To say that the Cleveland Browns have had quarterback problems would be a massive understatement. No NFL franchise has swung and missed as much as the Browns when it comes to finding their franchise quarterback.
In recent history, only the New York Jets look like a close second. Both teams have spent absurd sums of money and high draft capital to stop the revolving door, just to go back to the drawing board a year or two later.
That might be the case with both teams again this season. The Jets are likely to move on from Justin Fields; whereas, the Browns could either roll the dice with a competition between Shedeur Sanders and Deshaun Watson or pursue a veteran in free agency.
Considering that, Zack Rosenblatt of The Athletic argued that the Browns could turn to the Jets for help. In a nutshell, he implied that the quarterback who wasn't good enough for the Jets would do just fine for the Browns.
"By the end of the season, Fields seemed scared to throw the ball and struggled to work through his progressions. But there is talent — and his mobility is undoubtedly a weapon, something that few are better at weaponizing than Monken," Rosenblatt wrote. "Fields won’t cost much at this point and, as an added bonus, he’s a beloved figure in Ohio thanks to his time as a Buckeye."
The Browns may be desperate, but not Justin Fields desperate
With all due respect to Justin Fields, he's not the player people thought he'd be when he was in college. For the Browns, riding that Ohio State wave and talking themselves into giving him another chance would be organizational malpractice.
However, that's beyond the point. The underlying message in that column is essentially that the Browns are so eager to find a savior, so desperate for a franchise quarterback, that they would even consider getting the guy who was benched nine games into the season after going 2-7 for a 3-14 team. That's just lazy, tiresome, and even disrespectful to a degree.
Again, this is not about Fields. It's hard to believe he'll figure things out after five years and three franchises, but that's beside the point. There's absolutely zero evidence that he can be an NFL quarterback, so why should the Browns even consider signing him?
"The Browns is the Browns," former Steelers wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster once said. Coming from a divisional rival, that punch didn't even land. Unfortunately, however, it may have made its way to the media's subconscious.
The Browns have a young quarterback to mold. Shedeur Sanders is a cost-controlled option who gives them, at worst, a similar chance to win as Fields, all while providing the upside of potentially, maybe, hopefully being the guy they've craved for so long. They also have a former MVP-caliber quarterback in Deshaun Watson, who may still have something left in the tank.
They also have two first-round picks and nine total selections to either trade for a veteran or get a rookie in the NFL Draft. The fact of the matter is that they have alternatives and the possibility to swim or sink under their own terms. Contrary to what the national media may suggest, they don't need the scraps from a 3-win team.