As rumors begin to swirl about the Cleveland Browns' alleged interest in trading for Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford, it's important to take a step back and remember that the trade market isn't the only place where the Browns can land a starting quarterback.
In fact, it might be smarter for them to use free agency as a way to fill that need. That's especially going to be the case if they fall in love with some rookies during the NFL combine and become intent upon keeping their premium draft picks.
While they're likely to take a look at trading for a starter - Kirk Cousins in addition to Stafford makes sense as a target - free agency will be busy for Cleveland, as well.
With a recent ESPN article outlining all available free agent quarterbacks and their respective tiers, it's clear that the Browns can go after a great signal caller option for as much money as they just cut from their books.
Browns can target Justin Fields for a very low projected asking price
According to Bill Barnwell and ESPN's latest tier list with all available free agents during the upcoming free agency period, Justin Fields falls into Tier 4. This tier is known as borderline starters/high-end backups, and it lists Fields alongside names like Jacoby Brissett, Daniel Jones, and Fields' Pittsburgh Steelers teammate Russell Wilson.
"There has been more chatter in the past couple of weeks about Pittsburgh bringing Fields back over Wilson, but given that they benched Fields the moment Wilson was healthy, that theory doesn't quite make sense. If Fields returns to Pittsburgh, it would probably be as part of a QB competition," writes Barnwell about Fields' future with Pittsburgh.
Read more: Steelers loss might make Justin Fields tougher for Browns to get in 2025
He added at the end of the tier section that the average annual projected salary for quarterbacks in under this umbrella falls in the range of $7 million to $16 million. That's more or less the range that the Browns would love to be able to land around this offseason to get a starting quarterback, especially as they just got Juan Thornhill off the books who was due for $7 million this season.
Fields had a very solid year with the Steelers prior to being benched for Wilson, who made the Pro Bowl but had an extremely up and down year with the AFC North team. Fields is never going to wow you with his arm, but his ability to extend plays with his legs and, now, his ability to limit turnovers are key parts to Cleveland's offense that need a boost.
Even if the Browns decide to sign Fields but still trade for another starter like Cousins or Stafford, he'd be a night and day upgrade at backup compared to the production seen from Dorian Thompson-Robinson and Jameis Winston. While it's unclear if Fields would want to be a backup again, money talks.
If he's available for $7 million this offseason, that's a steal for Cleveland as they continue to seek out an ever elusive, consistent starting signal caller.