The Cleveland Browns once employed championship-caliber players at the quarterback position. Here are the Top 10 signal callers in franchise history.
The Cleveland Browns have been searching for a quarterback since Nov. 7, 1993.
Since that day the Browns have employed more quarterbacks than any fan should be required to count, all to no avail.
The Browns have tried everything to no avail. They have signed aging veterans, only to see them fail – generally in less than one season.
They have gone to the draft, selecting four quarterbacks in the first round since 1999. One, Tim Couch, was respectable. The others – Brady Quinn, Brandon Weeden and Johnny Manziel – were horrific.
But it wasn’t always that way.
From the time the Browns played their first game on Sept. 6, 1946, through the start of the 1990s, the Browns boasted, at worst, decent quarterback play and, at best, championship caliber play from their quarterbacks.
On eight occasions that quarterback play was even good enough to bring home the ultimate prize in an NFL title.
The Browns may be selecting yet another quarterback when the 2016 NFL Draft rolls around later this spring as they continue their decades-long search to recapture that championship magic.
Until then, let’s take a look at the Top 10 quarterbacks in franchise history.
Next: No. 10: To Be Determined
This was a problematic slot to fill in as once we dove into the research we realized that, as a franchise, the Browns really don’t have 10 individual quarterbacks worthy of being on a Top 10 list.
To add any one player in this slot would simply be choosing among a group of quarterbacks who were simply one-year wonders.
We could start with Kelly Holcomb, who is best known for two things: starting the Browns last playoff game, a 36-33 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers, and suffering a “teeny, tiny fracture” in his leg just three games into the 2003 season after being named the starting quarterback.
Other than that, Holcomb only started 12 games in his four years in Cleveland, and threw almost as many interceptions (21) as touchdown passes (26).
We could also make a case for Derek Anderson, but only if we were talking about the first half of the 2007 season, when Anderson had 20 touchdown passes and just nine interceptions.
But that would only cover nine games, meaning that in his 30 other career games with the Browns, Anderson threw 26 touchdowns against 36 interceptions.
What about Colt McCoy? For a three-game stretch in 2010 it looked like McCoy might be able to take hold of the starting job, but that mirage faded away as quickly as it appeared.
We actually gave strong consideration to Josh McCown in this spot, as hard as that may be to believe.
But in just eight games with the Browns, McCown was on his way to becoming just the second quarterback in franchise history to surpass 4,000 passing yards in a season, and was on pace for 24 touchdowns (which would have put him in the Top 10 on the single-season list) and just eight interceptions (which would have been the lowest in a 16-game season in franchise history).
That’s why, for the foreseeable future, this spot will remain in the “To Be Determined” category until someone steps up and takes firm control of the position.
Next: No. 9: Mike Phipps (1970 to 1976)
Mike Phipps was another borderline case for making the list, in large part because of the costs the Browns paid to acquire him.
Unlike the other first-round quarterbacks who have brought disappointment rather than wins, Phipps not only cost the Browns a first-round draft pick, but also the services of Hall of Fame wide receiver Paul Warfield, who the team traded to Miami for the draft pick they turned into Phipps.
Phipps was coming off a successful three-year run with the Boilermakers. He led Purdue to three consecutive 8-2 seasons, making him the winningest quarterback in school history at the time. Purdue earned a share of the 1967 Big Ten Championship, finishing ninth in the Associated Press poll.
His senior year, he was a unanimous All-America selection and runner-up in the Heisman Trophy balloting while setting school records for passing yards (2,527) and touchdown passes (23). He also became the first quarterback to beat Notre Dame in three consecutive years (for what that is worth).
Phipps started one game in each of his first two seasons as the Browns went 7-7 his rookie year (missing the playoffs) and 9-5 his second year, which included a playoff loss to Baltimore.
He took over as the starting quarterback in 1972 and led the Browns to a 10-3 record while making 13 starts. That season would turn out to be the highpoint of Phipps’ time in Cleveland.
Over the next four years, Phipps would only make 36 starts and throw 25 touchdown passes against 56 interceptions. In 1976, his last year in Cleveland, Phipps was injured in the season-opener against the New York Jets and would only make one additional start that season.
While Phipps may not have worked out in Cleveland, the blame doesn’t fall entirely on his shoulders.
The core veterans that made up the talented teams from the 1960s were starting to retire, and rather than strategically use the draft to build a team that could grow with his young quarterback, Modell mortgaged the future by trading away high draft picks for players that proved to be little more than afterthoughts in the franchise’s history books.
Among the shortsighted deals in the early 1970s were trading a first-round pick and a second-round pick for linebacker Bob Babich; a third-round pick for Don Horn, a 28-year-old backup quarterback who would throw eight passes (completing four of them) in a Cleveland uniform; and a fourth-round pick for Gloster Richardson, who caught 22 passes over three seasons.
Phipps may not have been the answer the Browns were looking for, but he may not have been as bad as Browns fans remember him to be.
Next: No. 8: Vinny Testaverde (1993 to 1995)
The Browns have spent the past two decades searching for their next franchise quarterback.
Along the way they have signed numerous veteran quarterbacks to do … something … while the team continues it quest. That list includes Ty Detmer, Trent Dilfer, Jeff Garcia, Mark Rypien and Jake Delhomme, to name a few.
The Browns got it right, however, when they signed Vinny Testaverde for the 1993 season.
Testaverde would spend three eventful seasons with the Browns, first replacing Bernie Kosar as the starting quarterback in Week 4 of the 1993 season.
It was in 1994 that Testaverde left his mark on the Browns as he made 13 starts and helped to lead the team to an 11-5 record and a playoff berth, the team’s first in five years and lone postseason appearance under head coach Bill Belichick.
In the Wild Card playoff game against New England, the offense had a season-high 379 total yards, while Testaverde completed 20-of-30 passes for 268 yards and a touchdown in the 20-13 win.
Since this is Cleveland, however, things ended poorly for Testaverde, as he was benched the following season in favor of the immortal Eric Zeier, one of several moves that the revisionists would like you to ignore when they talk about Belichick’s coaching tenure with the Browns.
Testaverde would move with the Browns to Baltimore for the 1996 season where, of course, he made the Pro Bowl while throwing 33 touchdowns and 4,177 yards (although the Ravens finished the season at 4-12).
Testavede made 31 starts in his Cleveland career, and is currently ninth on the franchise’s all-time list in passing yards (7,255), eight in touchdown passes (47) and eighth in average yards per game (196).
He is also the last Browns quarterback to lead the team to a playoff victory, which alone probably earns Testaverde a spot on this list.
Next: No. 7: Tim Couch (1999 to 2003)
There was no doubt what position the Browns were looking to fill when they opened the 1999 NFL Draft with the No. 1 overall selection.
“We knew we were going to take a quarterback,” then-team President Carmen Policy said in Terry Pluto’s 2004 book, False Start. “Because if you have a chance to get a franchise quarterback, you take it.”
The only question was who?
Ultimately the choice came down to two players: Akili Smith, who only made 11 starts at Oregon, but wowed teams by throwing for 43 touchdowns against just 14 interceptions; and Tim Couch, who was leaving Kentucky as a junior after being named First Team All-SEC and First Team All-American.
The Browns chose Couch, opting for the experience passer over a player, in Smith, who would play just 22 games in four years with Cincinnati and be out of the league by 2003.
There was a lot to like about Couch, who was elected to the University of Kentucky’s Athletic Hall of Fame in 2007. In addition to being an All-American, he led the Wildcats to the Outback Bowl following his junior season (their first bowl bid in 13 years), was a Heisman Trophy finalist, led Kentucky past Alabama for the first time in 75 years, and is the school’s all-time leading passer. He threw for 8.772 yards, completed 67 percent of his passes and threw 76 touchdown passes.
Unfortunately for Couch, the Browns were an expansion team so, much like Mike Phipps in the early 1970s, the talent surrounding Couch on offense was less than ideal. For example, Terry Kirby led the team in rushing in 1999 with 452 yards (sadly, still better than what we saw from the Browns in 2013).
Couch spent his five years in Cleveland handing the ball off to the likes of Travis Prentice, William Green and James Jackson, and throwing to such noted receivers as Leslie Shepherd, Darrin Chiaverini, David Patten, Quincy Morgan and Andre’ Davis.
The offensive line was even worse, as Couch was sacked 56 times as a rookie and an average of 3.1 times per game through his first three seasons.
Despite all that, Couch wasn’t a bad quarterback when he was healthy. He completed more than 60 percent of his passes twice in his career (just missing out two more times), and remains the last Cleveland quarterback to lead the team to the playoffs (which he missed with an injury, naturally) and beat the Steelers in Pittsburgh (a shocking 33-13 victory on a Sunday night in 2003).
All those sacks and all those hits he took while running from opposing defenses finally caught up with Couch after the 2003 season – his final one in the NFL. The Browns wanted Couch to take pay cut and, when Couch declined, the team released their former No. 1 pick.
But much like Phipps, Couch was a better quarterback than he was given credit for during his time with the Browns.
Next: No. 6: Milt Plum (1957 to 1961)
It’s never easy following a legend, but sometimes being the guy who comes after the guy can work out pretty well.
Such was the case with Milt Plum, who almost wasn’t a Cleveland Brown.
Needing a quarterback in 1957, Browns head coach Paul Brown had his heart set on drafting Purdue quarterback Len Dawson, but the Pittsburgh Steelers beat them to it. (Of course, the Steelers being what they were at the time, let Dawson go after starting him just one time in three seasons. Apparently the notion of “seeing what you have” was not popular in the 1950s.)
With Dawson off the board, the Browns settled for running back Jim Brown and then picked up Plum in the second round with the 17th overall pick.
Plum would go on to win twice as many games as he lost with the Browns (a record of 33-16-2) and helped the Browns reach the NFL Championship Game in 1957, a 59-14 loss to the Detroit Lions.
He started 11 games his second year in the league, leading the Browns to a 9-2 mark, but could only lead the Cleveland offense to 86 total yards in a playoff loss to the New York Giants.
Plum made two Pro Bowls with the Browns, in 1960 and 1961, and his quarterback rating of 110.4 in 1960 stood as a league record until 1989. Always an efficient quarterback, his quarterback ratings from 1958 through 1961 placed him placed third, third, first and second, respectively, in the NFL.
He also posted the ninth-best passing day in franchise history on Oct. 23, 1960, when he finished 16-of-22 for 289 yards and two touchdowns for a quarterback rating of 145.1 as the Browns dropped a close decision to the Philadelphia Eagles.
Following the 1961 season Plum reportedly had grown tired of having Paul Brown call the offensive plays, so Cleveland packaged him in deal to the Detroit Lions for quarterback Jim Ninowski, defensive end Bill Glass and running back Howard Cassady.
Plum spent six years with the Lions, before closing out his career with single-year stints with the New York Giants and Los Angeles Rams.
Next: No. 5: Bill Nelsen (1968 to 1972)
Proving once again that the Pittsburgh Steelers were every bit as bad at evaluating quarterbacks as the Browns currently are, Cleveland swung a deal prior to the 1968 season to acquire Bill Nelsen.
In five years with the Browns, Nelsen would lead the team to the brink of Super Bowls III and IV (a familiar tale to Browns fans) and posting 34 wins in his four years as the starting quarterback.
Nelsen took over as the starting quarterback three games into his first season with the Browns as the offense was struggling.
Under Nelsen the offense found its footing and he led the Browns to an eight-game winning streak, including handing the Baltimore Colts their only regular-season loss. During the streak the Browns scored at least 30 points seven times and averaged 37.9 points as they rolled through the NFL.
Nelsen led the Browns past the Dallas Cowboys in the playoffs before falling to the Colts in the NFL title game.
Nelsen and the Browns were back the following season, once again defeating the Dallas Cowboys in the playoffs – the last road playoff win by the Browns – before once again coming up short of the Super Bowl, losing the NFL title game to the Minnesota Vikings.
Nelsen’s balky knees finally caught up with him in the 1970 season, but he still had enough left in him to lead the Browns to a Central Division title in 1971. He started the season opener in 1972 before giving way to Mike Phipps and retired at the end of the season.
A first-team all-NFL selection in 1968 by The Sporting News, Nelsen made the Pro Bowl in 1969 when he posted career highs in passing yards (2,743) and touchdown passes (23).
Next: No. 4: Frank Ryan (1963 to 1968)
Frank Ryan last threw a pass in an NFL game in 1968, but amazingly he still remains the last quarterback to lead the Cleveland Browns to an NFL championship.
Originally drafted by the Los Angeles Rams in the fifth round of the 1958 NFL Draft, the Browns acquired Ryan during the summer of 1962 and he took over the starting job midway through the season after quarterback Jim Ninowski was injured.
In his five full seasons as the Browns starting quarterback, Ryan led the club to two championship games, had the team in contention for two others, and led the Browns to the playoffs in 1967. He also made the Pro Bowl from 1964 to 1966.
He also led the NFL in 1966 with 29 touchdown passes, and his 2,974 passing yards that season stood as the Browns’ single-season record until Brian Sipe threw for 3,793 yards in 1979.
But Ryan’s finest day came in the 1964 title game against the Baltimore Colts, when he threw three touchdown passes as the Browns defeated the allegedly unbeatable Colts, 27-0.
But that high point in his career came with a price for Ryan, who annoyed Baltimore defensive end Gino Marchetti by wanting to play until the final whistle. Marchetti vowed revenge and got it two weeks later at the Pro Bowl, when he sacked Ryan on a play in the second quarter, which resulted in a separated shoulder for Ryan.
While he would go on to play four more successful seasons with the Browns and make the Pro Bowl in 1965 and 1966, the injury continued to bother Ryan and eventually brought his production down.
Ryan’s 29 touchdown passes in 1966 is still the second-most in franchise history, and he sits fourth on the all-time franchise list in passing yards (13,361) and third in touchdown passes (134).
Next: No. 3: Brian Sipe (1972 to 1983)
When you think about where Brian Sipe started from, it is pretty amazing that not only is he on this list but is near the very top.
A 13th-round draft pick in 1972, the 330th overall selection, Sipe spent his first two full seasons on the taxi squad (what is now known as the practice squad) before finally seeing limited game action in 1974.
Sipe didn’t take hold of the full-time starter’s job until 1976, however, but once he did he put his name at the very top of the franchise’s record book.
He is first on the career list in passing yards (23,713), completions (1,944) and fourth-quarter comebacks (17); second on the career list with 154 touchdown passes; and first on the single-season list in passing yards (4,132) and touchdown passes (30), still the only Browns quarterback pass for more than 4,000 yards or throw for 30 touchdowns.
Sipe led the Browns to the brink of the playoffs in 1978 and 1979, before he pushed the team to a division title in 1980, the same year he was named the NFL’s Most Valuable Player.
That season saw the Kardiac Kids at the height of their powers, as the Brwons won nine of their games by seven points or less behind a Sipe-led offense that included a offensive weapons Ozzie Newsome, Dave Logan, Reggie Rucker, Mike Pruitt and Greg Pruitt.
While that season ended in disappointment in the Red Right 88 playoff game against the Oakland Raiders, that season, and especially Sipe, still resonates with fans old enough to have witnessed it.
Sipe battled injuries and an aging roster as the Browns never made the playoffs again in his final three years with the team.
Cleveland owner Art Modell thought that Sipe was finished in the 1983 season so he did not offer a fair contract, leaving Sipe to leave for the New Jersey Generals of the USFL.
But Sipe had one last treat in store for Browns fans as his final game was a home victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers, where Sipe threw for four touchdown passes in a 30-17 embarrassment of the Steelers.
Next: No. 2: Bernie Kosar (1985 to 1993)
Bernie Kosar was the quarterback the Browns and the city of Cleveland needed.
The Browns had progressively fallen on hard times following the 1980 playoff season, and after the failed Paul McDonald experience in 1984, desperately needed a quarterback.
Enter Bernie the Kid.
Kosar graduated early from the University of Miami, where he led the Hurricanes to their first national championship, and then manipulated the NFL’s rules so that he could be selected by the Browns in the supplemental draft of 1985.
At a time when no one wanted to come to Cleveland, Kosar embraced the challenge of returning the Browns to glory.
While he was not able to deliver a championship, through no fault of his own, Kosar revitalized the Browns and electrified the city over his nine years with the Browns.
Kosar led the Browns to the playoffs five consecutive years and into the AFC Championship Game in three of those years, falling short each time to the Denver Broncos.
A cerebral quarterback who was more athletic than given credit for, there wasn’t a blitz that Kosar couldn’t beat or a defense he couldn’t dissect – especially during the 1986 and 1987 seasons.
His greatest moment may have come against the New York Jets in the playoffs following the 1986 season. Trailing 20-10 with just four minutes remaining and the season in jeopardy, Kosar finally jumpstarted the Browns offense and led the Browns to one of the most memorable (and surprising) wins in NFL history.
On that day, Kosar was 33-of-64 for an NFL playoff record 489 passing yards in leading the Browns to their first playoff win since 1969.
Kosar set an NFL playoff game record that still stands when he passed for 489 yards during the 1986 Browns’ 23-20 double overtime win over the New York Jets at Cleveland Stadium, the team’s first postseason win since 1969. Kosar completed 33 of 64 passes with a touchdown.
If that game wasn’t his best, it may have been the following season against Denver in the AFC Championship Game, when Kosar threw for 356 yards and three touchdowns as the Browns just feel short against the Broncos.
An injury to his elbow in the 1988 season opener started Kosar’s eventual decline as the injuries continued to mount.
His career in Cleveland came to an end when he was unceremoniously released during the 1993 season, a decision that was right from a football perspective but horrible from a timing and public relations angle.
Fittingly, Kosar’s final pass as a Brown was a touchdown pass on a play that he improvised in the huddle.
Kosar is third on the Browns’ all-time list in passing yards with 21,904, and fourth in touchdown passes with 116.
He was No. 19 in the program, but in the hearts and minds of Browns fans of a certain age he may always be No. 1.
Next: No. 1: Otto Graham (1946 to 1955)
Winning is the ultimate goal every season for teams in the National Football League.
By that standard, no one has ever been better than Otto Graham.
When head coach Paul Brown started building the team, Graham was the first player he signed, understanding even that the importance of having a top-notch quarterback who could lead the team.
“I don’t think anybody ever let up or let (Graham) down because you knew he always gave 100 percent,” Chet Hanulak, a halfback on the Browns in 1954, said in the 2007 book, The Best Show in Football. “And if he did, you were certainly going to do the same thing. And I think that was the attitude we had on offense, that he was the leader and the ultimate leader, and he kind of set the pace and you better follow that pace.”
And what a pace it was.
Graham took over the starting quarterback role for the Cleveland Browns in the second quarter of the team’s very first game in 1946, throwing a touchdown in the 44-0 victory. Nine years later, he walked off the field at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum after throwing a pair of touchdown passes in his final game, a 38-14 win in the 1955 NFL Championship Game.
In between, Graham set a standard for winning that will never be matched.
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Graham played 10 years and led the Browns to the league championship game every season, walking away with seven titles, three Most Valuable Player awards, five Pro Bowl selections and a spot on the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s All-1950s Team.
In an era where most offenses were based on a ground-and-pound running attack, Graham averaged nine yards per pass attempt in his career – still the best mark in NFL history. His career quarterback rating of 86.6 is also the highest ever for any quarterback who began his pro career before 1979.
He is still the franchise leader in touchdown passes with 174, and second in passing yards with 23,584. He is also fifth on the list in rushing touchdowns with 44.
Graham remains to this day the lone Browns quarterback to make the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
“The test of a quarterback is where his team finishes,” Brown said of Graham. “By that standard, Otto Graham was the best of all time.”
Didn’t we tell you he was something special?