How long will the Cleveland Browns Nick Mullens era last?
Should the Cleveland Browns go with three QBs on the 53-player roster?
This fan’s answer is that if the Browns have three quarterbacks who can win with their team, they should keep all three on the 53-player roster. At the moment, they may not have reached the point in their decision-making process where they are comfortable with Nick Mullens and want to commit long-term. For that reason, they may want to keep Mullens on the reserve squad until they make up their minds.
The criterion is not whether a player is a “franchise quarterback.” For those of you who wish to cite getting cut as proof that Mullens is not a “franchise 1uarterback,” that’s true. That is because there is no such thing as a franchise quarterback.
A franchise quarterback is a mythological beast with Messianic powers to fill unrealistic fan expectations, which are unlimited and impossible to ever fulfill. In the real world, there is no such real individual. There are only quarterbacks who give your team a realistic chance to win compared to other real quarterbacks in the NFL and others who damage your team’s chances.
To assign a number to it, if the Browns believe that they can win more games than they lose with Mullens at the controls during his Browns career, he belongs on the 53-player roster. If not, they might as well leave him on the practice squad and assume the risk of losing him. They can always replace him with someone else who is a long shot but at least has a shot to win in an emergency situation.
Last season, they were in a similar situation. They had Baker Mayfield as their first-string quarterback, Case Keenum as the backup, and Garrett Gilbert as a well-regarded third-string quarterback. However, they tried to keep Gilbert on the practice squad, hoping no one would notice him.
Having a player on the practice squad gives a false sense of security because they can be signed by the other 31 teams. Last season, the Dallas Cowboys signed Gilbert when Dak Prescott went down and back up Andy Dalton suffered a concussion.
For all practical intents and purposes, Nick Mullens belongs as much to the Steelers and Ravens as he does to the Browns until such time as he is promoted to the 53 player active roster.
Quarterback is such an important position in today’s NFL that it does not make sense to allow other teams to take away a third-string quarterback if he is any good. If the guy is terrible, that’s one thing. But if he is good enough to win — let’s say, comparable to Case Keenum — you have to take the quarterback over a backup at another position.
Not all teams carry three active quarterbacks. If the talent is not there, carrying the extra quarterback will not make up for it. The Steelers carry three, with Ben Roethlisberger, Mason Rudolph, and Dwayne Haskins. The Ravens have carried three at times. This season, they had Lamar Jackson, Trace McSorley, and Tyler Huntley, although McSorley was recently cut.
The Bengals figure they have such excellent pass protection, they need only two quarterbacks with Joe Burrow and Brandon Allen. Of course, the Bengals may not be all that bright.
If the team does not have three quarterbacks, that may mean the front office has not done its job and cannot find a third quarterback with upside. Deliberately carrying only two quarterbacks is a bad idea, but if the talent isn’t there, promoting the third quarterback does not make him more talented.
Mullens has some nice potential, and this fan is excited that the Browns were able to sign him. He is much more impressive than Kyle Lauletta and has a higher ceiling than Garrett Gilbert. However, at this point, it is not necessary to move Mullens to the 53 player roster, because the Browns could also promote someone like Gilbert or Lauletta just as easily.
They don’t know Mullens well enough to be sure that he can actually win for them. In the next several weeks, perhaps Mullens will convince the coaching staff that he is at a different level, which would trigger a promotion, but so far that point has not been reached.
Hence, this fan’s position is that the Browns should form an opinion quickly as to whether he can be developed or not, and if the answer is yes, then sign him. If the answer is no, then find someone else and sign that one. However, do not deliberately carry only two quarterbacks on the 53-player roster. If the talent is there in three individuals, carry all three on the roster. That should be the goal.