According to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, the Browns are expected to try to add a veteran quarterback to their roster this offseason.
Some options on the radar for the team include Falcons QB Kirk Cousins, Vikings QB Daniel Jones and Chiefs QB Carson Wentz.
All three would be affordable options for the Browns who still must carry QB Deshaun Watson‘s fully-guaranteed salary. Watson tore his Achilles for the second time and could miss most or all of the 2025 season, per ESPN’s Dan Graziano.
Cousins would be available for the veteran minimum if the Falcons release him, though Fowler notes that’s not necessarily a sure thing. Jones and Wentz would be available on backup salaries most likely.
Graziano says the sense coming out of the Combine is the Browns will draft whichever top quarterback is available to them with the No. 2 pick. This echoes other reporting around the Browns’ plans at quarterback this offseason.
Cousins, 36, is a former fourth-round pick of Washington back in 2012. He played out the final year of his rookie contract before being franchised in back-to-back seasons.
Cousins later departed in free agency for a three-year, $84 million contract with the Vikings. He was entering the final year of his contract in 2020 when he agreed to a two-year, $66 million contract extension. In 2021, he agreed to a new one-year, $35 million contract extension that was also fully guaranteed.
He was in the final year of that deal in 2023 and was testing the market as an unrestricted free agent when signing with the Falcons this offseason. He inked a four-year, $180 million contract with $100 million guaranteed.
In 2024, Cousins appeared in 14 games for the Falcons and completed 66.9 percent of his passes for 3,508 yards, 18 touchdowns and 16 interceptions.
Jones, 27, was selected by the Giants with the No. 6 overall pick out of Duke in the 2019 NFL Draft. He finished the final year of his four-year, $25,664,056 rookie contract that included a $16,684,768 signing bonus.
The Giants declined Jones’ fifth-year option entering the 2022 season. After playing out his deal, he signed a four-year, $160 million extension with the team in 2023.
Jones was granted his release by the Giants after being benched and was later signed to the Vikings’ practice squad.
In 2024, Jones appeared in 10 games for the Giants and completed 63.3 percent of his passes for 2,070 yards, eight touchdowns and seven interceptions. He added 67 rush attempts for 265 yards and two touchdowns.
Wentz, 32, is a former first-round pick of the Eagles back in 2016. He was entering the final year of his four-year, $26.7 million rookie contract that included a $16.7 million signing bonus when the Eagles picked up his fifth-year option that would have cost them $22.78 million for the 2020 season.
The Eagles signed Wentz to a four-year, $128 million extension going into the 2019 season that included $107 million in guarantees. However, Philadelphia opted to trade Wentz to the Colts for first- and third-round picks.
Wentz lasted just one year with the Colts before he was traded to the Commanders. Washington opted to release Wentz after just a year and he later caught on with the Rams as a backup.
The Chiefs signed Wentz to a one-year deal ahead of the 2024 season.
In 2024, Wentz appeared in three games for the Chiefs and made one start. He completed 12 of 19 pass attempts for 118 yards, no touchdowns and no interceptions.
We’ll have more on the Browns’ plans at quarterback as the news is available.
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