The Ravens retained journeyman quarterback Josh Johnson earlier this week, a move which suggested Tyler Huntley would be headed elsewhere in free agency. The latter is indeed set to make an intra-AFC North move.
Huntley, 26, and the Browns have agreed to terms, Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com reports. The former UDFA had been in Baltimore since entering the league in 2020. Over that span, he made 22 combined regular and postseason appearances, 10 of which were starts.
The Utah alum saw sparse action in 2020, but over the following two seasons he was counted on several times while filling in for an injured Lamar Jackson. Huntley started four games to close out the campaign in 2021 and ’22, and also served as the Ravens’ quarterback for the team’s wild-card loss in Cincinnati during the latter year. He showcased his mobility with 485 rushing yards over that span, but a 7:8 touchdown-to-interception ratio indicated his limitations as a passer on a long-term basis.
Baltimore has Jackson on the books thanks to the mega-deal he signed last offseason. Johnson and midseason pickup Malik Cunningham will vie for the backup job behind him, a role Huntley previously occupied. With Jackson remaining healthy in 2023, the latter made only a few appearances in mop-up duty before starting a Week 18 game which had no playoff implications for Baltimore. He will now head to Cleveland looking to compete for the QB2 role.
That spot is currently projected to go to Jameis Winston, who inked a one-year deal with a maximum value of $8.7M. Winston has said he has eyes on a return to starting duties, but his only avenue to reach the top of Cleveland’s QB depth chart would be another injury suffered by Deshaun Watson. The Browns also have 2023 fifth-rounder Dorian Thompson-Robinson in the fold; his play last summer enticed Cleveland to trade away Joshua Dobbs not long before the start of the season.
Thompson-Robinson did not fare well in his three starts, though, and Joe Flacco served as the Browns’ starter late in the year and through the postseason. 2023’s Comeback Player of the Year was not retained, however, and the combination of Winston, Thompson-Robinson and now Huntley will vie for playing time behind Watson. Cleveland’s fully-guaranteed $230M pact for Watson has left the team in need of inexpensive options down the depth chart, and Huntley will no doubt fit the bill in that regard on this Browns pact.
Named a Pro Bowler in 2022 (a season which featured a slew of AFC quarterback injuries) Huntley played out last season on his RFA tender. That $2.63MM tender represents by far the most lucrative contract of his NFL career. It will be interesting to see the terms of this Cleveland agreement given the investments already made in Watson and Winston. Looking for better depth under center in 2024, the Browns will have several options to choose from when filling out their depth chart.
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