Miami Hurricanes quarterback Cam Ward has been on the business end of some rough public relations issues ever since sitting down in the second half of the Pop-Tarts Bowl against Iowa State, but that may not end up mattering at all in terms of where he is selected in the upcoming NFL draft.
There has been significant movement in the draft order near the top of the first round, with the Las Vegas Raiders falling to No. 8 overall on the strength of two consecutive wins and the New York Giants dropping from first to fourth following their victory over the Indianapolis Colts last weekend.
That has resulted in the Cleveland Browns jumping all the way to the No. 3 selection, which puts the franchise in prime position to draft a replacement for quarterback Deshaun Watson. He has two years remaining on a fully guaranteed $230 million contract that has proven disastrous.
Cleveland can’t get off any of Watson’s money, but the team is widely expected to move him to the bench in 2025 after a suspension and two season-ending injuries have led to the QB starting just 19 games in three years (9-10).
The only way to replace Watson in a cost-effective manner is either to roll the dice on a cheap veteran in free agency or draft a player who can start on a rookie contract. Ward is that exact type of signal caller, which led Josh Edwards of CBS Sports to predict the Browns will select Ward with the third pick in April.
“Cleveland would probably be more inclined to sign Kirk Cousins and draft a quarterback on Day 2, but can not pass up the opportunity to select Cam Ward at No. 3 overall,” Edwards wrote on Tuesday, Dec. 31.
Cousins is likely to be available ahead of March 17 via his expected release from the Atlanta Falcons, when that team would have to pay him a $10 million roster bonus. The Browns could probably add the QB on a league minimum deal that would be offset against the $27.5 million the Falcons would owe Cousins in 2025 under those circumstances.
However, signing Cousins would be a one- or two-year bridge play to a QB of the future. There is no sense in making that move if the franchise believes Ward can be that player and can draft him third overall a few months from now.
