3 Cleveland Browns alternatives at quarterback if Deshaun Watson deal fizzles
By Greg Newland
Cleveland Browns Backup Quarterback Plan No. 2 – Matt Ryan
Most of the chatter around the league is that the Falcons are currently in the lead to land Watson. He’s a southern boy and has close ties to the city, not to mention the beautiful dome they recently built.
From the sounds of it, Watson would be as close to a general manager as any player has ever been in the league. I don’t buy it, but sometimes being close to home makes all the difference in the world.
Should Watson land in Atlanta, then all of a sudden Matt Ryan becomes available. He has a massive cap hit in 2022, but the Browns could certainly make it work, and one would think he would be willing to restructure to be on a competitive team.
Ryan has a ton of talent, but he is certainly past his prime. He has proven that he can be an NFL gunslinger, but we haven’t ever seen him consistently play in the snow and cold. This would definitely be a bridge quarterback.
The Browns could still be contenders, but the search for the long-term fix would still be underway. Truthfully, I think that is extremely distracting, and I’m afraid Ryan would rather go to the Colts than the Browns. Atlanta will be in no position to be picky, but the Colts are more desperate than the Browns and would likely have an interest.
Ryan is also a bit of a long shot, but could still potentially happen.