BEREA, Ohio -- In the coming months, the Cleveland Browns will remake a quarterback room that general manager Andrew Berry said at his end-of-season news conference will look different in 2025. The Browns, who hold the second overall pick in the NFL draft, have already made changes to the offensive coaching staff after a disastrous 2024 season.
In the last month, Cleveland has made in-house promotions, moving tight ends coach/pass-game specialist Tommy Rees to offensive coordinator and senior offensive assistant Bill Musgrave to quarterbacks coach. The Browns also hired former Rice University head coach Mike Bloomgren to be their new offensive line coach.
Top Browns decision-makers, including Berry and head coach Kevin Stefanski, were in attendance the Senior Bowl and Shrine Bowl, which included meeting with top quarterback prospect Shedeur Sanders and getting an in-person look at other prospects.
But the first opportunity to upgrade the quarterback room will come when free agency opens in early March. Both Rees and Stefanski have said they aren't looking for a particular type of player at the position. Rees said the single-most important attribute he seeks is a good decision-maker. Stefanski, in an interview with SiriusXM NFL Radio at the Senior Bowl, touted a system that has been successful with different types of quarterbacks.
"For us, it's about tools," Stefanski said. "You're always looking for dominant traits. You'd love for these guys to be the bluest of blue-chippers, and there are some of those guys. But you're also looking for, 'OK, this guy may not have this, but he's really good at this one thing.' And as coaches, we can exploit that one thing that he's really good at."
The free agent class of quarterbacks isn't composed of elite names but includes plenty of veteran options -- from Russell Wilson to Daniel Jones -- that Cleveland could turn to in 2025 to start or compete with a rookie. Here is a look at some of the best options for Cleveland.
Russell Wilson
2024 team: Pittsburgh Steelers
Age entering the 2025 season: 36
2024 stats: 11 games, 63.7% completion, 2,482 passing yards, 16 touchdowns, five interceptions; 155 rushing yards, two touchdowns
Steelers owner Art Rooney II said it is "unlikely" the team re-signs both Wilson and Justin Fields, so it appears one of Pittsburgh's quarterbacks will be on the move this offseason. Wilson, though 10 years older than Fields, will be the more expensive of the two after a bit of a resurgence following a rough two-year stint with the Denver Broncos.
Wilson missed the first six games of the season because of a calf injury, but he jump-started the Steelers' passing game when inserted in the starting lineup. Upon making his team debut in Week 7, Wilson's 21 completions on passes that traveled at least 20 air yards ranked third in the NFL. Wilson, though, struggled toward the end of the season as the Steelers lost their final five games, including a loss in the wild-card round. During that stretch, Wilson ranked bottom 10 in the league in completion percentage and yards per attempt. Wilson's best days probably are behind him and his mobility is waning, but his famed "moon balls" are still effective and he could project as a short-term starter.
Sam Darnold
2024 team: Minnesota Vikings
Age entering the 2025 season: 28
2024 stats: 17 games, 66.2% completion, 4,319 passing yards, 35 touchdowns, 12 interceptions; 212 rushing yards, one touchdown
Darnold, the No. 3 pick in the 2018 draft, had a career year in Minnesota that has set him up for a massive payday after he was cast a bust. With the Vikings, Darnold posted career-best marks in touchdown passes (35), total QBR (60.5) and completion percentage (66.2%). His struggles in the final two games of the season, particularly in Minnesota's season-ending loss to the Los Angeles Rams in the wild-card round, may have resurfaced concerns about his game as he took nine sacks and his accuracy wavered in the face of constant pressure. However, a front office source predicted Darnold's market wouldn't change much based on his late-season performance.
The Browns are projected to be about $63 million over the 2025 cap but will carry over roughly $40 million in cap space and will make cuts and restructures to be cap compliant. Cleveland has also maintained it will have the flexibility to make moves in free agency and has often been creative in contract structures. Darnold had success in a similar system as Stefanski's but with needs elsewhere and teams with more favorable cap situations, the Browns aren't well-positioned for a bidding war.
Jacoby Brissett
2024 team: New England Patriots
Age entering the 2025 season: 32
2024 stats: Eight games (five starts), 59% completion, 826 passing yards, two touchdowns, one interception; 62 rushing yards
Brissett started the first 11 games of the 2022 season in Cleveland as Deshaun Watson served a suspension for violating the league's personal conduct policy. The Browns went 4-7 with Brissett as the starter, but he performed well, ranking ninth in QBR (62.1). Brissett has familiarity with Stefanski's system, and teammates praised his leadership during his time with the team. He could serve in a similar stop-gap role as he did with the Patriots and Drake Maye last season.
Justin Fields
2024 team: Steelers
Age entering the 2025 season: 26
2024 stats: 10 games (six starts), 65.8% completion, 1,106 passing yards, five touchdowns, one interception; 289 rushing yards, five touchdowns
Fields, the No. 11 overall pick in the 2021 draft, helped lead the Steelers to a 4-2 record to start 2024, but it wasn't enough to keep the starting role. Wilson took over for the final 11 games, and Fields was used sparingly in some packages as a runner. The Steelers weren't as dynamic passing the ball with Fields under center, but his athleticism would be a useful wrinkle that the Browns could build around, especially as their running game faltered last season. Rees has familiarity building an offense around a quarterback with Fields' skill set after spending a season with Jalen Milroe as offensive coordinator at the University of Alabama. Fields' market also shouldn't match that of Darnold or Wilson and at 26, there is possible upside the team could unlock.
Daniel Jones
2024 teams: New York Giants, Vikings
Age entering the 2025 season: 28
2024 stats: 10 games, 63.3% completion, 2,070 passing yards, eight touchdowns, seven interceptions; 265 rushing yards, two touchdowns
Jones' five-plus seasons in New York ended unceremoniously, as he was benched and demoted to third-string quarterback before the Giants granted his request for a release in November. His time as the Giants' starter was underwhelming for a player selected with the No. 6 pick in the 2019 draft; his 53.2 total QBR since entering the league ranks 27th out of 39 qualifying quarterbacks since. But a team could view his 2022 season that led to a playoff berth (including a win in the wild-card round) and see a Darnold-esque reclamation project. Jones posted a career-best QBR of 62.9 as he accounted for 22 total touchdowns and ran for a career-high 708 yards while throwing only five interceptions. If Jones signs a contract similar to Darnold last offseason (one year, $10 million), it could fit right into the Browns' budget.
Joe Flacco
2024 team: Indianapolis Colts
Age entering the 2025 season: 40
2024 stats: Eight games (six starts), 65.3%, 1,761 passing yards, 12 touchdowns, seven interceptions; 26 rushing yards
The Browns have shuffled through a league-high 40 starting quarterbacks since the franchise returned to Cleveland in 1999, and few players have been as productive as Flacco was during a five-game stretch late in the 2023 season. Flacco threw for over 300 yards in four straight wins -- the Browns went 4-1 in his five regular-season starts -- before the run came to an end in a loss to the Houston Texans in the wild-card round.
Cleveland opted not to bring Flacco back. Flacco's stint in Indianapolis didn't go as well, but a league source said he plans to keep playing in 2025 and is open to a return to the Browns. With Watson likely to miss part of the 2025 season after retearing his Achilles and Flacco's success in Stefanski's system, a short-term reunion paired with adding a rookie quarterback could make sense.