Browns Must Stay Away from Rumored QB Target

The Cleveland Browns must stay away from one heavily rumored potential quarterback target.

Dec 22, 2024; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Atlanta Falcons quarterback Kirk Cousins (18) prepares for a game against the New York Giants at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. | Brett Davis-Imagn Images

Heading into the NFL offseason, the Cleveland Browns are expected to bring in a new starting quarterback. Whether they find that quarterback in the 2025 NFL Draft, free agency, or a trade, they don't have a starting caliber quarterback on the roster.

Deshaun Watson has proven that he's no longer a starting caliber player. Also, he suffered a setback in his recovery from a ruptured Achilles and actually ended up rupturing it again.

With that in mind, the Browns have been linked to a lot of different names already. In free agency, one popular name that has been mentioned a lot has been Kirk Cousins.

Cousins, who was benched by the Atlanta Falcons late in the 2024 season, is expected to be available. There is a very good chance that the Falcons will move on from him, which would let Cousins end up reaching free agency.

At one point in time, the idea of signing Cousins would have been a great one. Now, Cleveland should make sure to sty far away from him.

Why should the Browns avoid any kind of Cousins pursuit?

Quite simply, Cousins is not the same player that he was before he tore his own Achilles. Cousins clearly could not move well during the 2024 season. He couldn't extend plays and his turnover numbers were bad.

Throughout the 2024 campaign, Cousins ended up playing in 14 games, completing 66.9 percent of his pass attempts for 3,508 yards, 18 touchdowns, and 16 interceptions.

Obviously, he's no longer an elite starting quarterback. Cousins is going to continue declining, as he is already 36 years old. He wasn't even close to as mobile as even Aaron Rodgers was after the Achilles tear.

The idea of Cousins before the injury would be intriguing for Cleveland. Who he is now would be a mistake to pursue.

Andrew Berry and the front office cannot afford to make another mistake at the quarterback position. Cousins would be exactly that.

Rodgers would even be a better veteran target. Justin Fields could be an intriguing target. They could draft a quarterback.

Any of those options would be better than bringing Cousins onboard, regardless of how small his price tag might be.