The astonishingly awful record of Cleveland Browns quarterbacks

Impressively — or perhaps sadly — Hoyer is the only Browns quarterback of the post-relocation era with a winning record as the team’s starter under center. A former Tom Brady backup in New England, Hoyer went 3-0 after taking over in Week 3 of the 2013 season, but a torn ACL ended his debut campaign. When he returned the following year, Hoyer beat out first-round pick Johnny Manziel for the starting job, but he was replaced after 13 games despite leading Cleveland to a 7-6 record and was not re-signed.

APDavid Richard

In 2009, Delhomme signed a $42.5 million extension with the Panthers, but within a year, he’d been released following the most nightmarish season of his career. Carolina’s loss was Cleveland’s gain, but injuries marred Delhomme’s only season with the Browns, as Delhomme went 2-2 as a starter and threw five more interceptions (7) than touchdowns (2) in limited action.

Aaron Josefczyk/Icon SMIAaron Josefczuk/Icon SMI

The only Browns quarterback to reach a Pro Bowl since 1987, Anderson started 34 games for Cleveland from 2006-09 and led the Browns to a 10-6 record while pacing the NFL in yards per completion in 2007, although the team missed the playoffs. The following year, Anderson was benched mid-season in favor of Brady Quinn. Even so, Anderson started 16 games over his final two seasons in brown and orange, and after one season with Arizona, he signed in 2011 with Carolina, where the 33-year-old has been ever since.

Tom Croke/Icon SMITom Croke/Icon SMI

Since the NFL returned to Cleveland in 1999, no quarterback has won more games in a Browns jersey than Couch, the first overall pick in the ‘99 draft. While Couch showed glimpses of potential during his five years with the team — he led the Browns to the playoffs in 2002 — injuries and inconsistent play earned him the title of all-time draft bust.

Stephen Morton/Icon SMI

A Pro Bowler in Tampa and a Super Bowl winner in Baltimore, Dilfer never came close to matching his past success during his lone season with the Browns, in 2005. A supposed mentor to Charlie Frye, the serviceable Dilfer went 4-7 in 11 starts that year and matched his career high in completion percentage (59.8). But he clashed with Cleveland offensive coordinator Maurice Carthon — whom he later trashed publicly — and by 2006, Dilfer had been traded to the 49ers.

Ron LeBlanc/Icon SMIRon LeBlanc/Icon SMI

Trivia question: Who started the only Browns playoff game since the team’s 1999 rebirth? That would be Holcomb, the former Peyton Manning backup in Indianapolis who replaced an injured Tim Couch for the team’s 2002 Wild Card game against Pittsburgh. Cleveland lost, of course, but Holcomb was brilliant in defeat and earned himself the starting job for 2003. But while there were moments of greatness — especially the team’s Week 11 win over Arizona — Holcomb only went 2-6 as a starter that season.

A third-rounder out of Akron, Frye set a Browns rookie record with a 136.7 passer rating (13-of-20, 226 yards, two touchdowns) in his first career start, and his 2-3 record in his first season earned him the starting nod for his second, in 2006. In 13 starts that year, the Browns went 4-9, and Frye was named starter, yet again, in 2007. But after one and a half ineffective quarters in Week 1, Frye was pulled for Anderson, and two days later he was traded to Seattle.

A successful long-term starter and a three-time Pro Bowl selection for the 49ers, Garcia was supposed to bring stability to the Browns backfield when he signed a four-year deal with the team in 2004. Instead, he made 10 unremarkable starts for Cleveland that included a 0.0 passer rating in a loss to the Cowboys and a 99-yard touchdown pass in a win over the Bengals. After his release, Garcia bounced from the Lions to the Eagles before eventually returning to Pro Bowl form with the Bucs.

Few failed Browns quarterbacks got off to as promising a start as McCoy, who led Cleveland to unexpected victories over the Saints and Patriots in his second and third career games, in 2010. But an ankle injury took McCoy off the field, and he struggled to regain his form after his return. Still, he was named the Browns’ starter for 2011 and subsequently led Cleveland to a 3-3 start, but the Browns fizzled down the stretch, losing six of McCoy’s final seven starts before a concussion ended his season.

Selected 22nd overall in the 2012 draft, Weeden started right away as a 29-year-old rookie, but a veteran he was not. Still, Cleveland went 5-10 in the 15 games Weeden started that season, enough to earn the job again in 2013. However, Weeden lost the gig to Hoyer after injuring his thumb in Week 2. When Hoyer tore his ACL, Weeden moved back into the starting role again, but lost the job again, this time to Jason Campbell. That offseason, he was released with a career TD:INT ratio of 23:26.

Matthew Visinsky/Icon SMIMatthew Visinsky/Icon SMI

Hopes were high for Quinn when the Browns took him in the 2007 first round, and in ‘08 he earned his first win in his second career start, against the Bills. Unfortunately, Quinn broke his finger in the victory and missed the rest of the season after struggling to play through the injury the following week. Quinn then began 2009 as the team’s starter under new coach Eric Mangini and showed promise in nine total starts — particularly in losses to the Lions and Chargers — but again saw his season end early due to injury.

The enigmatic and troublesome Manziel showed flashes of potential during his checkered tenure with the Browns but never could prove that he had what it took to be Cleveland’s quarterback of the future. Both of his wins came last season, against Tennessee and San Francisco, respectively, and he may have been in the mix for reps this year had he been able to keep his personal life in order. Instead, he was released in March and has yet to sign with another team as his substance abuse issues have persisted.

Getty ImagesPeter G. Aiken

After five seasons in Seattle, Wallace was reunited with his old coach Mike Holmgren — at the time the president of the Browns — thanks to a trade in early 2010. He went on to go 1-3 in four starts that season after Delhomme went down with an injury in Week 1, his lone win coming against the Bengals. The following season, Wallace started the Browns’ final three games, and lost all three by a combined 13 points. He was eventually released during the 2012 preseason with two years left on his contract.

Another career backup, Pederson got his first taste of the starting lineup with Philadelphia in 1999, then took over as the Browns starter midway through the 2000 season after Couch broke his thumb. Across eight starts, Pederson threw for just 103.5 yards per game — that including a 309-yard performance against the Eagles — and only won once, against the Patriots in the final days of Drew Bledsoe. Today, Pederson is back where he got his first shot as a starter, as the head coach of the Philadelphia Eagles.

A former first-round pick, Campbell spent several years in Washington and Oakland, along with one season in Chicago, and had 71 NFL starts under his belt when he arrived in Cleveland in 2013. Still, he was third on the Browns depth chart behind Hoyer and Weeden to begin the season. Campbell finally got his chance in Week 8 and played well against the undefeated Chiefs, then beat the Ravens in Week 9. But after the team’s bye, Campbell went 0-6, and that offseason both he and Weeden were released.

Unlike his brother Luke, the elder McCown actually has won a game as the Browns’ starting quarterback. The overtime victory, over the Baltimore Ravens last October, saw McCown run for a score, throw two fourth-quarter touchdown passes and generally look like a competent NFL quarterback. Unfortunately, McCown — a walking Halloween costume who has played for half the league — has lost each of his nine other starts with Cleveland, including two games this season.

The latest failure on the Browns' quarterback tree, the rookie third-round pick Kessler was thrown into action in Week 3 after serious injuries to Griffin and Josh McCown in each of Cleveland’s first two games. Through six starts, the USC product has protected the ball admirably, completing 66.9 percent of his passes with five touchdowns and just one interception. But that doesn’t change the fact that Cleveland has gone 0-7 in those games.

Currently Drew Brees’ backup in New Orleans, McCown has made just 10 starts during his 12-year career, and the first four of them came as a rookie in Cleveland in 2004. McCown managed to throw four touchdown passes during his time with the team, but he also threw seven interceptions and was sacked 12 times as the Browns lost all four games by a combined score of 110-29.

Dorsey spent the majority of the 2006-08 seasons buried behind Frye, Anderson and Quinn on the Browns depth chart, but late in the ’08 campaign, he finally got his chance, drawing three straight starts in Weeks 14-16. Cleveland lost those games by a combined score of 72-19, as Dorsey completed just 48.9 percent of his passes and threw six picks with no touchdowns. He was released after the season and is now the quarterbacks coach for the Panthers

When the Browns returned to the NFL in 1999 after a three-year hiatus, Detmer was chosen as the man under center for Cleveland. However, he was quickly replaced by Tim Couch after being shut out 43-0 by Pittsburgh in the season-opener. Detmer reclaimed the starting role for the ‘99 season finale against the Colts — a game Cleveland lost by one point on a last-second field goal — but he missed the entire 2000 season with an Achilles injury and was traded to Detroit in 2001.

The former Ram played well in relief of Josh McCown in Week 12 of the 2015 season, earning a start against the Bengals in Week 13. However, after a 37-3 loss to Cincinnati, Davis returned to the bench in favor of Manziel. Davis later rejoined the starting lineup for the season finale against Pittsburgh after Manziel was ruled out with a concussion. Over two starts, he completed 49 of 84 passes for 470 yards and three interceptions. He’s currently the third-string quarterback in Denver.

Wynn was taken 16 spots ahead of Tom Brady in the sixth round of the 2000 draft and, after serving mop-up duty in six games (all losses), got his first and only Browns start against Jacksonville in Week 14 of the 2000 season. The result was a 48-0 Jags shutout that saw Wynn complete just 5 of 16 passes for 17 yards. Cleveland finished the game with 53 total yards and two first downs. Wynn was sent to NFL Europe that offseason and last played in the NFL in 2001. Brady’s career, meanwhile, panned out a little better.

Gradkowski had some NFL experience when he signed with the Browns in 2008, having started 11 games for Tampa Bay as a rookie in 2006. But the Toledo product only appeared in two games for Cleveland during his only season with the team and lost his only start, a 31-0 shutout against Pittsburgh in the season finale. He completed just 5 of 16 passes and threw two picks in the game.

When the 2016 season began, RG3 was penciled in as the team’s starting quarterback, but his tenure as the lead signal-caller was short. Griffin fractured his shoulder in the fourth quarter of his first and only start, a 29-10 loss to the Eagles, and was placed on IR.

A four-year starter at Duke, Lewis took his first NFL snaps in the Browns’ 2012 season finale, a 24-10 loss to the Steelers, after injuries to Weeden and McCoy. Against Pittsburgh’s then-top-ranked defense, Lewis went 22-of-32 for 204 yards with a touchdown and an interception. He was traded to Buffalo the following August and has bounced around the league since, including a brief return to Cleveland in 2015.

Shaw started one game for the Browns in 2014, completing 14-of-28 passes for 177 yards and an INT against the Ravens. It was the only time Shaw stepped on the field during the regular season in his NFL career.

… this.