ClutchPoints
The Cleveland Browns have made yet another change at quarterback. The team is officially benching Joe Flacco in favor of Dillon Gabriel. The rookie will be the 41st player to start under center for the Browns since 1999, which was the first season that they came back to the NFL after a three-year hiatus.
The Browns’ inability to find a franchise signal caller has directly resulted in them being the worst team of the 21st century. They’ve drafted numerous busts, none of their free agent QB signings or trades have worked, and the team hasn’t been able to develop anybody at the position. So, who all has started at quarterback for the Browns this century?
Tim Couch was the quarterback who started it all for the Browns. The QB position has seen a snowball effect of ineptitude ever since he was drafted first overall in 1999. Pressure was high on Couch because not only was he the Browns’ first signal caller after they re-entered the NFL as an expansion team, but also because he succeeded Peyton Manning as the first overall pick. Manning was one of the greatest draft prospects ever and would go on to become one of the best NFL players in league history.
Couch, meanwhile, turned into a huge draft bust and one of the worst first overall picks ever. The Browns moved on from him after four seasons as their starter, but weirdly enough, hindsight has proven that he was probably the second-best quarterback for the Browns during the 21st century. Couch’s 62 total games with the team are the most among any quarterback on this list, and his 11,131 passing yards are the second most.
Ty Detmer actually started the Browns’ return season as the starter, but he was quickly replaced by Couch after only two games. Detmer was a former Heisman Trophy winner and a two-time Davey O’Brien winner. With 548 passing yards and two touchdowns as the Browns quarterback, he actually showed flashes of the ability to lead the team, but the Browns were anxious to hand the reins over to their number one pick.
Doug Pederson is most known for winning a Super Bowl as the coach of the Philadelphia Eagles. He also had a stint as quarterback for the Browns in 2000. Pederson replaced an injured Detmer as the backup quarterback, which is coincidentally something he’d done earlier in his career with the Green Bay Packers. Pederson had a 2-to-8 touchdown-to-interception ratio in his eight starts.
Spergon Wynn had maybe the worst go at being quarterback of anybody in the 21st century. During the 2000 season, after Couch had already been knocked out for the year and with Pederson forced to the sideline with an injury, Wynn took over for one game. The Wynn-led Browns lost 48-0 to the Jacksonville Jaguars, so Wynn was quickly replaced by Pederson once he...
