The Cleveland Browns started five different quarterbacks during the 2023 campaign, and as many as three of them could be with new teams come training camp.
Deshaun Watson will be back for the third season of what has, to this point, been a disastrous five-year contract worth a fully guaranteed $230 million. Rookie Dorian Thompson-Robinson, a fifth-round draft pick, is also likely to return for his second NFL season. After that, however, every QB is a question mark.
Jacob Roach of USA Today’s Browns Wire suggested on Sunday, January 21, that the Browns close the book for good on former starting quarterback PJ Walker.
“There were a few big moments for him but, overall, it was some of the worst quarterback play in the entire NFL this season. Walker only managed to complete 48.6 percent of his passes for Cleveland with 674 yards, one touchdown, and five interceptions,” Roach wrote.
“It shows how good of a coach Kevin Stefanski is — that he managed to go 2-1 with those numbers from Walker. It would be surprising if any team brought him in, unless someone has an injury at the position.”
PJ Walker Produced Winning Record for Browns in 2023, But Was Still Cut Once & Demoted Multiple Times
Walker has a long and winding history in the NFL, which includes seven starts (4-3 record) with the Carolina Panthers between 2020-22 and a $4 million contract with the Chicago Bears in March 2023.
Cleveland added Walker to the fold in early September after the Bears cut him before the first snap of the regular season. Walker started three games and played the majority of the Browns’ snaps in four contests over the course of the year.
The Browns moved Walker from starter to backup to the practice squad and back to the active roster several times in 2023. Cleveland cut Walker for a brief time in December, re-signing him to the practice squad three days later.
Walker finished the year as the team’s third-string QB, behind Joe Flacco and Jeff Driskel, the latter of whom started Week 18 against the Cincinnati Bengals. The Browns sat Flacco (4-1) for that game, as they had locked up the No. 5 seed in the AFC and couldn’t move up or down based on the contest’s result.
Joe Flacco, Jacoby Brissett More Likely to Return to Browns in 2024 Than PJ Walker
Flacco came up short in Cleveland’s first, and only, playoff game on Super Wild Card Weekend. The now 39-year-old quarterback tossed two interceptions on the Browns’ first two possessions of the second half, both of which Houston Texans defenders returned for touchdowns.
Despite those struggles, however, Flacco quickly became a fan favorite and earned a high degree of respect throughout the locker room. He said following the season that he is open to returning to Cleveland next year, but won’t make any hasty decisions.
Flacco figures to seek a chance to start somewhere in the NFL in 2024. However, if he can’t find one, a return to the Browns as Watson’s backup is a feasible path forward. If that doesn’t happen, Jacoby Brissett could be an option.
Brissett served as Watson’s backup QB in 2022, though Brissett started the first 11 games of the season as Watson served an extensive suspension issued by the NFL.
In either case, Watson figures to begin the year as the starter, with Thompson-Robinson on the roster as the franchise’s third quarterback. Regardless of whether Flacco, Brissett or some other signal-caller starts the season in the No. 2 spot, there isn’t likely to be a place for Walker on the roster.
