The Cleveland Browns have been all over the map the past three years, going from a seven-win team in 2022 to a playoff participant following last season to now tied for the worst record in the NFL with one game remaining.
There are a few common denominators across that roller coaster run, though the most detrimental is arguably quarterback Deshaun Watson and his $230 million contract, which is fully guaranteed and runs for two more years.
Cleveland’s top priority this offseason should be to find a viable replacement for Watson. At the moment, the Browns own the No. 3 overall pick in the 2025 NFL draft, which could allow them to select either Shedeur Sanders of Colorado or Cam Ward of Miami — the two best QB prospects in this class — depending on how the first two selections shake out.
But if that doesn’t happen for whatever reason, Cleveland’s best play will be to find a Russell Wilson-type veteran that the franchise can ink on a league-minimum (or close to league-minimum) deal. The best option in that regard come March is almost certain to be Kirk Cousins of the Atlanta Falcons.
Atlanta inked Cousins to a four-year, $180 million contract ahead of the 2024 campaign but benched him a couple weeks back for rookie Michael Penix Jr. The Falcons will have to pay Cousins a $10 million roster bonus if they don’t cut him before March 17, and no team is going to trade for his $27.5 million base salary next season before then.
Cousins will be seeking a place to start and the Browns will be seeking a starting quarterback at value as a bridge to the future, assuming that the team can’t nab Sanders or Ward in the draft, which makes the two sides a perfect match.
NFL Insider Believes Browns Can Win AFC North With Kirk Cousins at QB
GettyAtlanta Falcons quarterback Kirk Cousins.
In that context, former NFL general manager and current analyst Mike Tannenbaum predicted on a recent episode of ESPN’s “First Take” that the Browns will not only land Cousins in free agency, but that the soon-to-be 37-year-old quarterback will lead them back to the playoffs in 2025.
“Kirk Cousins will lead the Cleveland Browns to the AFC North Division title,” Tannenbaum said on Wednesday, January 1. “To me this one’s really easy, because you reunite [Cousins] with [Browns head coach] Kevin Stefanski, they need a quarterback, they have a really good defense and if Kirk Cousins plays [his B game] or better, they win the division.”
Stefanski served as Cousins’ quarterbacks coach in Minnesota in 2018 and his offensive coordinator in 2019 before landing the head coaching job with the Browns in 2020, where he has won NFL Coach of the Year twice in his five-year tenure.
Cousins earned Pro Bowl honors for the second time in his career, and first of three times with the Vikings, under Stefanski’s system in 2019.
Deshaun Watson Likely to Remain on Browns Roster in 2025
GettyCleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson.
Watson will likely be a presence in the Browns’ locker room in 2025 regardless of whether the team tries to procure his replacement via the draft or free agency.
Cleveland announced plans to restructure the quarterback’s contract last week, which means he is almost certain to be on the roster in Week 1 of the 2025 campaign.
That said, most analysts believe that Watson’s days of starting for the Browns are over. He has played in just 19 total games over the past three seasons due to a suspension and two season-ending injuries. Watson is 9-10 as the starter over that run.
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Browns Predicted to Nab $180 Million QB on Value Deal, Win Division in 2025