Falcons coach Kevin Stefanski is used to walking into a bleak situation and initially making things better.
The Browns were only three years removed from going 0-16 and had posted 12 consecutive losing seasons when Stefanski was hired in January 2020.
The Falcons, who named Stefanski their head coach Saturday, have posted eight consecutive losing seasons. Like in Cleveland, Stefanski will inherit a young quarterback trying to find his way in the NFL.
In Cleveland he had Baker Mayfield, who was the No. 1 overall pick in the 2018 draft, heading into his third season in the league.
With the Falcons, Stefanski will have Michael Penix Jr., the eighth overall pick in the 2024 draft, who’s headed into his third year. Kirk Cousins, 37, remains on the roster, but his future with the team is cloudy while Penix recovers from left knee surgery.
Under Stefanski’s watch as Vikings offensive coordinator in 2019, Cousins went 10-6 as a starter and posted a career-best 107.4 rating with 26 touchdown passes and six interceptions.
Stefanski had turmoil at quarterback throughout his six seasons with the Browns. In all, 13 quarterbacks started for the team.
Mayfield, a former Heisman Trophy winner, was solid and started all 16 games in Stefanski’s first season. The Browns went 11-5 and made the playoffs. The Browns beat the Steelers 48-37 on the road and lost to the Chiefs 22-17 in a one-score game on the road in the divisional round.
In 2021, the Browns started Mayfield (14 games), Case Keenum (two) and Nick Mullens (1).
Drama grew over the offseason when the Browns did not commit to giving Mayfield a long-term contract. The Browns then found themselves in a bidding war with the Falcons, Panthers and Saints for the services of DeShaun Watson, who was seeking a trade from the Texans.
The Falcons were the front-runners for Watson, who played at Gainesville High and Clemson and was a Falcons ball boy in his youth.
But the Browns front office jumped back into the fray with a five-year, fully guaranteed $230 million deal to Watson, who needed to waive his no-trade clause. They also sent three first-round draft picks to the Texans.
In the aftermath, the Falcons traded Matt Ryan to the Colts and signed Marcus Mariota to be his replacement. The fallout for the Browns included trading Mayfield to the Panthers for a conditional fourth- or fifth-round pick.
So, Stefanski and the Browns were thinking they were set with Watson at quarterback. But the NFL stepped in and suspended Watson for 11 games and fined him $5 million in August 2022 for violating the league’s personal-conduct policy over sexual-misconduct allegations.
Jacoby Brissett started the first 11 games in 2022 and Watson the final six.
In 2023, the Browns and Watson were off to a good start before Watson suffered a fractured shoulder. The Browns signed Joe Flacco, who had been retired. He came in and helped the Browns reach the playoffs and was named the NFL Comeback Player of the Year.
In 2024, Watson started the season but suffered an Achilles injury. He returned late last season to practice with the team.
Over his four seasons with the Browns, Watson played in only 19 games and posted a 9-10 record.
In addition to Flacco, P.J. Walker, Dorian Thompson-Robinson and Jeff Driskel started games for the Browns in 2023.
For some reason, the Browns didn’t bring back Flacco for the 2024 season. After Watson was hurt, Jameis Winston (seven games), Thompson-Robinson (two) and Bailey Zappe (one) finished out the 2024 season.
Then in 2025, the Browns re-signed Flacco and drafted Dillon Gabriel in the third round (94th overall) and Shedeur Sanders (144th overall) in the fifth round. The plan was to start Flacco and hand over things to Gabriel when he was ready.
Flacco started three games, and Gabriel took over for the next six games before he suffered a concussion. The much-hyped Sanders, son of former Falcons legend and Pro Football Hall of Famer Deion Sanders, started the final seven games.
Add it up, and that’s 13 starting quarterbacks. The Browns still owe Watson $46 million for next season, and he has an $80.7 million cap hit for the 2026 season, the largest in the NFL.
Mayfield’s lack of progress and the Browns’ front office “winning” the Watson derby sabotaged Stefanski’s ability to sustain winning in Cleveland.
Quarterback merry-go-round in Cleveland
2020: Baker Mayfield (16 starts)
2021: Mayfield (14), Case Keenum (two), Nick Mullens (one)
2022: Jacoby Brissett (11), Deshaun Watson (six)
2023: Watson (six), Joe Flacco (five), P.J. Walker (two), Dorian Thompson-Robinson (three), Jeff Driskel (one)
2024: Watson (seven), Jameis Winston (seven), Thompson-Robinson (two), Bailey Zappe (one)
2025: Flacco (three), Dillon Gabriel (six), Shedeur Sanders (seven)
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