The Cleveland Browns have been searching far and wide for a long-term franchise quarterback over the last quarter century. With the 2026 team away for the summer break, here at Dawg Pound Daily we’ve decided this is the perfect time to take a stroll down memory lane in an eight-chapter series called Cleveland's Quest for a Quarterback. This is Chapter 3.
To be clear: this exercise isn’t about dunking on the Browns. It’s about getting to the bottom of the seemingly unsolvable riddle that has plagued Cleveland’s proud fan base for far too long. We’re here to answer the questions: When did the Browns flunk the test? And when did the right decision get overshadowed by the football gods’ unrelenting cruelty?
Dealing with the aftermath of a colossal blunder
In Chapter 2, we dove deep into the Browns' ill-fated decision to pass on Ben Roethlisberger in the 2004 NFL Draft. If seeing Roethlisberger stroll to a sterling 13-0 regular season record en route to a conference championship appearance for the rival Pittsburgh Steelers didn't hurt enough, the Browns went a ghastly 4-12 that year. In fact, it would take them three seasons, from 2004-2006, to surpass Big Ben's rookie win total.
Alas, there's no use crying over spilled milk. In 2005, the Browns had a decision to make at the quarterback position yet again. After firing head coach Butch Davis, they opted to hire Romeo Crennel, of New England Patriots fame. The former defensive coordinator had just led back-to-back Super Bowl champion defenses for the Patriots, and the Browns were looking to build something similar.
The first order of business for the new head coach, naturally, was to find a quarterback. Would the Browns succumb to the sunk-cost fallacy and run it back with Jeff Garcia, Kelly Holcomb, and fourth-round rookie Luke McCown? Believe it or not, no. They had the guts to realize there was no saving that group. They released Garcia only one year into his deal, let Holcomb walk in free agency, and traded McCown after just one season. Clean slate.
The Browns had better options than Trent Dilfer
The Browns were in luck. The free agent quarterback class of 2005 was packed with intrigue.
In one corner, you had Drew Bledsoe, a 33-year-old, four-time Pro Bowler who had been let go by the Buffalo Bills to make way for rookie J.P. Losman (which proved regrettable). Bledsoe was coming off a season where he led the Bills to a 9-7 record, completing 56.9 percent of his passes for 2,932 yards, 20 TDs, and 16 interceptions, and a 76.6 passer rating.
What's more, Bledsoe had spent 1993-1996, as well as 2001, in the same building as Crennel in New England. It all seemed to make for a perfect match.
Then there was Kurt Warner. Warner spent 2004 with the Giants as their bridge to Eli Manning. Still, he went 5-4 in his starts, completing 62.8 percent of his attempts for 2,054 yards, six TDs, and four INTs. That output gave him a respectable 86.5 passer rating for the year. The three-time Pro Bowler and two-time league MVP was available as a free agent, free to join any team that would compensate him fairly.
Choosing Trent Dilfer over Drew Bledsoe and Kurt Warner
The Cleveland Browns had these two excellent options staring them in the face, but they instead opted for door No. 3. They struck a deal with the Seattle Seahawks to bring Trent Dilfer to town. Dilfer was coming off a season where he started (and won) two games in spot duty and put up gnarly numbers: 43.1 percent completion, 333 yards, one TD, three INTs, and a troubling 46.1 passer rating.
Yes, Dilfer was a one-time Super Bowl-winning quarterback. He also holds the dubious distinction of being the only QB in NFL history not to return to the team he won a Super Bowl with in the subsequent season. That kind of shrewd decision-making is what has made the Ravens one of the league's most consistent teams. They knew he wasn't the reason, and they tried something different. But I digress.
Bledsoe ended up in Dallas with the Cowboys, where he led them to a respectable 9-7 record in his first season. Warner struggled initially, but lest we forget he took the Cardinals to the Super Bowl in 2009. The Cardinals. Kurt Warner may as well have walked on water as far as I'm concerned.
Charlie Frye became Cleveland's next quarterback gamble
Then came the NFL Draft, where the Browns wound up doing one of the funniest things a franchise has ever done. No, I'm not talking about passing on Aaron Rodgers. While the Browns (and 20 some-odd other teams) could've drafted him before the Green Bay Packers, he was evidently a polarizing prospect. There was no obvious QB mistake around where the Browns picked at No. 3 overall.
The comedy came when they opted to draft Charlie Frye in the third round.
It's not an affront to Frye in the slightest — he had a spectacular college career and had tools worth gambling on. What makes you cackle is the fact that the Browns whiffed by passing on Ben Roethlisberger in 2004 and opted to draft the next prototypically sized, small-Ohio-school product in Frye. It's almost as if they thought they could just use some Wite-Out on the initial mistake and make it right with Frye.
The idea of pairing Dilfer and Frye is at least a step above the Ty Detmer debacle from 1999. Dilfer had been a top draft choice once, and had been counted on as a starter by multiple franchises. He knew the game. The main issue with opting to group the vet with a third-round draft pick is the unmistakable notion that the Browns believed they had outsmarted the league.
If the NFL viewed Frye as a quarterback worth building around, he'd have gone higher. The Browns instead drafted him and acted as if he was the heir apparent. Quarterback-starved teams do strange things. Despite the 2005 Browns going 6-10, they tabbed Frye as "the guy" at precisely the worst time.
The Browns doubled down instead of chasing Drew Brees
If you thought the 2005 free agent class was impressive, wait until you see who was available in 2006. The headliner was Drew Brees. Yes, that guy who just got enshrined into the Hall of Fame. The second act was Daunte Culpepper, a one-time budding star whose career had been derailed by a brutal injury at that point. Finally, veteran Steve McNair (RIP) was made available by the Tennessee Titans.
But remember, the Browns had Charlie Frye. Cleveland was so intrigued by his 1,002 yards, four TDs, and five INTs on a 59.8 completion percentage that they stayed out of the sweepstakes altogether. They also stayed away from any QBs in the draft. The direction was clear — they were handing the keys to the car to Charlie Frye and seeing just where he'd take them.
Spoiler: it was straight into oncoming traffic.
Brees went on to forge a Hall of Fame career in New Orleans, another city that had been long-suffering. Culpepper's injury proved career-altering, so the Browns at least didn't miss much on that one.
As for McNair, Cleveland watched helplessly as he and the Ravens beat them twice en route to a 13–3 AFC North Champion season. The North is pain. But hey, at least they got to steal future-folk-hero Derek Anderson from Baltimore on waivers. Sometimes, it's the small victories that matter.
Another missed opportunity leaves Cleveland back at square one
When the dust settled on 2006, the Browns were 4-12. Back to the bottom. The good thing about being at the bottom is there's nowhere to go but up. Maybe in 2007, the Browns would use the latest innovation in technology, Apple's first iPhone, to cobble together a strategy that works. There's only one way to find out ...
— This series will continue with Chapter 4 on Sunday, July 12. See Chapter 1, "The Right Pick, the Wrong Plan," here.
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