For a second straight season, the Cleveland Browns quarterback situation was a revolving door situation for Kevin Stefanski — which led to a significant regression in the win column in 2024.
There has been plenty of speculation regarding which veteran quarterbacks the organization could pursue or draft this offseason, one recent report suggests the Browns could go after a signal caller who was wearing the jersey of an AFC North division rival last season.
Justin Fields Named Free Agent Target for the Browns
The Browns quarterback situation with the hefty salary of an injured Deshaun Watson makes this one of the most unique QB situations in the league entering the 2025 NFL season.
Due to some of those financial concerns, Dawg Pound Daily’s Candace Pedraza has pinpointed Justin Fields as an ideal QB to target in free agency this offseason.
Pedraza wrote, “Fields had a very solid year with the Steelers prior to being benched for Wilson, who made the Pro Bowl but had an extremely up and down year with the AFC North team. Fields is never going to wow you with his arm, but his ability to extend plays with his legs and, now, his ability to limit turnovers are key parts to Cleveland’s offense that need a boost.”
There is little question that the level of production we saw from Fields in his six games as the starting quarterback of the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2024 looked far more like a viable starting quarterback in the league than Jameis Winston or Dorian Thompson-Robinson — who combined for 13 touchdown passes to 18 interceptions last year in relief duty of Watson.
Pedraza added, “Even if the Browns decide to sign Fields but still trade for another starter like Cousins or Stafford, he’d be a night and day upgrade at backup compared to the production seen from Dorian Thompson-Robinson and Jameis Winston. While it’s unclear if Fields would want to be a backup again, money talks.”
The idea of signing Fields while still acquiring either Matthew Stafford or Kirk Cousins this offseason with Watson still on the roster feels a bit chaotic — which ironically reflects the status of the quarterback position for the organization over the last two years.
Could the Browns Really Sign Justin Fields at a Discount in Free Agency?
No matter how you attempt to spin it, Watson’s disastrous contract still looms very large of the organization.
Watson’s status for the upcoming 2025 NFL season is very much in limbo while he recovers from a torn ACL, which makes his $46 million base salary in 2025 a huge roadblock to work around to retool this roster into a contender for next year.
Pedraza directly addresses the ideal price point where the Browns would love to add a quarterback by saying, “He [Bill Barnwell] added at the end of the tier section that the average annual projected salary for quarterbacks in under this umbrella falls in the range of $7 million to $16 million. That’s more or less the range that the Browns would love to be able to land around this offseason to get a starting quarterback, especially as they just got Juan Thornhill off the books who was due for $7 million this season.”
I’m aware Fields got benched last year, but a dynamic dual threat quarterback who is only 25 years old who is coming off of arguably his best stretch of playing winning football in his young NFL career may come at a higher price point than people think.
Additionally, Fields spent last year as a backup while going 4-2 as a starter with 10 total touchdowns and just one interception. I imagine he is going to prioritize going somewhere he has the opportunity to become a multi-year starter.
Pedraza finished by saying, “If he’s available for $7 million this offseason, that’s a steal for Cleveland as they continue to seek out an ever elusive, consistent starting signal caller.”
Fields would be a steal at that price, but we’ll see how the rest of the league values his intriguing skillset on the open market very shortly.
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