The Cleveland Browns QB Graveyard: est. 1999 Quiz

Answer: Jeff Garcia

Jeff Garcia, in his first start as a Brown on September 12 2004, led the team to a home victory over the Baltimore Ravens by a score of 20-3. Garcia himself had a quiet but efficient day, completing 15 of his 24 passes on the day for 180 yards and one TD with no turnovers. Before him, Ty Detmer, Tim Couch, Doug Pederson, Spergon Wynn and Kelly Holcomb tried but failed to win their first starts in Orange and Brown. Detmer and Pederson were on the wrong side of nasty blowout defeats at the hands of the arch rival Pittsburgh Steelers, while Wynn was on the receiving end of a 48-0 thrashing courtesy of the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Answer: Jake Delhomme

While all of these players have played for the Carolina Panthers, Delhomme found himself in Cleveland following his lengthy tenure of six years with Carolina. In 2007, Delhomme's QB Rating was a stellar 111.8. In 2008, that number dipped to a less spectacular but still solid 84.7.

In his last year with the Panthers, it dipped once again to an unsightly 59.4 after Delhomme had a miserable 8:18 TD:INT ratio, and this led to his dismissal from Carolina at the end of the season. In his five games with Cleveland, Delhomme threw just two touchdowns juxtaposed to seven interceptions, adding his name to the evergrowing list of quarterbacks who tried but failed to find success in a Browns uniform.

Answer: Brady Quinn

When asked about their thoughts on Quinn's career with Cleveland, most diehard Browns fans will respond with "what could have been?" Quinn spearheaded a run of masterful football, which saw the team finally take down the Pittsburgh Steelers on primetime television in addition to winning blowout games against the Oakland Raiders, Jacksonville Jaguars and an exciting shoot out victory over Kansas City. Speaking of which, Quinn could never find his way onto a roster again after the 2009 season until the Chiefs called upon his services in 2012.

Unfortunately, that arrangement did not go particularly well, and Quinn announced his retirement at the end of that season.

Answer: Brandon Weeden

Brandon Weeden's time with the Browns (2012 and 2013) was rowdy from the start. The team endured vicious criticism after Weeden became their first round pick. At the time, Weeden was projected to be a mid-late third rounder, so the pick itself was a reach.

At the age of 28, in his prime, perhaps the move would have made sense for a contender lacking a signal caller to make, but the Browns were no such team following a 5-11 record the season prior. Weeden had a cannon for an arm, and he would've been able to stretch the field wide with his arm had he possessed the ability to accurately and consistently complete passes.

In his career with Cleveland, he threw thirty two interceptions in two seasons and consistently struggled to lead productive drives for the team's offense, despite possessing weapons such as the explosive college teammate wide receiver Josh Gordon.

Answer: Brian Hoyer

Much like Brady Quinn, Browns fans wonder what could've been had Hoyer not torn his ACL in the 2013 season. Hoyer looked to play the part of a late bloomer, at the age of 30 and producing solid numbers for a team in need of consistency at the position. Towards the end of the 2014 season, however, the magic began to wear off and he was benched following a demoralizing 25-24 defeat at the hands of the Indianapolis Colts.

Answer: Johnny Manziel

Johnny "Money" Manziel generated media hype that had essentially been unprecedented. However, the projected top ten pick fell later in the first round than most had expected. The Cleveland Browns, wheeling and dealing up and down the first round, scooped him up at twenty fourth overall.

He ultimately had a number of productive games, but his off the field tendencies and overall attitude problem led to his benching on a Monday Night Football game against the Baltimore Ravens, a game which he was initially set to start in. That would eventually spiral into the death of his career, as the team released him at the end of the season and he never found his way onto another roster again.

Answer: DeShone Kizer

To say Kizer's first season in Cleveland was tumultuous would be a dramatic understatement. His QBR was a pitiful 26.7, and when one watches the game film of him, it's not hard to see why. Kizer consistently held onto the ball and remained firmly in the pocket much too long, despite clearly possessing athletic skills and putting them to good use at Notre Dame.

In addition, Kizer simply could not perform at all in the Red Zone, as the Browns' 10.7% turnover rate beyond the 30 yard line was by far the highest in the NFL.

In addition, Kizer could not turn the ball over enough, throwing a whopping twenty two interceptions in a single season.

Answer: Jason Campbell

Campbell played just one season in Cleveland, but from a personal standpoint, he held down the fort pretty decently considering the talent surrounding him and what was expected from him, as a third stringer entering the season. He threw eleven touchdowns and eight interceptions with a 56.8 completion percentage and 2,015 pass yards, which led to a respectable 76.9 QBR.

The team, however, was unsatisfied, and released Campbell at the end of the season. He remained in Ohio, signing on to backup Andy Dalton with the Cincinnati Bengals. Following an abysmal Thursday night performance from Dalton against the Browns in a blowout loss, Campbell relieved him towards the end of the game, and this would represent the last snaps of Campbell's career, as he did not see action again for the rest of the season and announced his retirement at the end of the 2014 season.

Answer: Derek Anderson

Anderson, having started a handful of games for the team the season prior, was the favorite to win the job again early in training camp. However, Frye won the season opening start against Pittsburgh, and the move backfired, as the Steelers won a blowout game.

While we cannot possibly know if the result would have been dramatically different had Anderson received the start, we do know that when the team rematched Pittsburgh at Heinz Field later in the season, Anderson nearly led them to victory with an incredible performance that came up short via a game winning field goal as time expired. Given this information, we can only wonder what could have been had Anderson received the season opening start, as the game would've pretty much definitely at least been a significantly closer contest.

Answer: Robert Griffin III

Despite having former teammate Josh Gordon on the roster, things did not work out for Griffin III in Cleveland. Theoretically, the chemistry could have been developed given time, but Griffin III's injury ridden history followed him to Cleveland, as he appeared in just two games in his brief time with the Browns.

The team released him at the end of the 2016 season, and he would not find work elsewhere during the offseason.