Bargain shopping: 3 free agent veteran QBs Cleveland Browns could sign

There are many free agent quarterbacks available this offseason for the Cleveland Browns to sign but here are few veterans at a bargain price

‘Tis the offseason, and as such there will be many rumors that fly around the NFL and that’s no different for the Cleveland Browns. They have their franchise quarterback now in Deshaun Watson, however, who they decide to go with as their backup quarterback is still up in the air.

Cleveland did have Jacoby Brissett last season, and that turned out to be a good move as he played well in his 11 starts. Cleveland finished with a 4-7 record before they transitioned back to Watson, who had been out for the majority of the year due to his suspension.

Now Brissett is a free agent and will likely look to catch on with another team, where he potentially could be a starter. Ideally, it would be nice if he hung around Cleveland as he and Watson seemed to develop a good rapport as teammates. However, the NFL is a business, and the Browns will need to figure out what they’re going to do with that backup position.

Let’s now take a look at three veteran quarterbacks in the NFL that could be a good bargain for Cleveland.

Browns free agent QB option No. 3: Teddy Bridgewater

I mentioned Teddy Bridgewater a year ago as being a possible free agent for the Browns as he had just completed his previous season as a member of the Denver Broncos. Cleveland went on to sign Jacoby Brissett and Bridgewater ended up in Miami. He got a couple of starts this past season and lost both games. Overall, he has a 33-32 record as a starter since he began in the NFL back in 2014.

He was drafted by the Minnesota Vikings, meaning Kevin Stefanski has some history with Bridgewater. He was the Vikings starter for two seasons and played well back then as Stefanski served as an assistant. He went 17-11 in those seasons before suffering a major leg injury that sidelined him all of 2017.

Bridgewater later went to play for the New Orleans Saints as a backup. By 2020, he worked his way back as a starter for the Carolina Panthers. Then he signed a deal with the Denver Broncos the following season as their starter.

Bridgewater was talked about as going to Cleveland way back in 2014 at the draft but the team ultimately went with Johnny Manziel instead.

He’s always been smart with the ball and has also been able to escape the sack as a rather mobile quarterback. As a starter, his highest total of getting sacked in his career was back in 2015 when he took 44 of them. For comparison’s sake, Deshaun Watson was sacked 62 times in 2018 and 20 times in only six games this past season.

He isn’t projected to be that expensive either if Cleveland were to sign Bridgewater. He took $6.5 million in Miami this past season and will likely take less this next season with whomever he signs with.