As the news involving Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson continues to develop around the several allegations of sexual misconduct placed upon him, disciplinary officer Sue Robinson is nearing her ruling on whether or not Watson violated the league’s personal conduct policy. The ruling should determine the length of time, if any, that Watson will be suspended from playing in the NFL. If it’s determined that Watson will be out for an extended period of time, Mary Kay Cabot of cleveland.com tells us that the Browns “will sign a quarterback to back up interim starter Jacoby Brissett.” 
Brissett signed a one-year deal to join the Browns back in March. The NC State product started five games last year in Miami, when starter Tua Tagovailoa was injured, but gained most of his starting experience filling in for Andrew Luck during his four seasons with the Colts.
Indianapolis acquired Brissett in 2017 in a straight-up trade with New England for wide receiver Phillip Dorsett after news that offseason shoulder surgery would force their starting quarterback, Luck, to miss some time in the regular season. Brissett started every game but one that season for the Colts. After backing up a healthy Luck the following season, Brissett was forced back into the starting role when Luck surprisingly announced his retirement two weeks before the 2019 NFL season. Again, Brissett started all but one game that year.
Brissett’s extensive starting experience made him a resourceful addition to the Browns’ roster, considering the likelihood that Watson will miss time, and he became the obvious choice to start as soon as news arose of friction between Baker Mayfield and Cleveland. As a starter, Brissett has amassed a 14-23 record over his six years in the league. He has a career completion percentage of 60.2%, passing for 7,742 yards, 36 touchdowns, and 17 interceptions in 60 total games.
Currently the only other quarterback on the roster in Cleveland is former Steelers’ reserve Joshua Dobbs. Since getting drafted in 2017, Dobbs has thrown 17 passes spread over six regular season appearances. If Watson is unavailable, the Browns will want someone with a bit more experience backing up their backup, Brissett. The free agent market offers up slim pickings for the desperate, but still contains some notable backup names.
The most experienced available quarterback in free agency is Cam Newton. The 33-year-old is coming off a return season in Carolina and has started a football game in every year of his career since getting drafted in 2011. Mike Glennon is another passer with starting experience available on the market. The journeyman has 31 starts to his name, starting games for four of the six teams that have rostered him. Most recently, Glennon started four games last year for the Giants.
Behind those two, free agency also offers career backup names like A.J. McCarron and Garrett Gilbert. McCarron recently announced his eagerness to return to the NFL after recovering from a torn ACL and has plenty of experience in the AFC North from his extended time in Cincinnati. Gilbert has less time in the NFL as a backup but has shown an adaptability by spending each of his four seasons in the NFL with four different teams. Luckily for Cleveland, one of those teams is the Browns. Gilbert spent the 2019 season backing up Mayfield under then-head coach Freddie Kitchens.
While it doesn’t offer much in terms of quantity, there are some real options for Cleveland to pursue on the free agent market. They could also attempt to trade for a backup the way Indianapolis did years ago to obtain Brissett, but that’s another article entirely. Regardless, Cleveland will have plenty of time to set their plans straight as the ruling from Robinson may not be announced for weeks.
I’m not entirely convinced that any currently available free agent quarterback is better than Dobbs, to be honest. Might as well just roll with what they have at that point.
Have you seen him play!? He’s terrible and couldn’t beat out Ducky
If you’re not going to have your ‘star quarterback’ for a year wouldn’t you want to tank anyways
Tank? So the Texans get a higher draft pick?
Dang you’re right is that lottery protected or is that a nba thing
That must be an NBA thing to prevent tanking. Atlanta seems to be the only team tanking this year. I’d say Seattle but they hung on to their WR’s.
Kings tanking every year til they’re relegated to ncaa
Only in the NBA. Better hope that either Watson’s suspension is abbreviated or Brissett stays healthy
A lot of teams better hope their starting quarterback stays healthy.
You’re an awful person brownsbunger♡
You’re an awful person brownsbunger ♡
Why? Because I believe in innocent until proven guilty? I’m an American, that’s what we do.
Dobbs is a very bright guy and is great to have on the sideline helping your starting QB see and interpret the defense. Dobbs is also a woefully inaccurate passer. He should not be any team’s starter or #2; he should be a depth option and gimmick play option only.
Agreed. If I were a Cleveland fan, I would much prefer someone with a higher floor, such as McCarron
Would love to see Mason Rudolph end up there this year! To be a fly on the wall in that locker room…
Just to see the first meeting with Myles
Josh Rosen: your time is NOW!! lol
*will sign when.
I doubt it’s if a lengthy suspension at this point in time.
Get Brian Sipe on the phone!
I’m not sure what the point of the Dobbs signing was, then. Teams who sign backups that they are not confident in is rather puzzling to me. These situations are different for younger, developmental passers that a coach thinks he can groom, but Dobbs has been in the league for quite some time, and it is highly doubtful that he will change his game significantly at this juncture in his career.
McCarron has had quite some time between this day and his last real action, but the irony is tangible regarding how close he was to becoming Cleveland’s starter some years back. If he has anything left, he would bring a lot of experience and decent history at a presumably low price.
Garrett Gilbert keeps getting stuck in situations where he signs with a team, starts the same week he was signed, & then almost wins even though he just signed with his team. What could he do if he actually had time to learn a system?
I agree. Gilbert got talked up before his draft (and immediately afterward) by a few sources, including Sean Payton, if I remember correctly. It would be interesting to see what he could have done with more stability and opportunity in his career. For what it’s worth, he looked very good in the AAFL.
idk with the lack of creditable qbs no one ever brings up colin kaepernick…
This well run franchise operates with a high level of dignity and wouldn’t want a lightning rod for controversy at QB…
smh…really but they just traded for Watson…duh…lol. must be from the westside…
smh…maybe those from the east side don’t understand sarcasm…duh…lol…
JC just go hide in a corner. That was bad bud.
Maybe because he hasn’t played in over 6 years and would bring a ton of media attention that could be a distraction. But it’s probably more because he isn’t a good QB.
Big Ben had a 26-2-1 record against the Browns so maybe they can coax him to come out of retirement.
He probably weighs 300 pounds by now….and I’m not kidding. He seems like someone that would get hugely fat.
He’s probably not the first guy to spend all his workout bonus money at Dunkin Donuts.
They’d be calling him Ben Roethlisdoublecheeseburger.
The Browns wouldn’t know what to do with a good quarterback, as they’ve already proven.
Roethlisberger isn’t that good anymore and Baker is good only occasionally. You must be talking about Johnny Manziel? Tyrod Taylor? Brandon Weeden?
I’ll bet you that the stats that Roethlisberger put up last year will by far be better than the combination of whoever the Browns rollout.
Not Watson. I would hope Roethlisberger is better than Brissett. To say that he is better than Watson is ludicrous. Roethlisberger hasn’t been better than Watson since Watson’s rookie year
You don’t really think you’re going to have a team with a possible open QB role without the frantic calls for CK to be signed do you?
If you want a vet to come in and compete right away then Cam Newton might be a good idea. My favorite free agent QB is AJ McCarron. A very smart guy and has history in the AFC North. If you want to just have a guy that you could bring in a learn and be able to stach on the practice squad then rookie Levi Lewis would be a good pick for that. Very athletic guy from Louisiana Ragin Cajuns.
Newton has been horrible the last couple of years. And average the couple of years before that
Well I didn’t say it was the best route to take. I just think we the guys around there and his lacking the last few years its going to end up going 1 of 2 ways. 1 he will work hard to try to change the past or 2 he will hang it up.
hmm, learn something new everyday. few of those qbs I really have no knowledge of, so I will have to look at them and then give my thoughts on them…
It doesn’t take a superstar to hand the ball off to a running back – and that’s all a Cleveland backup would be asked to do.
How many first downs you gonna get handing the ball off to a running back on 3rd & ten?
They trust their sex offender running backs!