Getty Anthony Brown is currently on the practice squad of the Baltimore Ravens.
Former Chicago Bears All-Pro center Olin Kreutz thinks his former team should pluck a talented young quarterback off the Baltimore Ravens‘ practice squad while starter Justin Fields deals with a shoulder injury.
Anthony Brown signed with the Ravens as an undrafted free agent after the 2022 draft, and he had a standout preseason running an offense similar to the one the Bears have incorporated for Fields.
Brown spent his first three years at Boston College before transferring to Oregon as a senior in 2021. In 14 games with the Ducks, the young QB completed 250 of 390 passes (64.1 completion percentage) for 2,989 yards, 18 touchdowns and seven interceptions, also rushing for 658 yards and nine scores on the ground.
A dual-threat like Fields, Kreutz thinks the Bears should poach Brown off Baltimore’s PS if they want to continue incorporating designed runs in their offense the way they do with Fields.
Kreutz May Have Something Here
The Bears have a perfectly serviceable backup quarterback on the roster in Trevor Siemian, who has 34 games (29 starts) of experience and a solid resumé, whereas Brown has zero regular season experience in the NFL.
The Bears also signed Siemian to a two-year, $4 million contract this year, so they’re not cutting him. But if Chicago wanted to get a look at Brown while Fields — who remains day-to-day with a left shoulder injury — recovers, the team could surely find a roster spot for the promising young QB.
The 24-year-old Brown showed a great deal of potential at Oregon. Here’s what Pro Football Network had to say about Brown leading up to the draft:
“Experienced signal-caller who is patient in the pocket, poised under the rush, and moves around the backfield to give himself a better view of the field. Sells ball fakes, throws the ball with a fluid over-the-top delivery, and spreads passes around to all of his weapons. Shows a lot of toughness on designed quarterback runs.”
There are negatives to his game, however. PFN also says he “rarely moves his head from the primary target,” and he has had a tendency to miss “wide-open receivers.”
That said, Brown had a solid preseason with the Ravens, and the flashes were there.
Anthony Brown Had Strong Preseason for Ravens in 2022
Brown completed 74.5% of his passes for 464 yards (9.9 yards per attempt), three touchdowns and an interception in the 2022 preseason. He earned a 81.3 overall grade from Pro Football Focus and an impressive 82.8 passing grade in his three appearances.
He had just one batted ball in that span, and his receivers dropped two passes, so his numbers could have been even higher. Brown also avoided getting sacked at all over the preseason, showing a keen ability to avoid oncoming pass rushers.
“I would say that I improved a lot, but it had nothing to do with me, aside from staying the course,” Brown said during the 2022 preseason, via 247 Sports. “[Quarterbacks] coach [James] Urban, [assistant quarterbacks] coach Kerry Dixon, [QB] Lamar [Jackson] and ‘Snoop’ [QB Tyler Huntley] have taught me a lot along the way, as far as picking up the speed of the game and stuff like that. We practice so hard that when we get into these games, it feels a lot slower, so that was a huge part of my development.”
Adding Brown at this point in the season would be a surprise move, but if Fields needs time to recover, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to snag a young QB of Brown’s ilk now, particularly because Chicago is in trouble if injury should befall Siemian.
Nathan Peterman is Chicago’s current practice squad QB, and there’s little doubt Brown has more potential. Snagging Brown now with the ultimate goal of being Fields’ backup of the future might be a sneakily clever move.