How long will the Cleveland Browns Nick Mullens era last?
Nick Mullens is a decent young quarterback pickup for the Cleveland Browns, but odds are some team will pick him up if the Browns do not promote him soon.
The Cleveland Browns were able to find an impressive young quarterback for the practice squad in the person of Nick Mullens. He’s started 16 games in the NFL for the San Francisco 49ers, which is actually a lot for a third-stringer.
However, the fact that he is on the practice squad rather than the 53-player regular roster indicates that this is more like a hot date rather than a meaningful relationship at this point.
In fact, the Browns still have the phone number of Kyle Lauletta and even Garrett Gilbert (who is now on the New England Patriots practice squad) and can bring them back if they want. Lauletta can be brought back immediately, but Gilbert would have to wait until Monday, Sept 13, but he too can be added to the Browns 53-player roster if the Browns choose to make him an offer.
More about that is explained on page three of this essay.
Nevertheless, at the moment they have the opportunity to work with Mullens, who is only 26, and has been to the Super Bowl as a backup for Jimmy Garoppolo. For the time being, Mullens is an interchangeable part on the practice squad, but if he makes a sufficiently strong impression on the Browns coaching staff, they might decide he is worth developing.
In that case, he might be promoted to the 53 player roster at some point. If not, he may be grabbed by another team, just as the Cowboys grabbed Gilbert last year.
So who do we have here? In college, Mullens starred for the Southern Miss Golden Eagles, where he broke Brett Favre’s single-season record for passing yardage (4,476) and touchdown passes (38). At the Combine he measured with the same ball velocity as Patrick Mahomes (I don’t actually believe it either, but he has a good arm).
His record with San Francisco is an unflattering 5-11, but nevertheless, he knows what it’s like to start and win in the NFL, and as mentioned before, he has been to the Super Bowl as Garoppolo’s backup. The presumption is that when the Niner’s were good it was because of Garoppolo, and when they were bad it was Mullens’ fault, but it may not have been as simple as that.
Garoppolo’s passer rating was 92.4 in 2020, while Mullens’ was 84.1. Jimmy G threw seven touchdown passes in six games, while Mullens threw 12 TD passes in eight games. There wasn’t a huge difference between the two quarterbacks. It may be that the 49ers as a team were just not as good in 2020 as they were in 2019. As usual, the quarterback is to blame.
Mullens became expendable when the 49ers acquired Josh Rosen and also drafted Trey Lance, and thus Mullens was waived and was claimed by Philadelphia. There, he fell behind Jalen Hurts, Joe Flacco, and recently acquired Gardiner Minshew.
Minshew is a very good quarterback and there is not much question that he represents an immediate upgrade for the Eagles. Hence Mullens was cut loose. It doesn’t mean that Mullens cannot play.
Mullens has a strong arm, decent size, everything you would want in a quarterback. He can play, as evidenced by video highlights courtesy of the San Francisco 49ers from back in 2018.
https://twitter.com/49ers/status/1074833306091323392?s=20
Mullens has the potential to continue to improve. However, there are 31 teams in the NFL that are entitled to sign him away from the Browns if they decide they want him. He doesn’t really belong to the Browns at this point. He has simply agreed to train with them for the time being.
It’s likely he won’t be a Cleveland Brown for very long unless he’s promoted to the 53-player roster.
That begs the question, should he be kept on the 53-player roster?