The Cleveland Browns need a quarterback. That same statement has been true almost every season since the team re-entered the league in 1999.
Since then, 40 signal callers have been under center for the Browns, including 14 since 2017. Last season alone, four quarterbacks started games for the Browns a season after five different names were throwing passes in Cleveland.
With the news of Deshaun Watson's second Achilles tear in three months back in January, the Browns will need to find a starter for 2025. Some would say even if Watson wasn't injured again, Cleveland should've been looking for his replacement.
The Browns own the No. 2 overall pick in April's NFL Draft, but many are unsure what Cleveland will do after Myles Garrett demanded a trade and the quarterback draft class isn't exactly full of future Hall of Famers.
The Browns might go with a stopgap veteran signal-caller next season, and Bleacher Report's Kristopher Knox thinks they're a good fit for a trade with the Atlanta Falcons for Kirk Cousins.
"A four-time Pro Bowler, Cousins could still help a team in need of a starting quarterback—Atlanta is no longer one, as it is poised to turn the offense over to Michael Penix Jr," Knox said. "However... a trade could get complicated. Atlanta would have to eat $37.5 million in dead money to trade Cousins, and it might also have to agree to pay a large chunk of next year's $27.6 base salary. The Falcons would also have to send Cousins to a preferred destination since his contract includes a full no-trade clause.
"If all that transpires, Cleveland could be an ideal landing spot for the 36-year-old. The Browns need a QB, and Kevin Stefanski coached Cousins for two years with the Minnesota Vikings."
It's a weird suggestion based on what the Browns have dealt with the past couple of seasons with Watson. Poor performance and injuries have defined the Cleveland quarterback position, and dipping toes into the Kirk Cousins waters seems like repeating recent mistakes.
But the Browns could be desperate. And at that point, anything goes.
