland’s poor choices over the years at the quarterback cannot be ignored.

With many teams in need of a quarterback, the Browns will have plenty of competition to land their guy. Among those quarterback-needy teams are the New York Jets, San Francisco 49ers, and Chicago Bears. Both the 49ers and the Bears could go either route in acquiring a quarterback too and both also are also selecting in the top three in the draft.

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More than likely, the Jets will be sticking with Ryan Fitzpatrick or will hands the reigns to former Penn State quarterback Christian Hackenberg assuming they can’t get a QB like Clemson’s Deshaun Watson.

Other teams eventually could come into the picture that may end up with one of Cleveland’s targeted quarterbacks. Chicago’s quarterback situation is a mess and their era with Jay Cutler appears to have ran its course. It should be only a matter of time before Chicago moves on from him.

As far San Fran goes, Kyle Shanahan is now their new head coach. When he was with the Browns as their offensive coordinator, Shanahan wanted the team to draft Oakland Raiders’ Derek Carr and New England Patriots’ Jimmy Garoppolo in 2014. As we know, the Browns traded up to take a quarterback that year but it was for Johnny Manziel.

If Cleveland really wants to add a quarterback like Garoppolo, the Browns must step up to the plate. Otherwise, if Shanahan gets his way, Garoppolo would be his new quarterback in Cali.

Cleveland has so much money available to spend on a long-term deal for the Pats backup quarterback. To get to that point though, the Browns will also have to give up multiple draft picks.

They risked picks in the past and continued to come up short. Yet Garoppolo could be that quarterback Browns fans have been waiting for.

Now, what if the Browns prefer to go the rookie route again? One popular choice by many is North Carolina’s Mitch Trubisky. The former UNC product has often been projected to the 49ers, but he could be a fit the Browns, Bears, and others as well.