Analyzing the Cleveland Browns depth chart at Quarterback

The veteran backup: Drew Stanton

When John Dorsey joined the Browns in December of 2017, they had DeShone Kizer, Cody Kessler, and Kevin Hogan under center. During his first offseason with the team, all three were traded away. Kizer was sent to the Green Bay Packers for safety Damarious Randall, Cody Kessler went to the Jacksonville Jaguars for a late-round pick, and Kevin Hogan went to the Washington Redskins in a deal where the teams swapped sixth-round picks.

Their replacements were the aforementioned Tyrod Taylor and rookie Baker Mayfield. The plan was to have a veteran backup behind Taylor so that they didn’t feel pressured to play the rookie unless he was absolutely ready.

With that goal in mind, Dorsey signed Drew Stanton who had 11 years of experience with the Detroit Lions, Indianapolis Colts, Arizona Cardinals. During that span, Stanton had 17 career starts and a record of 11-6 which includes a 3-1 mark in 2017 for Arizona.

Throughout last year, Stanton served as a sounding board for Mayfield and the rookie credited him often for the help he gave him during his first season. Heading into this year, Stanton will continue to be a great voice for Mayfield on the sideline but will be elevated to the No. 2 quarterback as well.

For his career, Stanton has rather mundane statistics. He’s completed just 52.4 percent of his attempts for 4,059 yards with 20 touchdowns and 24 interceptions. However, he seems to just find ways to win when he is called upon. And that’s really all you can ask out of the backup.