OBR Newswire Bloviation Header
OBR Newswire Bloviation Header
Good morning, Cleveland Browns fans!
Hello from a hazy corner of the Internet. My name is Barry, and I'm a webdork.
One thing that web dorks need to do is get people to visit their websites. Otherwise, their webdorkery means little. What's the purpose of having a website full of good stuff if no one sees it? Not much. Plus, the beer fund dries up.
So, we've decided to do a little bit of so-called marketing. Below is evidence that our crack marketing team did something, namely, another video to promote the OBR, beyond our previous one, which we called "Paper".
So, that's marketing. There's a lot I don't understand about it, like what the hell that sound is when Godzilla shows up. And why a hammer? But I'm told it's a good idea, so there you go.
Now, I suggest you use this time to get an OBR subscription at 50% off if you aren't subscribed.
See? There's more marketing. I'm getting good at this.
A team that could use a little bit of marketing love is our Cleveland Browns, a squad which most people now think of as a losing franchise without a quarterback whose best player really wanted to leave.
Perhaps a new quarterback would clear that up. So, the Browns invited 36-year-old quarterback Russell Wilson to visit their facility today to see if a match can be made. At the same time, it seems as if the team's heart is in another place, namely, Atlanta, where QB Kirk Cousins is currently employed by the Falcons.
The trick here is that Cousins is under contract with the Falcons, who owe him a whopping $10 million bonus payable next Monday. That would make Cousins a very expensive backup quarterback, since the Falcons had already decided that the future at the position belongs to Michael Penix. So, many people believe that the Falcons will either cut Cousins before Monday when the bonus is due, or that they could be persuaded to deal him relatively inexpensively in a trade.
Russell Wilson
Russell Wilson wears sunglasses in the dark while taking a selfie at a 2025 Super Bowl party.
The other challenge is that Cousins had a remarkably bad season last year, to the point where the then-rookie Penix pushed him aside. Cousins's bad season may have been due to a healing Achilles, an injured shoulder, a bad scheme fit, or something losing his touch, as long-time veterans often do. The Browns don't know at this point.
Which leads me back to Wilson. If I'm Andrew Berry and I felt my job was on the line with the team's on-field record in 2025, I'm looking at which player has the best risk/reward trade-off. Wilson is coming off a season where he came back from injury and did fairly well. In ten games, Wilson finished with 214 completions on 336 attempts, 2,482 yards, and 16 touchdowns to just five interceptions.
Cousins, meanwhile, finished 303 of 453, with 3,508 yards, 18 touchdowns, and a very concerning 16 interceptions, including nine in his last five games.
So, if you're Andrew Berry and looking at this from the 50,000 level, which quarterback has the least risk? Clearly, it's Russell Wilson who has more recently demonstrated the competence to run an offense and avoid mistakes.
But we don't know how Berry evaluates Cousins beyond having a successful career other than a failed 2024 season. Would he be a player that ex-Vikings OC Kevin Stefanski might aggressively be pushing for behind the scenes? Does the team consider him a better fit for Stefanski's offense? We're simply not sure at this point.
Unfortunately, of course, the question of who the Browns veteran "bridge" quarterback will be goes beyond which player the Browns prefer. The players have options other than a downtrodden team that finished 3-14 last year, and may not be available. Wilson will be visiting with the Giants, and his team last year is still lurking without a quarterback. And Cousins, well, he may not be available at all if the Falcons aren't bluffing about keeping him.
Both quarterbacks would surely be aware that the Browns will likely draft a hot-shot rookie quarterback, so that's another factor.
All in all, the Browns may have to aggressively sell either quarterback on their future in Cleveland and the competitiveness of the franchise. They're going to have to market themselves.
It's just the case that I know of a crack marketing team that freed up after their last project. Dial me up if needed, Andrew.
Have a good one! GO BROWNS!
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