9 stats that show how futile the Browns’ quarterback situation has been since 1999
Johnny Manziel was supposed to be the savior of Cleveland. He was supposed to bring a spark to the unquestionably dull franchise, appropriately represented by arguably the worst logo in sports.
The city finally had a reason to be excited when the Browns pulled the trigger on Manziel in the 2013 draft, taking him 22nd overall. It hasn't even been three full years since that day, and yet the Browns have found themselves back at square one with yet another glaring need at quarterback.
Following his release on Friday, the Manziel era in Cleveland is officially over. There will be no more questions about whether he'll have a quiet offseason and return a changed man for 2016. There will be no more questions about his lack of size on the field. He'll never play another down in Cleveland, and he may never take another snap in the NFL, either.
The Browns wanted it to work so desperately -- for their fans and for the city. Alcoholism and a lack of maturity prevented that from happening, though. This offseason will be filled with quarterback questions once again, from the possibility of trading for Colin Kaepernick or drafting a guy like Carson Wentz or Jared Goff. The front office can only hope its savior will come to light in the next few months.
Looking back, here are nine stats that prove how terrible the quarterback situation has been in Cleveland since 1999.
1. Only one quarterback has started all 16 games in a season. That guy goes by the name of Tim Couch, and it happened in 2001. That's the only year since 1999 that one quarterback has made every start in a season. To put that into perspective, Tom Brady has started every game of every season except for one (2008) since 2002.
2. A total of 25 quarterbacks have made at least one start. This is possibly the most telling of how horrifyingly bad the team's quarterbacks have been in the last 17 years. Hopefully the 26th will be able to stick around for more than a few seasons and end this disaster in Cleveland.
3. Browns quarterbacks have led the team to an 87-185 record. Only twice since 1999 has a quarterback posted a winning record in a season. Derek Anderson was 10-5 as a starter in 2007, and Tim Couch was 8-6 in 2002. Beyond that, no one has even gone .500 in a season.
4. Only one has made the Pro Bowl. There's that guy again: Anderson. His 2007 season was solid, tossing 29 touchdowns and 19 interceptions, but even that wasn't enough to earn him a true Pro Bowl bid. He made the team as an alternate, and is the only one to do so in 17 years. Yikes.
5. Joe Thomas has protected the blindside of 16 different starters since he was drafted. Poor Joe Thomas. The stud left tackle was taken third overall in 2007, solidifying the position for the Browns for years to come. He still has yet to miss a single game in his career, playing all 144 while protecting the blindside for 16 different starters in that span.
6. Peyton Manning has thrown for more yards by himself than all Browns quarterbacks combined. Granted, Manning is one of the best to ever do it, but it's shocking to see just how many more passing yards he has than all Browns quarterbacks combined. Manning: 71,940. Browns: 56,175. He beats Cleveland by nearly 15,000 passing yards despite missing the entire 2011 season and starting just nine games last season.
7. Tom Brady has more passing touchdowns than the entire team in ... 47 fewer games. Brady has played 225 games in his career. Since 1999, the Browns have played 272. Yet, Brady still has 428 passing touchdowns compared to the Browns' 292. At that rate, Cleveland quarterbacks would need to play another 146 games to catch Brady.
8. The last two first-round picks to be released after two seasons or fewer were both quarterbacks taken by the Browns. Manziel and Brandon Weeden were the two players, with the former possibly becoming just the fourth first-round quarterback to not make an NFL roster in their third year. Needless to say, the Browns have failed miserably in the first round of recent drafts.
9. They haven't won a single playoff game since returning to Cleveland. And they probably won't win one in 2016 ... or 2017 ... or 2020. The Browns have several issues on both sides of the ball, but finding some stability at quarterback is priority No. 1.
