Brian Sipe named Cleveland Browns biggest draft steal of all-time
By Randy Gurzi
Doug Farrar of USA Today’s Touchdown Wire named the biggest draft steal for every NFL franchise and for the Cleveland Browns, the honor went to Brian Sipe
With the 2019 NFL Draft just around the corner, many outlets are looking back at how teams have done historically in past drafts. That was the case with Doug Farrar of USA Today’s Touchdown Wire who named the biggest draft steal of all-time for every NFL franchise.
When he got to the Cleveland Browns, he named former quarterback Brian Sipe who was the 330th player selected overall — in the 13th round — of the 1972 draft.
After a couple of seasons on the practice squad, Sipe found his way to the roster and then became their starting quarterback. He had his ups and downs as highlighted by Farrar.
"“Sipe played well for Don Coryell at San Diego State, so you’d think the NFL would have been higher on his prospects. But he lasted until the 13th round of the 1972 draft, and he spent the first two seasons of his NFL career on the practice squad. Once he got a real shot, he did decently enough — he led the NFL in touchdown passes in 1979 with 28, though he also led the league in interceptions with 26” — Farrar, Touchdown Wire, USA Today"
In addition to his touchdown-leading 1979 season, Sipe was also under center during the ‘Kardiac Kids’ era and won the NFL MVP in 1980. That season he ended up completing 60.8 percent of his throws and had 4,132 yards passing as well as 30 touchdowns.
Overall, Sipe was 57-55 as a starter and had 23,713 yards through the air and 154 career touchdowns. Sipe sits atop the leaderboards for all-time passing yardage in Browns’ history and is behind only Otto Graham for touchdown passes.
Next. 15 best draft day steals of all-time. dark
Even with his accolades, Sipe is most remembered for being the quarterback who threw the crucial interception on the infamous ‘Red Right 88’ play. That came at the end of his MVP season and resulted in a loss to the Oakland Raiders. It also ended what many felt was Cleveland’s best chance at winning a Super Bowl. Still, Sipe remains one of the best quarterbacks this team ever had and is a solid pick for the biggest steal in their history.