With free agency about to take off, there are a few teams that are likely to have a pretty quiet time amongst the chaos of signings and trades.
The Cleveland Browns are one of them.
With just under $13 million in cap space and major holes at quarterback and running back pending, the Browns are going to have to get extremely creative in order to rebuild their roster ahead of 2025. More than likely, they'll seek out a quarterback in the draft in order to save money. But, they'll probably still be active in seeking out veteran assistance at signal caller.
In order to snag a veteran quarterback, they'll likely need to do so through free agency as opposed to through a trade. One recent suggestion for the best possible free agent to hit the Browns' roster feels like the most obvious result of the offseason.
NFL writer names Browns as perfect landing spot for Kirk Cousins
The Athletic's Mike Jones named ideal landing spots for one free agent for every team in the NFL. For the Browns, Jones named Cousins with a major asterisk as the perfect player for the Browns to land this offseason.
"That’s IF the Falcons wind up cutting the 36-year-old Cousins now that they’re all-in on second-year pro Michael Penix Jr. Cousins makes so much sense for the Browns, who appear unlikely to have Deshaun Watson for some time because of the setback he experienced in his recovery from a torn Achilles tendon," wrote Jones in his defense of the pick.
He added that Cousins clearly has a one up on the Browns' minds considering he's familiar with their system on offense. He played under head coach Kevin Stefanski during his time in Minnesota, and he performed extremely well during that time.
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If Stefanski could replicate, or get close to, the production that Cousins had with the VIkings and in the first part of his time with the Falcons, then Cleveland can see some major improvement to their offense coming down the line faster than we might be anticipating.
Of course, that's only going to be possible if Atlanta decides to cut Cousins, which they've postured that they won't be doing. If they cut him before June 1, then they take on $65 million in dead money and lose $25 million against their cap. If it's after June 1, they "only" take on $40 million in dead money, and save zero dollars against their cap, per Over the Cap.
Could the Browns trade for Cousins? Absolutely. They have picks to deal, and promising young talent under contract on their roster. They also do have an enticing piece in Myles Garrett who is begging to be added to the trade block who could factor into a swap for Cousins, but that wouldn't make sense money-wise for Cleveland, either.
The team just has to hope that Atlanta cuts their losses - literally - and allows for the Browns to snag Cousins this offseason. If not, there are a few less than inspiring other options on the market they could entertain.