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Browns should follow John Dorsey’s quarterback philosophy

By Elliot Kennel

BEREA, OH - AUGUST 5: Quarterback Baker Mayfield and General manager John Dorsey of the Cleveland Browns talk after practice at the Cleveland Browns Training Camp on August 5, 2019 at the Cleveland Browns Training Facility in Berea, Ohio. (Photo by Don Juan Moore/Getty Images)
BEREA, OH - AUGUST 5: Quarterback Baker Mayfield and General manager John Dorsey of the Cleveland Browns talk after practice at the Cleveland Browns Training Camp on August 5, 2019 at the Cleveland Browns Training Facility in Berea, Ohio. (Photo by Don Juan Moore/Getty Images) /
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Cleveland Browns. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images) /

The Garrett Gilbert Conspiracy Theory

Will Garrett Gilbert return to Cleveland in the off-season to be the third starting-caliber quarterback in the QB room next season? The Browns have two starting-caliber quarterbacks in Baker Mayfield and Case Keenum. Garrett Gilbert was the longshot, drafted in the sixth round by the St. Louis Rams in 2014, Gilbert is a talented but unknown backup who has the size, arm strength, smarts, and accuracy and was the top quarterback in the ill-fated Alliance of American Football. Along the way, he picked up a Super Bowl ring as a backup for Tom Brady. Wherever he has gone the quarterback ahead of him has stayed healthy, so he never played.

John Dorsey signed him for the Browns in 2019. When Drew Stanton wound up on IR with a bum knee, Gilbert became second string. After Keenum was acquired, he was demoted back to third-string for the Browns. Apparently, after having foolishly being left on the practice squad, was lost to the Cowboys, who needed a quarterback after Dak Prescott got hurt. He then started a game when Andy Dalton got hurt, and nearly beat the Pittsburgh Steelers. Yes, it’s just one game, but the rest of the NFL took notice.

But wait just a minute. Is he really lost to the Browns? He’s a free agent at the end of the season. Cleveland can sign him back, and the Cowboys are not in a position to outbid the Browns because the Cowboys have one of the worst salary cap structures in the NFL due to foolish investments in famous players who are no longer at the top of their game.

Could it be that this was Andrew Berry’s plan all along? By exposing Berry to poaching from the other NFL teams, it gave Gilbert some badly needed NFL game experience.

Garrett would be the most straightforward third-string hire to bring on board, and he already experienced with the Browns and with Stefanski. Gilbert is an old goat for a quarterback of the future (29 next year). He’s not a new Corvette straight from the factory, but more like an F-100 pickup truck in pristine condition, with a V-8 fuel-injected engine with very low mileage. He might not be your dream car, but he could be a really good investment. He has done everything in college that most of the kids have done, plus he has a Super Bowl ring, plus he has game experience versus the Steelers, plus he has two seasons experience with the Browns and one season with the Stefanski offense. It’s possible he could supplant Case Keenum in a year or two.

For the purposes of backing up on the Browns roster, he would be at least as valuable (to them, at least) as a Day 3 draft pick. So it would be worth signing him to a two-year deal, unless there is some other quarterback out there that the scouts are even crazier for.

However, he needs to be kept on the regular 53 player roster this time to avoid poaching from other teams. The next time the Cowboys or some other team needs an emergency quarterback, that can be worked out but it should cost them a sixth-round draft pick. No more free quarterbacks for Mr. Jones.

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