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Cleveland Browns: Ranking all 29 Starting Quarterbacks before Baker Mayfield

By Cory Kinnan

TAMPA, FL - OCTOBER 21: Baker Mayfield #6 of the Cleveland Browns throws a pass during pregame before a game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on October 21, 2018 at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida.(Photo by Julio Aguilar/Getty Images)
TAMPA, FL - OCTOBER 21: Baker Mayfield #6 of the Cleveland Browns throws a pass during pregame before a game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on October 21, 2018 at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida.(Photo by Julio Aguilar/Getty Images) /
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(Photo by: Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)
(Photo by: Gregory Shamus/Getty Images) /

29. Bruce Gradkowski

Bruce Gradkowski started the last game of the season in 2008 after three quarterbacks before he succumbed to injuries. Signed off of the street just one week before, Gradkowski was thrown right into action against the rival Pittsburgh Steelers, after being with the team for just one week before.

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As imaginable, Gradkowski struggled mightily against a Steelers team that was playoff bound, winning the AFC North with a 12-4 record. He was not able to muster a single touchdown and threw three picks while completing only 33 percent of his passes in a 31-0 blowout.

Gradkowski finished the game with a quarterback rating of 2.8; those kinds of numbers will get you ranked in last place on a very unflattering list. This loss closed out a 4-12 record, after a 10-6 season where there were high expectations in Cleveland that left Romeo Crennel looking for work.

This was the one and only appearance for Gradkowski in Cleveland, as he did not return for the 2009 season. After departing from the Browns, Gradkowski became a solid career backup quarterback for Oakland, Cincinnati, and Pittsburgh throughout his career, playing eight years in the league in total. Throughout the rest of his career, Gradkowski was granted eight more starts.

28. Ken Dorsey

Most well known for his time as a decorated quarterback while playing for the Miami Hurricanes, two-time Heisman trophy finalist and national champion Ken Dorsey‘s career in the National Football League was not quite as illustrious. His time with the Cleveland Browns was so forgettable that a picture of him in the brown and orange could not even be found within our media database.

Coming to Cleveland via a trade with the San Francisco 49ers in 2006, he started three games across three seasons and finished with a 0-3 record as the starting quarterback. He completed less than 47 percent of his passes while throwing no touchdowns and seven interceptions in that time, coming in with a total quarterback rating of 26.1.

Dorsey finished his tenure with the Browns in 2008 and did not get another gig after that season at the age of 27. In 2010, Dorsey signed to play in the Canadian Football League as a backup quarterback for the Toronto Argonauts; he retired from professional football in 2011. Since retiring, Dorsey has seen a number of coaching jobs, spending time as the quarterbacks’ coach for the Carolina Panthers, Florida International University, and is currently an offensive assistant for Appalachian State University.

27. Spergon Wynn

Taken sixteen spots ahead of future Hall-of-Famer Tom Brady, Spergon Wynn came to Cleveland by way of the sixth round of the 2000 NFL Draft. It turned out to be his only year with Cleveland, and one of only two years in his NFL career.

During his rookie season, Wynn started only one game for the Browns, completing a measly 40 percent of his passes with a quarterback rating of 41.2. He attempted 54 throws and finished the game with only 167 yards, leaving him at about three yards per attempt, managing only to throw an interception.

Wynn went on to play for the Vikings in 2001 before heading to the Canadian Football League for three years following the 2001 season.

26. Doug Pederson

Let’s just say that our next quarterback makes a better head coach than gunslinger. Doug Pederson, head coach of the 2017 Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles started eight games for the Browns during their 2000 campaign at the age of 32.

Over those eight starts, Pederson finished with a record of 1-7, throwing two touchdowns and eight interceptions while completing 55 percent of his passes. He finished his time in Cleveland with a quarterback rating of 56.6.

Pederson went on to finish his career backing up Brett Favre in Green Bay before retiring in 2004. He then took the head coaching job in Philadelphia in 2016 after the firing of Chip Kelly and the rest is history.

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