Browns Reportedly Eying Former Chiefs QB As Russell Wilson Backup Plan

As the NFL quarterback carousel continues to spin this free agency, the Cleveland Browns are mulling over their best options to fill the position for the upcoming season.

All options seem to be at play at the moment. Deshaun Watson and Kenny Pickett currently make up Cleveland's quarterback room, with Pickett reportedly getting a chance to compete for the starting job this offseason.

The Browns could select a young signal-caller with the No. 2 pick in the NFL draft and are also rumored to be pursuing a veteran bridge option like Joe Flacco or Kirk Cousins, per SI's Albert Breer.

The team has most frequently been linked to Pittsburgh Steelers' Russell Wilson, who had a visit with the Browns last week. Should that plan fall through, Cleveland could pursue former Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Carson Wentz, Browns reporter Mary Kay Cabot wrote Wednesday.

The Browns and Wentz "definitely have mutual interest," per Cabot's sources, but the signing would be "contingent upon" what Wilson decides to do.

Cabot notes that the Browns are carrying a $37 million cap hit for Watson, which means the team likely won't be able to spend much on a veteran quarterback. Wentz would arguably fit the bill as a budget-friendly option in the potential price range of $4 million to $6 million a year.

Wentz, 32, is several years removed from his Pro Bowl days on the Philadelphia Eagles and has played for as many as five teams since getting drafted in 2016. The journeyman quarterback has only tallied nine starts in the last three years and spent last season as Patrick Mahomes's backup on the Chiefs.