CLEVELAND, OHIO (TheOBR.com) - Good morning, Cleveland Browns fans!
THE DAILY BLOVIATION
The conversation has turned back to quarterback for the Cleveland Browns, as it does on a regular basis, year after year after year. Until there's "a guy", conversation will revolve around finding "the guy", as it has for 30 years.
This year's round was kicked off with comments from general manager Andrew Berry on Tuesday that he's not concerned about having a #1 quarterback identified before Training Camp starts. Naturally, Cleveland Browns fans immediately thought back to last year, when the Browns had four quarterbacks, two rookies and two veterans, available as practices started up. This year, there's already Deshaun Watson, Dillon Gabriel, and Shedeur Sanders ready to battle it out.
Berry and new head coach Todd Monken are already sounding their support for all three quarterbacks. We like the guys we have in that room, you know. Sanders has "elite playmaking" skills. Watson is "intriguing" and deserves the "benefit of the doubt".
Pfffft. True, Shedeur Sanders believers aside, I don't think there's any belief that any of these quarterbacks will emerge as the semi-mythical Browns franchise quarterback over the course of the season. Sanders and Dillon, not helped by their supporting cast, finished with horrible stats in 2025. Hoping that upgrading the cast around them transmogrifies them into franchise quarterbacks remains a long shot.
So, as we know, if you don't have "the guy", you keep looking for "the guy". While the Browns won't come out and admit it, professing confidence in the guys in-house, they're looking.
Which brings us to Ty Simpson, the Alabama quarterback that I was thoroughly unimpressed with whenever I watched him play last season. He comes into focus because Todd Monken had some nice words to say about him.
At the NFL Combine this week, Monken took a notable moment to publicly praise Simpson in a way that had NFL Draft analysts doing double-takes. This wasn't generic coach-speak about "liking what we see" from a bunch of prospects. Monken specifically highlighted Simpson's ability to read defenses and make quick decisions under pressure—exactly the traits this franchise has been desperately lacking at the quarterback position since Bernie Kosar wore number 19.
This sparked some imaginations about picking Simpson if he falls out of the first round. If there's one thing NFL teams and their fans fantasize about, it's finding value picks on players with first-round talent who've slipped due to circumstances beyond their control. Like injury, like Simpson, supposedly, who suffered from gastritis, a lower-back issue, elbow bursitis, and fractured ribs at various junctures. The gastritis, for example, knocked his weight down below 200 pounds by the time the Rose Bowl rolled around, convincing casual observers (e.g., webdorks) that he was slight of frame. He was then victimized by the broken ribs against the Indiana defense.
On the plus side, Simpson checks a lot of boxes that align with Monken's offensive philosophy. At Alabama, he showed elite arm talent and the kind of processing speed that translates to success in pro-style offenses. He's not a run-first quarterback, but he's mobile enough to extend plays when protection breaks down—which, given the current state of Cleveland's offensive line, is basically every other snap.
Ty Simpson
Ty Simpson, in between injuries during the Rose Bowl (Photo: USA TODAY Sports)
With the Browns' offensive needs and a light draft class at quarterback, most of the speculation has circled around drafting offensive linemen and wide receivers, with quarterback considered a long shot run at Malik Willis in free agency, or an even longer shot at trading up with the Raiders to bring in Fernando Mendoza.
But Simpson falling because of his injuries could make him a potential target for the Browns. Some good pre-draft workouts could knock him back into the spotlight, but I'd speculate that he's of interest to Cleveland only if he doesn't climb to first-round consideration.
The NFL Combine medical checks will be crucial, and you can bet every team with quarterback needs is going to thoroughly vet Simpson's injury recovery. But if he checks out medically and continues impressing in private workouts, a swing by the Browns is possible, so its time for people like me to start looking at what Simpson did earlier in the 2025 season before the injuries piled up. The numbers are pretty good.
The Browns took a chance on a quarterback who dropped in the draft. They're still looking for "the guy" and the more lottery tickets they acquire the best the odds of hitting the jackpot. Simpson will be a story to watch as the next two months unfold.
Have a good one! GO BROWNS!
Newswire Bloviation Archive
OBR GOODIES
OBR VIDEO
- Pete and Joe: Draft Season Begins
OBR ARTICLES
- Cleveland Browns News and Rumors 02/25/2026: Adventures in Webdorkery (Barry)
- Browns Todd Monken on Open Competition for QB1, Shedeur Sanders: "What You See is Elite Playmaking Ability" (Fred)
- Cleveland Browns 2026 Offensive Roster Prediction (Jack)
FROM THE FORUMS
ASK THE INSIDERS (VIP)
- Lloyd Cushenberry?
- Linebacker and Safety
- Question about Brian Parker
- where is your combine daily blogs?
- Willis, and Winston, and Simpson (Oh my!)
- Malik question
- Gabriel
- Hyper aggressive comment and cash spending
- Question for lane-going BPA at 6?
- Question for Pete-similar line to the ravens?
- Do the Browns think that Linderbaum will make it to FA?
- Follow Up on Lane's WR Comment
- Follow Up on Stroud
- Upcoming transactions
- Rostering the QBs
- Passing game specialist vs. passing game coordinator?
- MJ?
- Follow Up on Pete & LA Comments on a Player
RUMOR CENTRAL (VIP)
- Browns Interest in Linderbaum?
- Browns Offensive Line Coach
- Wide Receivers
- Browns Pending Free Agents
- Draft Trade?
INSIDER DISCUSSION (VIP)
- Right To The Point; LA on the Browns
THE WATERCOOLER
-LiveWire Thread for 2/25 - Twitter, Video, Articles
- 2026 NFL Combine Discussion Hub
- ESPN Predicting That We Acquire Kyler Murray
- OT: Bad Drivers
- Are enough OTs good enough to be considered 1st round players?
THE LIFT
Positive news from the world of sports and beyond...
42-foot mural made out of 100K recycled plastic bottle caps
I picked this one because I'm curious as to how it transpired. Did someone just start gluing bottle caps to a wall, and did a picture of the Mona Lisa somehow materialize? Or was there someone with an incredible master plan of putting 100,000 bottle caps together to create a gigantic mural? If so, did people call him/her/them bonkers when it was first proposed?
Whatever, somehow there's a gigantic mural of the Mona Lisa made out of 100K bottle caps. And they claim art is dead.
WRAPPING UP
When not being forced to consider an SEC quarterback, Barry McBride is the Publisher and Founder of the OBR and bloviates this nonsense every morning. You can follow him on Twitter @barrymcbride or write him at barry@theobr.com if you are so compelled.
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