Factory Of Sadness
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All 38 Cleveland Browns Starting Quarterbacks Since 1999, Ranked Worst to Best

The good, the bad and the ugly all show up on the rankings of all 38 quarterbacks to have started a game for the Cleveland Browns since the franchise returned for the 1999 season.

By Jason Schandl

Baker Mayfield and the other 37 quarterbacks the Browns have had since 1999, ranked.
Baker Mayfield and the other 37 quarterbacks the Browns have had since 1999, ranked. / Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports
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20. Ty Detmer

Ty Detmer was brought to Cleveland to mentor Tim Couch. I'm not going to count Couch's play against Detmer, but Detmer's numbers really speak for themselves.

He got a ceremonial Week 1 start in an era where teams generally didn't like to start their rookie QBs, but fans were having none of that nonsense after Detmer went 6-of-13 for 52 yards with no IDs and 1 pick in a 43-0 loss to the Steelers. 

Detmer did redeem himself after Couch got hurt in Week 15 though, finishing the season with a pair of 150-plus yard games with 1 touchdown in each and no interceptions. They were both losses, but at least the losses weren’t entirely on Detmer.

19. Thad Lewis

It's hard to rank Thad Lewis because of the context of his lone start — a meaningless Week 17 loss that didn't earn him many more NFL looks.

But there are two reasons I've got him as high as I do:

First of all, it was a solid showing. He wasn't exactly airing it out, but he went 22-of-32 for 204 yards with 1 touchdown and 1 pick. That's good for a passer rating of 83.3.

And even though the game didn't mean much to the Browns, the Steelers played their starters. He wasn't just up against a bunch of second-stringers getting run to close out the year.

Lewis ended up signing with the Bills the following offseason, and we never really got a chance to see if he could keep up what he showed in that first start.

18. Nick Mullens

The middle of this list is where things get a little dry. Nick Mullens' lone start certainly wasn't comically bad like a Spergon Wynn, but it was also nothing to write home about. And it was just a lone, insignificant start.

Real peak "middle of the list" vibes.

Mullens went 20-of-30 for 147 yards with a touchdown and no picks in a 14-16 loss against the Las Vegas Raiders in Week 15 of the 2021 season.

The mediocre icing on the grocery store-bought cake? The result of that game moved both teams to 7-7 on the year. It doesn't get more middling than this.

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