ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reveals a notable update on the Cleveland Browns potential courting of the NFL’s top free agent QB
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Video Transcript
Megs, the news came down on Thursday that A- the, the Colts are giving Anthony Richardson permission to seek a trade.
Mm-hmm.
And I know the initial reaction is gonna be, “Anthony Richardson is a bust, I don’t want him,” all these different things.
And I’m not even saying that like he’s like a great option or somebody that I think the Browns should go after.
I, I, I’m kind of out on Anthony Richardson.
Injury history is bad.
there’s issues with reading the defense, going through his progressions.
We’ve seen those things in real time.
He has been kind of a failed experiment.
So I- this- the traits are off the charts- Mm-hmm but those things, we’ve, and, and we have a pretty decent sample size at this point to know he, he, he, I just don’t think he’s gonna be a very good NFL quarterback.
But listen, the Browns are in a weird quarterback situation, and if we’re gonna sit there and talk about those traits that w- I mentioned with Malik Willis, strong arm, athleticism, does some of the things Lamar does, he’s maybe just not Lamar Jackson, I, the same applies to Anthony Richardson.
He has the traits that Tom Oaken’s probably looking for in a quarterback.
Yeah.
And so I think there’s at least gonna be some interest there, and, and, and I would expect the Browns to probably be one of the teams that’s, that’s reaching out and making some phone calls on potentially acquiring him and adding another quarterback to this room to potentially compete for the job.
Yeah, a- that’s a slippery slope in my opinion, just because, I don’t know.
I, I don’t know how many, we have two projects already, I don’t know.
And not to say that Malik Willis is a surefire thing, but you know, if you’re gonna go and try to trade for somebody and you, you know, you make the move for Anthony Richardson, how much different of a spot are you in than we were last year?
You’re in 2025, you’re running a, a, a three-person, a four-person quarterback competition, and every, pretty much everyone was like, “We can’t do that again.”
The receivers were like, “We can’t do that again.”
The offensive line, you know, you get, you get these guys in here who are hardly getting any reps and, and it showed out when the season started.
You know, you go get a guy like Anthony Richardson and you’re saying, “Hey, you’re gonna go compete with Deshaun and you’re gonna go compete with Shador- Shador,” w- okay, we’re in the same spot we were in last year with three guys you don’t know anything about and that are all super big question marks.
For me, I would be, if I was in the position, I would go hard pass on it.
even if it was, even if the Colts were like, “Hey, seventh round pick, for Anthony Richardson,” I’d be like, “I don’t, we can’t do that,” because even for him too, like he needs to go to a stable place, a stable roster, a roster that has to lift him up because if he fails again, you’re not getting a third chance.
you know, you’re not getting a third chance at this thing.
So, he’s gotta go to the right spot.
If I were the Browns, I, I would maybe make one phone call and then just, just to do your due diligence and then, and then cross it off.
But, yeah, that, that’s kinda where I’m sitting at it.
Listen, I, I get anybody who, who’s out on Anthony Richardson.
Like I said, I don’t, I don’t necessarily think he’s a, he’s a player that, that I want starting for my team either.
I, I don’t think it’s that bad of a situation though if you were to bring him in.
Like, it, it fits what the, where the Browns are at, is what I’m trying to say.
Like, last year of his rookie deal, you have the option if you wanna pick it up.
Sure.
I would assume some team that grabs him probably wouldn’t pick it up.
so you’re only paying him, I think it’s like $10 million next year.
So financially, it’s not a big cap hit.
It’s basically just like a tryout, right, for a year.
Like, “Hey, let’s see if there’s anything salvageable, or if we think we can be the team that he be- turns him into the next Sam Donald story-” Yeah where he goes on to kinda revive early woes of his career.
I, so m- my frame of, my, my c- my, my perspective on this is do I want Anthony Richardson, do I think Anthony Richardson’s a great quarterback?
No, not at all, and I worry about the injuries and all the other things that we talked about.
But on the flip side of that, for where the Browns are at, I would understand why that would be somebody that they’d be interested in.
Yeah.
I’d understand like the raw potential that he brings to the table, and we do see, we do see guys go somewhere else and have more success, so I can understand.
Mm-hmm.
Like, I, I, what I would say I guess is like, it’s not like, this isn’t a situation for me where it’s like the Browns come out looking stupid or something at the- Yeah at the end of it.
I- if, if it doesn’t work, it, okay, you were trying to kind of bridge that gap anyway to get to 2027 most likely.
You, you just did it with Anthony Richardson and it failed.
Okay, no one’s really the wiser.
You just kinda keep it moving.
Yeah.
That’s a good point.
You know, that’s a really good point, because- Mm-hmm the flip side, you know, the, the reward way outweighs the risk, especially if it is a low round pick.
You know, they ask for a fifth rounder or a sixth round or some- whatever they ask is.
You know, they start asking for third rounders, you know, you’re, I, I’m way out on that, and I don’t think that they would, right?
I, I don’t think that- Oh, I, yeah, I don’t think- That’s, like that’s not a, that’s not the reality he’s a day three, he’s, he’s gonna be worth- Totally a day three pick.
Totally.
For sure.
Totally.
So then it’s like, all right, if that’s the price tag, maybe, but for me it’s just like, ugh, I, I wouldn’t, I wouldn’t do it.
I wouldn’t do it.
I, I would rather, you know, you There’s a question you’d have to ask, like how much different is he than Shador Sanders?
Like how much different is the actual talent level?
Yes, he was drafted in the first round and Shador was drafted in the fifth round, but if you’re getting two guys that are, you know, equal or kinda looking at them as similar type talents, just go with one and give, if give one guy a legit chance.
That’s just the way I view it.
It’s not right or wrong, but, that’s how I would approach it.
Yeah.
I get that perspective, and I understand where like some people probably agree with you and don’t wanna touch Anthony Richardson with a 10 pu- foot, 10-foot pole.
But I, I’m telling you, don’t be surprised if you see the reports- Yeah, yeah that the Browns are one of the teams calling about Anthony Richardson, ’cause to me it feels like Plan A is, “Hey, we’re gonna get an offer in front of Malik Willis and see how he feels.”
Yeah.
Maybe they don’t wanna go bid high for him, but I think they’re gonna at least get an offer in front of him.
Mm-hmm.
I, I think, I think Plan B might end up being, “Let’s go see if we can tr- what we can get for Anthony Richardson,” and maybe that’s our option.
Yeah.
And then I think Plan C becomes like a different veteran that’s out there on the market, maybe you draft a guy, but I just don’t necessarily think that fits with like the cur- the current quarterback group.
So it’s, it’s an interesting thing.
But, um- Do you, do you- I’m not gonna be surprised if they pursue Anthony Richardson here, here’s what I- They probably will pursue Anthony Richardson.
Yeah.
Here, here’s what I kinda find fascinating is like this news broke, and I think Zach Jackson broke it today, if, if I, if, if memory serves me.
I d- I don’t know what’s smokescreen and what’s not from, from Andrew Berry, because I do, I do think, whether you like him or not, whether you think he does good work or not, they are pretty tight-lipped with these things and, and there’s always, when these types of stories start to get out, there’s always intention behind them, right?
They’re not just accidentally gonna float stuff to the media, to try to, try to stir up some stuff.
So I don’t know.
And I, I, I tend to take it a little bit with a grain of salt, but also too, like I get excited about the, the, the thought process of, hey, bringing in Malik Willis, ’cause then I think you actually have, there’s some hope there.
Yes, he’s only played six games, but he’s played pretty well.
or he hasn’t, he’s only played a handful of games, but he’s played pretty well.
He’s shown that he can win, and he gives you a little bit of hope, for this team.
I just don’t see it fr- from, from Richardson.
So yeah, we’ll, we’ll, we’ll see how it shakes, but this is when that stuff gets done.
Like this is the best part about the combine, when stories like this start to, start to hit the surface.