The Cleveland Browns are one of the teams that is linked to every quarterback on the market every year.
Such is life in the NFL, and you’ve had 42 different starting quarterbacks since 1999, with a roster filled with draft picks both high (Baker Mayfield, No. 1) and low (Spergon Wynn, sixth round); bridge quarterbacks like Jeff Garcia, Trent Dilfer and Jake Delhomme; and Bailey Zappe. Zappe, Bruce Gradkowski and Thaddeus Lewis.
advertise
One name that has been linked to the Browns over the years is 37-year-old Kirk Cousins. Back in 2018, when Cousins ​​left Washington as a free agent to sign with the Minnesota Vikings, fans and media were eager for Cousins ​​to don a Cleveland uniform.
That clamor increased after the Browns hired Kevin Stefanski as head coach in 2020, given the two spent two seasons together in Minnesota, but neither side showed much interest until Cousins ​​signed with the Atlanta Falcons as a free agent in 2024.
Ironically, instead of letting Cousins ​​come to him, Stefanski went to Cousins, or at least to Atlanta, after he was named the Falcons’ 20th head coach in January.
But that long-awaited reunion may not happen after news broke Tuesday that the Falcons plan to release Cousins ​​when the new season begins on March 11. The move has been expected since the two sides reworked Cousins’ contract, reducing his base salary in 2026 from $35 million (non-guaranteed) to $2.1 million.
advertise
Now that Cousins ​​is set to return to the market, the Browns are expected to be linked to the 14-year veteran again.
The question, of course, is whether general manager Andrew Berry and head coach Todd Monken are interested in eventually bringing Cousins ​​to Cleveland?
It wasn’t always the best time for Cousins ​​in Atlanta, with the Falcons selecting quarterback Michael Penix in the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft, a month after Cousins ​​signed as a free agent. Although he started 14 games in his first season in Atlanta, injuries to his shoulder and elbow in Week 10 caused the Falcons to bench Cousins ​​for the final three games of the season.
Penix opened the 2025 season as the starter, but suffered a partially torn ACL, and the Falcons reactivated Cousins ​​for the final seven games of the season. With his health improving and two seasons removed from a torn Achilles tendon, Cousins ​​was in better shape and helped the Falcons finish the season with five wins in eight starts.
advertise
Cousins ​​immediately becomes the best quarterback on the roster. Still, the current roster in the qualifying round features veterans like Deshaun Watson and the worst statistical rookie quarterbacks of the past 25 years, Shedeur Sanders and Dillon Gabriel.
The quarterback market in free agency isn’t strong unless you’re willing to pay Malik Willis $20 to $30 million per year for the next few years. Likewise, the draft picks after Fernando Mendoza were low for top quarterbacks but high for developmental quarterbacks, which won’t do much for the Browns this fall.
That puts Cousins ​​back into the conversation as the latest Bridge quarterback tasked with keeping things together for a season while management decides what to do next. If Cousins ​​is willing to play at or near the league minimum as the Browns offer him a prime opportunity to start this fall, he will become even more attractive as the club enters the final year of Watson’s contract.
advertise
The thing is, if Cousins ​​gives the Browns average quarterback play, they might win enough games to escape competition for the high-draft picks in 2027 needed to address their quarterback issues.
An eight- or nine-win season would certainly be better than the last two years, but Cousins ​​isn’t the long-term answer, so what exactly do the Browns get by signing him?
Just as the debate over Cousins’ move to Cleveland finally ended after eight years, he will be back on the market. And, as always, the Browns need help at quarterback.
So let’s start guessing!
What do you say, Browns fans? Should the team finally end years of negotiations and sign Kirk Cousins ​​in free agency? Tell us what you think in the comments!
