DeShone Kizer’s jump to the top of the Browns QB depth chart puts the rookie from Notre Dame on a long list of futility that he’ll hope to end.
Kizer would be the 27th quarterback to start a game for Cleveland since 1999, the year the Browns relaunched as an expansion franchise.
Here’s a rundown of some of the more notable quarterbacks the Browns have used during that stretch:
TIM COUCH: The Browns took Couch out of Kentucky with the No. 1 overall pick in the 1999 draft. He led the Browns to a playoff berth in 2002 and started 59 games over a five-year span but threw more interceptions (67) than touchdown passes (64).
JEFF GARCIA: After making three Pro Bowl appearances with the 49ers, Garcia joined the Browns in 2004. He made 10 starts that year but struggled through a season in which the Browns finished 4-12.
TRENT DILFER: The former Super Bowl champion quarterback for the Baltimore Ravens threw more interceptions (12) than touchdown passes (11) in 2005 during his lone season with the Browns. He made 11 starts during a 6-10 season.
DEREK ANDERSON: The 24-year-old Anderson looked like a potential star in 2007 as he threw for 3,787 yards and 29 touchdowns to earn a Pro Bowl appearance. That Browns team went 10-6 and just missed a playoff berth. But Anderson wasn’t nearly as effective after that and was benched the following season.
BRADY QUINN: The Browns took this former Notre Dame star with the 22nd overall pick in the 2007 draft. He made a combined 12 starts in three seasons before getting traded to the Denver Broncos in March 2010. He completed just 52.1 percent of his passes as a Brown.
COLT MCCOY: The former Texas star went to the Browns in the third round of the 2010 draft and made a combined 21 starts during his first two pro seasons. He threw 21 touchdown passes and 20 interceptions in three years with Cleveland before getting traded to San Francisco.
BRANDON WEEDEN: Because he tried out a pro baseball career before playing football at Oklahoma State, Weeden was already 28 years old when the Browns used a first-round pick on him in 2012. Weeden made a combined 20 starts in 2012 and 2013 but threw more interceptions (26) than touchdown passes (23).
JOHNNY MANZIEL: Of all the Browns quarterbacks that became first-round flameouts, Manziel may have turned out the worst. The 2012 Heisman Trophy winner from Texas A&M created more drama than highlights in his two years with Cleveland. He made eight combined starts in those two seasons and had an equal number of touchdown passes (7) and interceptions.
ROBERT GRIFFIN III: The 2011 Heisman Trophy winner and former No. 1 overall draft pick signed a two-year, $15 million deal with the Browns in March 2016 after four seasons with the Washington Redskins. He injured his shoulder in the season opener and didn’t return to action until December. He made five starts and threw three interceptions and only two touchdown passes.
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This story has been corrected to show that Brady Quinn made a combined 12 starts with the Cleveland Browns.
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