Exclusive: Browns Urged to Part Ways With Former Starting QB This Offseason
During the 2023 season, the Cleveland Browns started five different quarterbacks; come training camp, three of them might be on different clubs.
Deshaun Watson, who has been on a terrible five-year contract worth a fully guaranteed $230 million, will return for the third season of the deal. It’s also expected that rookie Dorian Thompson-Robinson, a fifth-round selection in the draft, will return for his second NFL season. But after that, each QB becomes an asterisk.
On Sunday, January 21, Jacob Roach of USA Today’s Browns Wire proposed that the Browns permanently terminate their relationship with former starting quarterback PJ Walker.
“He had some huge moments, but all in all, it was some of the worst quarterback play in the history of NFL season.” Walker only managed to complete 48.6 percent of his passes for Cleveland with 674 yards, one touchdown, and five interceptions,” Roach wrote.
The fact that Kevin Stefanski went 2-1 with those kind of performances from Walker speaks everything about his caliber as a coach. If he was added by any team, it would be unexpected unless there was an injury at the position.
PJ Walker produced a winning record for the Browns in 2023, although he was demoted multiple times and cut once.
Walker’s NFL career has been a meandering one, spanning seven starts (4-3 record) with the Carolina Panthers from 2020 to 22 and a $4 million contract signed in March 2023 with the Chicago Bears.
Walker was cut by the Bears prior to the opening play of the regular season, and Cleveland brought him into the fold in early September. Walker played most of the Browns’ snaps and started three games in four contests over the course of the year.
Walker saw multiple moves from starter to backup to practice squad to active roster with the Browns in 2023. Walker was briefly waived by Cleveland in December, but three days later he was back on the practice squad.
After Jeff Driskel and Joe Flacco, who both began Week 18 against the Cincinnati Bengals, Walker was the team’s third-string quarterback at the end of the season. Because they had already secured the No. 5 seed in the AFC and couldn’t move up or down depending on the outcome of the game, the Browns rested Flacco (4-1) for that match.
Joe Flacco, Jacoby Brissett More Likely to Return to Browns in 2024 Than PJ Walker
During Super Wild Card Weekend, Flacco lost Cleveland’s first and only playoff game. 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.
In spite of those setbacks, Flacco rose to prominence as a fan favorite and gained respect from everyone in the locker room. After the season, he stated that he would not be against playing in Cleveland again the next season, but he would not make any snap choices.
In 2024, Flacco probably wants to look for an opportunity to make an NFL debut. But if he doesn’t find one, he could always come back to the Browns to serve as Watson’s backup. Should that fail to materialize, Jacoby Brissett might be a possibility.
Although Brissett started the first 11 games of the season while Watson was serving a lengthy suspension from the NFL, Brissett was Watson’s backup quarterback in 2022.
Watson is expected to open the season as the starter in any scenario 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.
