It is the most famous jersey in sports history, and not for a good reason. You know the one—the brown and orange mesh nightmare with the white duct tape trailing down the back, each strip featuring the name of another "savior" who didn't actually save anything. Honestly, looking at a cleveland browns quarterbacks list is basically like looking at a map of a minefield where everyone just kept walking in the same direction.
Since the team returned to the NFL in 1999, the number of starting quarterbacks has climbed to a staggering 42. Think about that for a second. In roughly 27 years, they've gone through more signal-callers than most people go through cars. It's a revolving door that never stops spinning, and just when you think they’ve finally found "the guy," the door hits someone else on the way out.
Why the Cleveland Browns Quarterbacks List is So Long
The sheer volume of names on this list isn't just bad luck. It's a mixture of drafting "projects" too high, trading for veterans on their last legs, and a coaching carousel that never lets a player actually learn a system. Most people look at the list and see names like Tim Couch or Baker Mayfield and think "bust." But is it a bust if the foundation was never there to begin with?
Tim Couch was the first one. 1999. First overall pick. He got sacked 56 times in his rookie year. You can't survive that. By the time he left in 2003, he was physically and mentally spent. Then came the era of the "almosts." Kelly Holcomb had that one legendary playoff game against Pittsburgh where he threw for 429 yards, but he couldn't hold the job.
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Then you get into the weird stuff.
- The Heisman Flops: Johnny Manziel and Robert Griffin III.
- The "Wait, He Played There?" Guys: Jake Delhomme, Seneca Wallace, and even Jameis Winston.
- The One-Hit Wonders: Derek Anderson’s 2007 Pro Bowl season felt like a fever dream.
Basically, the Browns have tried every strategy. They’ve drafted the local hero (Bernie Kosar, though he's the gold standard from the pre-1995 era), the high-upside athlete, and the grizzled vet. Nothing stuck.
The Modern Era: From Baker to the Sanders Experiment
If you want to talk about the cleveland browns quarterbacks list in a modern context, you have to talk about Baker Mayfield. For a minute there, it actually worked. He won a playoff game in Pittsburgh. He had the attitude Cleveland loved. But things soured fast, leading to the massive trade for Deshaun Watson in 2022.
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That trade changed everything. It cost three first-round picks and $230 million in guaranteed money. Since then? Watson has spent more time on the injured reserve than on the field. In 2024 alone, he only managed seven games before an Achilles injury ended his season. It forced the team to pivot—again.
Which brings us to right now, January 2026.
The 2025 season was a wild ride that nobody saw coming. Joe Flacco started the year (after a brief stint in Indy), then got traded to the Bengals of all places. Then came Dillon Gabriel, the Oregon standout, who struggled to a 1-5 record. Finally, the team turned to Shedeur Sanders, the fifth-round pick who was never supposed to play this early.
The Current Depth Chart (As of Jan 2026)
- Shedeur Sanders: The rookie who started the final seven games of 2025. He went 3-4 and showed enough flashes to make people wonder if he’s the real deal, despite the low draft stock.
- Dillon Gabriel: Currently the backup after a rough stretch as the starter.
- Deshaun Watson: Still on the roster, still under that massive contract, and currently rehabbing. GM Andrew Berry hasn't committed to him being the 2026 starter.
What Most People Get Wrong About the History
People love to joke about the list, but they forget that before 1995, the Browns were a quarterback factory. Otto Graham is arguably a top-three QB of all time. He played 10 seasons and went to the championship game in every single one of them. 10 for 10. Brian Sipe won an MVP in 1980. Bernie Kosar was a few plays away from multiple Super Bowls.
The "curse" is a modern invention. It’s the result of an expansion team being built poorly in 1999 and never quite catching up to the rest of the league's stability.
Kinda makes you feel for the fans, right? They've seen 42 different men take the first snap of a game since 1999. Some of those guys, like Jameis Winston, actually set records. In late 2024, Winston threw for 497 yards in a single game against Denver, breaking a franchise record held by Josh McCown. He was great for a week, then he was gone. That's the Browns experience in a nutshell.
Actionable Insights for Browns Fans and Analysts
If you're tracking the cleveland browns quarterbacks list to see where the team goes next, keep your eyes on these three specific indicators:
- The 2026 Draft: Cleveland has the 6th overall pick. If they take a QB there, Shedeur Sanders’ time as the "future" might be over before it truly started.
- The Watson Contract: Pay attention to June 1st. That's usually the date when NFL teams make big moves for cap relief. If Watson is still on the roster after that, the team is likely stuck with him for another year of "competition."
- The New Coach: With Kevin Stefanski gone, the next head coach will dictate the entire offensive identity. A "QB whisperer" type like Ben Johnson (if he's still available) would change the evaluation of Sanders and Gabriel completely.
The list is long, and honestly, it’ll probably get longer before it gets shorter. But for the first time in a while, with young guys like Sanders showing some heart, there’s at least a reason to keep the duct tape in the drawer for a few months.
Check the official NFL injury reports and the Browns' transaction wire throughout February 2026 to see if Deshaun Watson passes his physical—that will be the first domino to fall in the 2026 QB battle.