The Cleveland Browns found considerable success in a former Baltimore Ravens quarterback when they signed Joe Flacco last November. This coming offseason, they may have a chance to cash in again on another past Ravens starter.
Cory Kinnan of USA Today on Wednesday, January 24, compiled a list of pending free agents on the four teams set to play during the NFL’s Championship Weekend whom Cleveland could potentially target come March. One of the more interesting, and likely, names he floated was that of Ravens backup QB Tyler Huntley.
“The Browns clearly need to invest in a backup quarterback,” Kinnan wrote. “Huntley has starting experience and would be a clear upgrade over PJ Walker and Dorian Thompson-Robinson.”
Tyler Huntley Earned Pro-Bowl Nod in 2022 After Starting Just 4 Games for Ravens
Cleveland benched, demoted and cut Walker at different points during the 2023 season. And while the team won two of the three games he started, it appears likely the Browns will search for an upgrade to the position group this offseason.
Thompson-Robinson, a fifth-round rookie who produced a tremendous preseason, was hit or miss in his first year in the NFL before injuries sidelined him for good near the end of the campaign. He will likely be back in Cleveland in 2024, though he remains an uncertain bet as the No. 2 signal-caller on a playoff team with Super Bowl aspirations.
Huntley has considerably more experience than Thompson-Robinson and has produced a measure of success in the league that Walker can’t boast. Despite starting only four games for Baltimore in 2022, Huntley earned Pro-Bowl honors as a replacement for Buffalo Bills QB Josh Allen, who bowed out due to injury.
Huntley finished that season 2-2, completing 67% of his 112 passes for 658 yards, 2 TDs and 3 INTs, per Pro Football Reference. He also rushed the football 43 times for 137 yards and a score.
Over the course of his four-year career in Baltimore, Huntley has appeared in 20 games and earned nine starts (3-6). He has amassed 1,957 passing yards, 8 TDs and 7 INTs with a 64.6% completion rate. Huntley has also logged 115 carries, gaining 509 rushing yards and scoring 3 TDs.
Tyler Huntley Not as Good as Joe Flacco, but More Realistic Offseason Signing for Browns
Huntley may have the only Pro Bowl in the 20 combined years he and Flacco have spent in the NFL, but that — and his mobility — are the only check marks in Huntley’s favor when comparing the two.
Flacco is a former Super Bowl MVP, was once the highest-paid player in league history and led Cleveland to a 4-1 record down the stretch to land the team in the playoffs for the second time in four seasons. Despite a disastrous second-half against the Houston Texans over Super Wild Card Weekend, just about everyone in Cleveland would welcome Flacco back with open arms.
For his part, Flacco has also said he’s open to returning and loved his time with the Browns. However, the 39-year-old QB also noted he wants to play another two seasons and presumably wants the opportunity at a starting job. That probably won’t happen in Cleveland in 2024, at least not off the bat, as head coach Kevin Stefanski named Deshaun Watson the team’s starter heading into the offseason.
Watson is rehabilitating from shoulder surgery in November but is expected to be back at full strength by the time the 2024 regular season rolls around. He retains a tight grip on the starting job in Cleveland in no small part because of his $230 million fully-guaranteed contract, which runs through 2026.
As such, Flacco is more likely to seek employment elsewhere in the league. Beyond that, Huntley figures to be considerably cheaper than Flacco after playing in 2023 on a one-year, $2.6 million deal.
