Desperate times call for desperate measures, and in the case of the Cleveland Browns … we could see some Hail Mary type of action when it comes to personnel in 2025.
The most high profile of those could be trying to stake a claim to their own reclamation project with a former first round quarterback, just like the Tampa Bay Buccaneers have done with Baker Mayfield the last 2 seasons and what the Minnesota Vikings did with Sam Darnold in 2024.
Mayfield was the No. 1 overall pick in the 2018 NFL draft and ended up shipped out of Cleveland in 2022 in favor of Deshaun Watson. Darnold was the No. 3 pick in 2018 and flamed out with the New York Jets before making his first Pro Bowl in 2024 with his fourth team in 5 seasons.
Heavy.com’s Max Dible thinks the player the Browns might turn to as the “perfect fit” for a reclamation project could be Denver Broncos backup quarterback Zach Wilson.
Wilson was the No. 2 overall pick in 2021 with the Jets and was traded to the Broncos in April 2024, where he has reclaimed his NFL career in 1 season as a backup to rookie Bo Nix and under the tutelage of head coach Sean Payton.
Most importantly for the Browns, like Mayfield and Darnold before him, Wilson won’t be very expensive. That’s going to be key for a team who still owes Watson $92 million over the next 2 seasons — $92 million to a player who is not only been one of the NFL’s worsts quarterbacks since arriving in Cleveland but who will be coming off a torn Achilles tendon in 2025.
“Wilson made $35 million on his rookie deal, though that expires when the season does,” Dible wrote on December 30. “While Darnold had a decent year with the San Francisco 49ers as a backup in 2023, which helped up his salary to $10 million this season, Wilson should come even cheaper.”
How Wilson Reclaimed NFL Career in Denver
Had the Broncos not traded a 2024 sixth round pick in exchange for Wilson and a 2024 seventh round pick, there’s a good chance the former BYU star may have been out of the league entirely.
Instead, Wilson seems on track to get another chance as a starter who serves as a placeholder for a high draft pick or at least as a decently-paid backup. Wilson has yet to play in a game this season and has been the Broncos’ emergency third quarterback all behind Nix and veteran Jarrett Stidham for all 16 games so far.
The Broncos have already clinched their first winning seasons since 2016 and can clinch their first playoff appearance since 2015 with a win in the regular-season finale against the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 18.
Cleveland Browns Bottomed Out in 2024
The Browns are 3-13 headed into the regular-season finale against the Baltimore Ravens and their struggles can be largely tied to quarterback play, where backups Jameis Winston, Dorian Thompson-Robinson and Bailey Zappe have formed a triumvirate of incompetence in Watson’s absence that doesn’t seem to give a cabbage about winning games.
While a lot of names might get thrown around as the worst quarterback in the NFL this year, including Watson, it’s Thompson-Robinson who might actually take the crown.
In 6 games in 2024, including going 0-2 in 2 starts, Thompson-Robinson is 59-of-115 passing for 427 yards, no interceptions and 6 touchdowns with a QB rating of 18.9.
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Broncos’ $35 Million Backup QB Called ‘Perfect Fit’ in AFC North