Browns' Hoard of Backup QBs Creates Trade Opportunities This Preseason

After struggling with quarterback depth last season following the season-ending injury to Deshaun Watson, the Cleveland Browns are trying not to make the same mistake again. Therefore, they are taking the backup QB competition very seriously. After they signed Jameis Winston and Tyler Huntley in free agency, the Browns just added Jacob Sirmon out of Northern Colorado.

Considering that Cleveland also still has Dorian Thompson-Robinson on the roster, that makes five signal-callers ahead of training camp. This should certainly open up possibilities for trades before the start of the regular season.

Browns QB Competition Creates Potential Trade Opportunities

Sirmon is more of an unknown flyer, but the other three quarterbacks behind Deshaun Watson could easily be QB2 on plenty of teams. It's not difficult to see a QB-needy team trading for one of them ahead of the season, especially if one of their quarterbacks suffers an injury during the camp.

The same situation occurred last offseason for the Browns. The Browns had signed Joshua Dobbs in free agency. After spending preseason in Cleveland, Dobbs was traded to the Arizona Cardinals after Kyler Murray went down with an injury. The Browns received a fifth-round pick in the 2024 NFL Draft in the process.

Jameis Winston would certainly have similar if not more value in a potential trade. Huntley has a decent amount of experience for a young backup quarterback and could easily justify a late-round draft pick in a potential trade. Thompson-Robinson's trade value is harder to evaluate as he really struggled in his three starts as a rookie, but he was a promising mid-round draft pick only a year ago.

It's hard to see the Browns starting the season with five quarterbacks on the final roster. Whether through a trade or a cut, Cleveland will almost certainly make more moves regarding their QB rotation.

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