Ranking the top 10 Cleveland Browns quarterbacks of all-time
By Randy Gurzi
![Cleveland Browns v Pittsburgh Steelers Cleveland Browns v Pittsburgh Steelers](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_crop,w_3000,h_1687,x_0,y_0/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/images/GettyImages/mmsport/56/01h21be8r6t9ss1xnkkj.jpg)
8. Vinny Testaverde, 1993-1995
Regular season record: 16-15
Playoff Record: 1-1
No. 10 All-Time Browns passing yardage: 7,255
To this day, it's hard to find any Cleveland fans that don't love Bernie Kosar. He was a local kid that turned into the starting quarterback for the Browns — so they were all-in on Kosar. But that didn't matter at all to Bill Belichick.
Cleveland hired Belichick in 1991 and after a couple of losing seasons with Kosar, he decided to sign Vinny Testaverde. The former No. 1 overall pick out of Miami (where he was a teammate of Kosar's), Testaverde spent the first six seasons of his career with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. At the time, they were a frustratingly poor franchise, so Belichick believed his lack of success there would be cured with a change of scenery.
It was also clear he wanted him to be the starter over Kosar because he made the move after just six games. Kosar was uncerimoniously released and Testaverde finished the year with a 3-3 record. But then in 1994, things turned around.
Cleveland won 10 games that year and even knocked off the Patriots in the playoffs. In that win, Testaverde was 20-of-30 for 268 yards and a touchdown.
Testaverde went with the franchise when they moved to Baltimore but as a Brown, he was 16-15 with 7,255 yards and 47 touchdowns.
In the end, Cleveland was just a footnote for Testaverde who played from 1987 through 2007 and had a solid run with the New York Jets from 1998 through 2003. In all, he played for seven different teams and last suited up in the NFL at age 44.
Even with his major success coming elsewhere, he was one of the top quarterbacks in franchise history and was the last quarterback to lead them to a playoff win until Baker Mayfield did so in 2020.