Former Cleveland Browns QB Garrett Gilbert starts for Cowboys

In his 7th season, ex-Cleveland Brown Garrett Gilbert finally gets his shot

Former Cleveland Browns third-string quarterback Garrett Gilbert, the NFL’s version of Crash Davis from Bull Durham, finally got a chance to start an NFL game for the Dallas Cowboys. The ultimate football vagabond, Gilbert has averaged less than a pass per NFL season in his eight-year career.

He looked very good in leading the pathetic Dallas Cowboys into battle against the Pittsburgh Steelers, who you will recall, pretty much clobbered our Cleveland Browns and first-string quarterback Baker Mayfield in a 38-7 shellacking back on October 18.

To review his history, Garrett Gilbert played his high school football for the  Lake Travis High School Cavaliers, the same high school as one Baker Mayfield. He played in college at Texas and Southern Methodist and had the size, arm strength, and everything that the scouts like to see, with the exception that he threw too many INTs as an underclassman, and did not get straightened out till his senior year at SMU.

He was drafted in the sixth round by the Rams and bounced around with the Patriots (where he earned a Super Bowl ring as a third-string backup to Tom Brady), Lions, Raiders, Panthers, and Browns. He also lit up the short-lived Alliance of American Football, leading the Orlando Apollos to a 7-1 record. John Dorsey believed in him, and so did someone at the Dallas Cowboys’ front office, apparently. This writer has some serious problems with Dorsey’s management of the salary cap, but Dorsey is an excellent judge of quarterback talent. If Dorsey says that Gilbert can sling it, there is a very good chance that he’s right.

As for the situation in Dallas, Dak Prescott suffered a broken ankle and rookie Ben DiNucci was not very effective as his replacement, leading coach Mike McCarthy to give Gilbert a try. If nothing else, with two years in Cleveland, Gilbert spent some time studying the Steelers and that may give him an advantage despite the fact that he has less familiarity with the Cowboys playbook than DiNucci or Cooper Rush, the other quarterback on the roster.

The Cowboys were able to take him from the Browns practice squad due to a quirk in the rules. This season, due to the Covid situation, teams were allowed to expand the practice squad to 16 players and were allowed to protect four players from Tuesday through game day. However, after the end of each game until 4 PM EST on Tuesday, other teams can raid the practice squad and sign players away. That’s what happened to Gilbert.

This fan figures that the Browns made a mistake letting Gilbert get away. Some might pooh-pooh the contribution of a third-string quarterback, but the quarterback position is too valuable for the Browns to just give away talent if they have it. If they have three talented players at quarterback, bite the bullet and carve out the roster spot for the third-string player. Either that or get something in trade, but do not just give players to Jerry Jones out of the kindness of your heart.

Gilbert looked every bit on par with Ben Roethlisberger early on, guiding the Cowboys to four field goals and a scoring strike to CeeDee Lamb. It’s not like it is easy to move the ball against the Pittsburgh Steelers as Baker Mayfield and the Cleveland Browns can readily attest.

The pivotal play came when the Steelers hit him as he threw early in the fourth quarter, allowing Minkah Fitzpatrick to pick him off at the goal line. Pittsburgh took over on the one-yard line and went on an excruciating, typically Steeleresque 75-yard, 11 play drive to connect on a field goal. After the ensuing Dallas drive fizzled, the Steelers drove down the field again and scored, going ahead 24-19, and that was a wrap.

Pittsburgh is now 8-0, while the Cowboys can stake their claim to being the best 2-7 team in the NFL. Truthfully, all sarcasm aside, Dallas looked good against the Steelers, who are truly a high-caliber opponent. The Cowboys and Gilbert looked better than the Browns versus the Steelers. It’s not out of the question that Dallas might put together a little run, given that nobody else seems particularly interested in winning the NFC East.

It took seven years, but it looks like Gilbert may be an NFL quarterback. True, he is an old goat at 29 years old, but in this business, it’s not the age, but the mileage, and he has very low mileage. John Dorsey’s judgment was vindicated, and the Browns should probably consider signing him back as a free agent in the offseason. Cleveland has two good ones in Mayfield and Case Keenum, but if you have the opportunity to acquire a quarterback who knows the system, that is a good investment.

Please don’t interpret this as a recommendation that Gilbert should be a candidate for first-string quarterback of the Cleveland Browns. That’s definitely not what this is about. It’s a suggestion that three quarterbacks should be carried on the active roster. It’s also suggested that a developmental undrafted free agent be carried on the practice squad, if for no other reason than to have better practices.

This fan believes that the team should seek to be a “quarterback factory,” stockpiling quarterback talent to the extent possible, just in case it is needed, or just in case someone like Jerry Jones comes wandering by at the trade deadline waving draft choices and looking for quarterback help.  Ok, Mr. Jones, that is cool, but hopefully next time it’s not going to be for free.