Cleveland Browns: Aggressively early look at 53-man 2021 roster
By Greg Newland
Quarterback
While the top two quarterbacks who will be active on game day are simple, it gets more complicated after that. There’s no doubt that Baker Mayfield will be the starter and Case Keenum will be the backup heading into 2021.
Mayfield has won the heart of Cleveland Brown’s fans and won the team their first playoff game in 2020. He has been a strong performer on the field and a great ambassador of the city.
Keenum has seen very few snaps and I look for it to stay that way in 2021 as well. Head coach Kevin Stefanski paid a premium for a backup quarterback as an insurance policy, and I look for that to continue one more season.
As great as a backup as Keenum is, he may be on the cut list next year in order to get extensions done with other players.
The third quarterback is the big question. Will the Browns have an active third quarterback on game day, or have an additional offensive lineman active and just roll with two? While they will certainly maintain a third quarterback on the practice squad, I could see only two active quarterbacks on game day.
Kyle Lauletta is the third quarterback now, but knowing if he remains is a real guessing game. Don’t be shocked if the Browns pick up another guy to be on the practice squad or active roster as things change week to week.