The Cleveland Browns aren’t in a position to spend heavy at quarterback for at least the next two years, but there is a solution to that problem.
While that reads like a contradiction, it actually works in straightforward fashion in one particular scenario: a team that overpaid for an expensive signal-caller cuts that player loose at a point in his contract where the franchise in question is still on the hook for a huge amount of the QB’s salary.
It happened with Russell Wilson and the Pittsburgh Steelers last year, who acquired Wilson on a league-minimum deal ($1.2 million), while the Denver Broncos shouldered $37.8 million. Denver owed the QB a guaranteed salary of $39 million, so the Steelers’ minimum deal was subtracted off of that amount.
The Browns are potentially in position to make the same move with Kirk Cousins, currently of the Atlanta Falcons. The Falcons signed Cousins to a four-year deal worth $180 million last offseason, which includes $100 million in fully-guaranteed money. Part of that guarantee is a $27.5 million base salary in 2025.
Atlanta will probably try to trade Cousins, but it makes little sense for any team to do a deal when the franchise is highly likely to cut Cousins in mid-March ahead of a $10 million roster bonus that is non-guaranteed until a certain date.
In the most likely scenario, Cousins hits free agency and signs a minimum deal somewhere. Cousins wants to start, and the Browns are in a relatively unique position to offer him that opportunity.
Kirk Cousins Fits Browns’ Needs in Several Scenarios
GettyQuarterback Kirk Cousins of the Atlanta Falcons.
Deshaun Watson remains on Cleveland’s roster and will be a financial thorn in the team’s side for several seasons after his $230 million fully-guaranteed contract is up following 2026.
That is because of all the money the Browns have pushed off into the future after making what is probably the most catastrophic trade in NFL history to acquire Watson from the Houston Texans, then signing him to what is arguably the worst contract the league has ever seen.
Watson was probably on his way to the bench in 2025 anyway after yet another poor campaign. However, after tearing his Achilles tendon once during the year and then again during his rehabilitation, Watson may not even be medically ready to return at any point next season.
Hence, both the Browns’ need for a quarterback and the need to sign a competent one to an inexpensive deal. Alex Kay of Bleacher Report projected on February 11 that Cousins will wind up in Cleveland as the QB in question.
“Cleveland is only a year removed from [an] 11-6 campaign that resulted in a postseason berth, and the roster still has many of the pieces needed to get back to that level,” Kay wrote. “If the Browns manage to get a good deal on Cousins, he’s well worth kicking the tires on. If he returns to his pre-injury form, this squad could shock the world in 2025.”
Browns Poised for Rebuild After Myles Garrett Trade Request
GettyDefensive end Myles Garrett of the Cleveland Browns.
Whether Cleveland will ever admit it openly, the franchise appears headed for a full rebuild. Star defensive end Myles Garrett has already requested a trade, and Pro Bowl cornerback Denzel Ward may not be far behind.
Those circumstances could argue for the Browns using the No. 2 pick in April’s draft on a QB to start the rebuild in earnest. However, it is unclear what the franchise thinks about Shedeur Sanders of Colorado or Cam Ward of Miami, the only two QBs with first-round grades on most draft boards, but also two players who might have been the seventh and eighth signal-callers selected had they come out of college last year as part of a far superior class.
Cleveland can land an elite talent at another position with that pick, or trade back and stack picks, as Kay noted. The Browns should get a king’s ransom for Garrett and a first-rounder for Ward if they deal both of them, which could set the team up for one of the biggest drafts in recent memory.
In several scenarios, pursuing a player like Cousins as a one-year bridge option to a longer-term solution in 2026 and beyond makes a good deal of sense.
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