5 best backup quarterbacks in Cleveland Browns history

3. Jacoby Brissett (2022)

While players such as Derek Anderson, Brian Hoyer, and Brian Sipe went on to become full-time starters, Jacoby Brissett was never supposed to start while Deshaun Watson was eligible. That means despite being an 11-game starter, he was still technically the backup quarterback in 2022.

Brissett started out with a win in his first game, helping the Browns knock off Baker Mayfield and the Carolina Panthers in Week 1 by a score of 26-24. He then should have led them to another couple of wins, but the defense fell apart in Week 2 against the Jets.

Even with that debacle, Brissett went into Week 4 with a 2-1 record and helped hand the Steelers a loss on Thursday Night Football in Week 3. But then, the wheels fell off.

Cleveland lost four in a row and six of the next seven games. While it's easy to blame the quarterback — and Brissett did have a couple of gaffes in losses to the Chargers and Falcons — the blame shouldn't all fall on his shoulders. Again, as a backup, his job was to give his team a chance and that's what he did.

Four of those seven losses were by less than a touchdown and one was by eight points. That means he kept his team in the game and a few fortunate bounces could have made all the difference in the world.

As frustrating as that stretch from Week 4 through Week 11 was, Brissett did get to finish on a high note. His final start was against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and he handed them a 23-17 loss in overtime.

In all, Brissett threw for 2,608 yards with 12 touchdowns against six picks. He added 243 yards on the ground with two more touchdowns and even became known as a quarterback-sneak king due to the effectiveness he had on fourth-and-one conversions.