Cleveland Browns among several teams searching for a quarterback

The Cleveland Browns face a lot of competition for a quarterback this offseason and the available options may not be all that enticing.

The Cleveland Browns are in a familiar position this offseason as they continue their quest for a franchise quarterback.

They are not alone in that search (despite what you may have heard), which makes the situation a bit more complicated.

The Browns worked hard to secure the No. 1 overall selection in the 2017 NFL Draft, but as luck would have it there is not a “can’t miss” quarterback in this year’s draft. In addition, the Chicago Bears, San Francisco 49ers and New York Jets are among a group of around 10 teams that will be looking to fix their quarterback position in the coming months.

Related: Would AJ McCarron make sense?

That competition is the focus of Peter King’s Monday Morning Quarterback column this week as he explores the various quarterback options that may (or may not) be available to desperate teams, a list that includes:.

Jimmy Garoppolo, New England
Tony Romo, Dallas
AJ McCarron, Cincinnati
Jay Cutler, Chicago
Mike Glennon, Tampa Bay
Brian Hoyer, Chicago
Ryan Fitzpatrick, Jets
Nick Foles, Kansas City

As it relates to the Browns, King opines that:

"The Browns have to get a quarterback this off-season, and the quarterback can’t be an RG3-type placeholder or a Cody Kessler-shot-in-the-dark guess. I’m guessing the Browns inquire on Garoppolo and get rebuffed—unless they offer the 12th overall pick plus another high pick. At this stage, the Browns lead the league in high picks acquired, and it’s gotten them to the bottom of the league. Now it’s time to pay through the nose if there’s a quarterback Jackson loves. Then we come to the college guys. If Trubisky’s the guy, just take him first overall, as crazy as it sounds. But if Jackson is lukewarm on the top collegians, he likes McCarron a lot (he coached him as a Bengal rookie), and can fall back on him. He’ll just have to overpay, because Cincinnati owner Mike Brown does not want to trade him. The Browns have the 33rd, 51st and 65th picks to play with if McCarron’s their man."

King also touches on the options available in the draft:

"I’d hate to be in the seats of Hue Jackson and Sashi Brown in Cleveland, or Shanahan and rookie GM John Lynch in San Francisco, or GM Ryan Pace in Chicago. (Mitch) Trubisky started one year and looked good, but a one-year starter in college football who had some clunkers in that season? Tough call … (DeShone) Kizer is more seasoned. (Deshaun) Watson has been better in the biggest games. (Patrick) Mahomes might have the biggest upside. The combine’s going to be very interesting, because it’ll start the clock on the test of a huge-game player like Watson, with people in and out of the NFL putting him to the test to see exactly what he is, on and off the field."

There are flaws to be found throughout the quarterback possibilities, especially the ones who may be available via trade or in free agency.

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Romo is too old, Garoppolo and McCarron too inexperienced, and the rest are simply not any better than what the Browns currently have on the roster.

Then there is the case of Washington Redskins quarterback Kirk Cousins, who will likely be franchised by Washington. If/when that happens, any team wishing to sign Cousins away from Washington will have to surrender a pair of first-round draft picks – which the Browns obviously have no intention of doing.

The Browns are in a tough spot and this is a hard year to be searching for a quarterback. They are not going to win anything with a quarterback pool of Griffin and Kessler, but they are also not going to win big if they acquire a quarterback simply because he is better than what they currently have.

Next: Benefits of signing a free agent QB

That doesn’t mean they can’t get it right, but the next few months are going to be a tough test for Brown and Jackson.

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