Top-5 former Cleveland Browns to get a Super Bowl ring
By Randy Gurzi
2. Bernie Kosar, Quarterback
One of the most popular players of all-time for Cleveland Browns has to be quarterback Bernie Kosar. Born in Youngstown, Ohio, Kosar left the University of Miami and made it clear he wanted to play for his hometown team. The Browns made that wish come true as they used a first-round pick in the 1985 supplemental draft on his rights.
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Kosar was quickly thrust into action as an injury to Gary Danielson forced him to start as a rookie for 10 games. He was 4-6 as the starter but still got them into the playoffs with an 8-8 overall record. After that, Kosar started to click. Cleveland won 12 games with him as the starter in 1986 and then went 8-4, 6-3, and 9-6-1 under his guidance the following three seasons.
Unfortunately, Kosar and the Browns never won a title and by 1990 they had started to slip some. After three-straight losing seasons, Kosar was cut by new coach Bill Belichick who preferred Vinny Testaverde. The former Cleveland starter then headed to Texas and signed a one-year deal with the Dallas Cowboys to serve as Troy Aikman’s backup.
While there, Kosar played in four games and had 410 yards passing and three touchdowns with no picks. In the playoffs, he replaced a concussed Aikman in the NFC Championship game and was 5-of-9 for 83 yards and a touchdown. Dallas went on to win their first of three Super Bowls in the 1990s and Kosar was actually on the field for the final play as he knelt the ball down to run out the clock.