Trading away Baker Mayfield did little to ease the Browns‘ woes at quarterback.
Cleveland still waits for any news on a potential Deshaun Watson suspension, several weeks after Watson and the NFL argued their case at a disciplinary hearing.
The decision is now in the hands of NFL Disciplinary Officer Sue Robinson, who requested post-hearing briefs from both sides to help make a decision.
Earlier this week, it was reported that the Browns expect Watson to be suspended for eight games.
That would leave Jacoby Brissett as the team’s starter, with Josh Dobbs as the backup.
And apparently, the Browns aren’t interested in settling there.
New Names
According to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, the Browns are interested in a handful of familiar quarterbacks:
The Cleveland Browns are working out quarterbacks this week, including veterans A.J. McCarron and Josh Rosen, per sources. Cleveland looking to go to training camp with four quarterbacks, with Jacoby Brissett to be the QB1 depending what happens with Deshaun Watson's status.
— Jeremy Fowler (@JFowlerESPN) July 21, 2022
If the Browns intended to carry four quarterbacks into camp, that would mean bringing in one more arm.
McCarron, one of the names listed by Fowler, hasn’t played since 2020.
Before then, he had bounced around the league since coming into the league in 2015.
With stints in Cincinnati, Oakland, and Houston, McCarron has a career completion percentage of 62.6% and has thrown six touchdowns against three picks.
McCarron entered the league after a successful college career.
But McCarron was never expected to reach the heights of his fellow quarterback draft mates Jameis Winston and Marcus Mariota.
Though in retrospect, none of the quarterbacks taken in 2015 have achieved any significant level of success.
Rosen, on the other hand, was taken at No. 10 overall in the 2018 draft class.
Coincidentally, he was selected nine picks after Baker Mayfield.
But since then, Rosen has failed to live up to his high draft billing.
In three seasons, he’s suited up for three teams, including Arizona, Atlanta, and Miami.
As a starter in his first season, Rosen went 3-10 before the Cardinals promptly moved on to Kyler Murray the next season.
Neither Rosen nor McCarron would likely see any meaningful time, but would rather be depth adds while Watson misses time.
Jimmy G?
Earlier this week, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported that San Francisco had given quarterback Jimmy Garropolo permission to seek out a trade.
That was followed up by a report from cleveland.com’s Mary Kay Cabot that the Browns do not plan on pursuing Garropolo to fill in if Watson is suspended.
It’s not surprising.
#Browns K Cade York on Instagram: pic.twitter.com/emdmHsFS1N
— Brad Stainbrook (@StainbrookNFL) July 20, 2022
Garrpolo is set to make over $26 million next season.
The Browns likely aren’t interested in paying a huge salary to Garropolo after partially getting off of Mayfield’s $18 million deal.
Instead, McCarron and Rosen could be ultra-cheap stop-gap options.
Further, both likely would be released if Watson returns this season.
Or perhaps Dobbs would be cut if McCarron or Rosen show out in a meaningful way.
Should Watson be suspended, he could appeal the suspension to Commissioner Roger Goodell.
In addition, Watson reportedly plans on suing the NFL in federal court if he is suspended for any lengthy amount of time.
Leave a Reply