Cleveland Browns have watched multiple veteran quarterback options fly off the table this month without landing any of them. The latest was QB Russell Wilson agreeing to sign a deal with the New York Giants on Tuesday.

The Browns were very much interested in Wilson and he would have given them a capable starter for the entirety of the season if needed.

Now, the Browns are back to the drawing board. Drafting a quarterback has become a lot more likely now, but there is still one veteran QB option who will likely become available before long.

Cleveland’s last worthy veteran QB option is Kirk Cousins from the Altnate Falcons

Atlanta decided to allow the 2026 roster bonus for Kirk Cousins to trigger recently, ensuring that they would be holding onto him in search of a trade partner. Cousins has a no-trade clause and that makes it tougher to predict where he will land. Following how last season worked out with the Falcons, Cousins isn’t likely to go to a team that drafts a quarterback early.

Since he was uprooted for Michael Penix Jr. last season with the Falcons, Cousins is operating with that in the back of his mind, and it’s something that he would like to avoid happening again. So if the Browns are to get Cousins to be the guy they’ll likely need to target their quarterback as a developmental piece at pick No. 33 or later.

Cousins has a past history with Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski from the two years they spent together in Minnesota with the Vikings. In two seasons with Stefanski in Minnesota, Cousins threw for 56 touchdowns to just 16 interceptions and had nearly 8,000 passing yards during that time.

If the Browns do want to go the Cousins route, it would allow them to go with the best player available at pick No. 2 and land either Penn State DE Abdul Carter or Colorado WR/CB Travis Hunter. Cleveland views Hunter as a wideout first and he would be a great weapon for someone like Cousins to target alongside Jerry Jeudy and David Njoku.

Cousins has $27.5 million guaranteed for 2025 and a prorated signing bonus of $12.5 that puts his cap charge at $40 million. There is an out in his deal following the 2025 season if a team wishes to. Any team that trades for Cousins may ask Atlanta to cover part of the cost.

Risk is there with Cousins, who is 36 years old and didn’t look as good as he once did last season after returning from an Achilles injury. However, time does heal and many expect him to bounce back in some form now that he is further away from that serious injury.

It could end up taking as much as a third-round pick to acquire Cousins. It wouldn’t be until the 2026 NFL Draft, since the veteran QB is unlikely to be moved before then.

Cleveland has a choice to make on who they want to start in 2025. Options are limited and starting Kenny Pickett would be a disservice. Keep an eye on Cousins around the draft and following. Depending on what Cleveland does there, they could be the most likely landing spot. 

Cleveland Browns plans for their top pick in the 2025 NFL Draft could be crystal clear after latest quarterback domino falls

We’ll see but it looks like this may be the route.