The Cleveland Browns’ plan at the quarterback position is one of the team’s biggest question marks heading into the 2025 NFL season.
Cleveland’s lone move to fill that role was a trade to acquire former quarterback Kenny Pickett from the Philadelphia Eagles in exchange for Dorian Thompson-Robinson and a fifth-round draft pick.
Analysts have predicted that the Browns will fill the opening in this year’s draft, but Cleveland may elect to have a veteran quarterback bridge the gap between the start of the 2025 season and when their rookie starts for the first time later in the year.
NFL insider Albert Breer believes one name he’s continuing to hear as an option for the Browns makes the most sense for Cleveland.
“I think their plan is to continue to look at all the veteran options. I think Kirk Cousins is on their radar … Cleveland makes sense to me. Kevin Stefanski coached Kirk Cousins, like directly coached him. He was his quarterbacks coach for a year and his offensive coordinator for a year,” Breer said.
💻 @AlbertBreer
We know they're not in on a certain 4x MVP but are the #Browns going to take a QB at 2nd overall? If not, what is their plans for the future?#NFL #NFLDraft pic.twitter.com/BqF1bslWMx
— Rich Eisen Show (@RichEisenShow) March 18, 2025
Breer said that Cousins “wants out” of Atlanta after the Falcons made him a backup to then-rookie Michael Penix Jr. at the end of the 2024 season, making the 36-year-old veteran a viable option.
The insider believes the Falcons are holding onto the player because of his value to a quarterback-needy franchise willing to part with draft picks to acquire his services.
Cleveland has 10 draft selections for the upcoming draft, and Breer suggested Atlanta will wait to make a move once free agent quarterback Aaron Rodgers decides where he’ll play next.
Rodgers’ decision will trigger a domino effect, forcing whichever franchise misses out on a veteran signal-caller to offer up a deal the Falcons cannot refuse, Breer said.
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