Report: Browns may be eyeing Chase Daniel as backup QB

The Cleveland Browns are set at quarterback with Baker Mayfield entering his third season as the unquestioned starter.

The rest of the quarterback room, however, remains a work in progress.

Drew Stanton filled the “veteran backup” role the past two seasons, but went on injured reserve after Week 1 of last season and is now a free agent. Behind him is Garrett Gilbert, who has attempted all of six passes in an NFL career that begin in 2014.

If general manager Andrew Berry is looking to rebuild the position behind Mayfield, one name to keep an eye on in free agency is quarterback Chase Daniel, according to Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports:

Daniel has been in the NFL since 2010, but has only started five games while playing for four different teams. He started as a backup to Drew Brees starting in 2010 with the New Orleans Saints, before moving on to serve as QB2 for the Kansas City Chiefs behind Alex Smith from 2013 to 2015, the Philadelphia Eagles behind Carson Wentz in 2016, back to the Saints and Brees in 2017, before spending the past two seasons with the Chicago Bears behind Mitchell Trubisky.

Through it all he has found time to complete 149 passes in 218 attempts (a 68.3 completion percentage for those keeping score at home), 1,430 yards, seven touchdowns and five interceptions.

He has also managed to pocket a little more than $34 million in career earnings along the way, according to spotrac.com, which places Daniel at No. 62 in all-time earnings for a quarterback. (You can read a bit more about Daniel’s interesting NFL career in this 2019 article from The Chicago Tribune.)

Daniel might not be the type of move that excites fans in March, but he could be a real asset to Mayfield in the under-appreciated - but vital - Monday through Saturday role that can help lead to success on game days.