If you’re a casual NFL fan and wonder why the Cleveland Browns have never played in a Super Bowl, their recent quarterback decisions might help explain it. Their trade of veteran Joe Flacco to the rival Cincinnati Bengals on Tuesday is yet another example.
How much are the Browns paying for quarterbacks?
Flacco, an 18-year veteran and Super Bowl champion, was a team captain but was benched last week for rookie Dillon Gabriel, who made his first start in a close loss to the Minnesota Vikings. Gabriel is the 41st different quarterback to start a game for the Browns since 1999.
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That decision isn’t out of the ordinary until you consider that the team is currently paying eight different quarterbacks a total of $41.6 million and only two of them, Gabriel and fellow rookie Shedeur Sanders, are on the active roster.
Four of the eight players are still employed by the team. The two rookies, who make just over $2 million combined, are joined by fourth-year veteran Bailey Zappe, who is currently on the team’s practice squad. Zappe’s salary is $315,000.
Why is Deshaun Watson still on the roster?
Disgraced former star Deshaun Watson is on the physically unable to perform list, recovering from a ruptured Achilles, but is present in team meetings. Watson faced multiple sexual misconduct allegations, an 11-game suspension by the league and dozens of civil lawsuits over three years, though no criminal charges were filed.
In addition to the scandals, Watson has played in only 19 games for the Browns due to injury, prompting team owner Jimmy Haslam to call the 2022 trade a “big swing and miss” this summer. The 8-year veteran is making a fully guaranteed $35.9 million this season, and when asked on Wednesday if Watson might see playing time this season, head coach Kevin Stefanski deflected.
“He’s been a great teammate from the jump, like I’ve told you guys in every quarterback meeting and all those guys when you’re in that room, everybody’s preparing, working hard, working together,” Stefanski said. “So, he’s doing a great job there.”
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The Cleveland Browns have had 41 different starting quarterbacks since 1999. The next-closest team is the Chicago Bears at 30.
The Browns would have incurred a $172.3 million salary cap hit had they released Watson during the offseason.
Who else are the Browns still paying?
The Browns are also still paying four quarterbacks, three of whom play for other teams. Jameis Winston is owed $2.2 million and signed with the New York Giants over the summer. The team traded Kenny Pickett to the Raiders, but still owes him $8,000. Sending Flacco to the Bengals still costs the Browns $999,000, and they owe current free agent Dorian Thompson-Robinson $171,000. Add it all up, and that’s nearly $3.4 million of what the NFL calls “dead cap money.”
The headliner in all of this, however, remains Shedeur Sanders. Stefanski said he hadn’t made up his mind yet when asked if Sanders would be the main backup for Sunday’s game against the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Do the Browns have their future quarterback on the roster, or will Sanders be starter number 42 in the near future? If the team knows, they’re not saying. Browns offensive coordinator Tommy Rees said on Thursday that Coach Prime’s son has improved but is still a work in progress.
“For Shadeur, we’re looking for constant improvement throughout the season, and he’s done that,” Rees said. “I think you see the growth and the familiarity of the offense and what we’re asking of those guys. You know, I think the level of preparation it takes week to week, when you’re putting a new game plan together, that’s a learning curve for all rookies. So, I think he’s gotten more used to that, gotten up to speed, doing a nice job.”
Sanders said he’s been ready to play since he arrived in camp, but knows being the main backup is a coach’s decision.
“You tend to get a bit more excited when you can see a light at the end of the tunnel,” Sanders said on Thursday.
