The Cleveland Browns quarterback carousel appears to finally have come to an end after two decades of hardships and bad luck at the quarterback position. Prior to this season, it was 18 years since the Browns earned a playoff spot back in 2002.
Since 1999, the Browns have had 28 different starting quarterbacks. For years, quarterbacks would dread getting drafted to Cleveland just because it was pretty much a quarterback wasteland. Let’s take a look at all the quarterbacks who had the chance to start for Cleveland the past 21 years.
The Carousel
1999: First-round pick Tim Couch and Ty Detmer.
2000: Doug Pederson, former Philadelphia Eagles head coach, Tim Couch and Spergon Wynn
2001: Tim Couch started all 16 games. Couch was projected to become one of the best NFL quarterbacks at his time of being drafted, so this was his opportunity to show it.
2002: Tim Couch and Kelly Holcomb.
2003: Kelly Holcomb started eight games and Tim Couch started eight games.
2004: Jeff Garcia, Luke McCown and Kelly Holcomb.
2005: Trent Dilfer and Charlie Frye.
2006: Charlie Frye and Derek Anderson.
2007: Derek Anderson started 15 games and Charlie Frye started one.
2008: Derek Anderson, first-round pick Brady Quinn, Ken Dorsey and Bruce Gradkowski.
2009: Brady Quinn and Derek Anderson.
2010: Colt McCoy, Jake Delhomme and Seneca Wallace, who was known more as a receiver.
2011: Colt McCoy and Seneca Wallace.
2012: First-round pick Brandon Weeden started 15 games and Thad Lewis started one.
2013: Jason Campbell, Brandon Weeden and Brian Hoyer.
2014,:Brian Hoyer started 14 games, first-round pick Johnny Manziel started one and Connor Shaw started one.
2015: Josh McCown, Johnny Manziel and Austin Davis. Sadly, Manziel fell into legal troubles and could not back it up on the field and his NFL playing career was obliterated.
2016: Cody Kessler, Robert Griffin III and Josh McCown.
2017: Second-round pick DeShone Kizer started 15games and Kevin Hogan started one. The Browns went winless this season.
2018: This is when the sun finally started to shine in Cleveland. The Browns selected Baker Mayfield in the first round of the draft. Mayfield would start 13 games and Tyrod Taylor started three.
In 2019 and 2020 all 16 regular games of both seasons were started by Baker Mayfield.
Bangers with Baker
Mayfield has lit a fire in the city of Cleveland. Many Browns fans were not even born yet the last time they made the playoffs and Mayfield is finally showing Cleveland how it tastes to win. Last week against AFC North rival Pittsburgh Steelers, the Browns won 48-37.
In Mayfield’s NFL career to date, he has thrown 11,115 yards for 75 touchdowns to 43 interceptions and completing 62 percent of his passes. Mayfield is still young at 25, even though he is the oldest quarterback remaining on the AFC side of the playoffs. He has a lot of football ahead of him and certainly the potential to go down in history in Cleveland.
Moose Gibson is a Contributor for Unwrapped Sports Network. Follow him on on Twitter @midnightxmoose