A sneaky good Browns roster move for Week 1 vs Bengals

Signing a veteran QB just cut by the Bengals could really help the Browns in Week 1

The Cleveland Browns should sign QB Trevor Siemian to one of their rosters, preferably the practice squad, in advance of their Week 1 matchup with the Cincinnati Bengals.

With the mission statement out of the way, time to explain.

We heard from Cleveland’s HC Kevin Stefanski after the initial Browns 53-man roster was announced. Stefanski noted that the team was likely to add a quarterback in the near future. With rookie Dorian Thompson-Robinson backing up Deshaun Watson, a veteran makes more sense than a youngster for that third quarterback role.

Yesterday, while reviewing all the AFC North moves, we noted that the Bengals released two of their four quarterbacks. That move likely signals that Joe Burrow should be ready to play in Week 1 and left Siemian available on the free-agent market. That is where one of our awesome community members actually had the idea for the Browns to bring in the former Cincinnati QB:

A great idea from “afu97” that could be a sneaky good move by Cleveland for Week 1.

Not only is Siemian a veteran with 24 starts under his belt but he just spent all of the offseason learning the Bengals offense including any specific wrinkles that have been put in since last year. While it may only be for the short term, the 32-year-old could also benefit DTR in his preparation for games while Watson focuses on leading the team.

Would signing Siemian be the difference between winning and losing in Week 1? Probably not. On the other hand, the Browns need early victories, especially in the AFC North, and any little leg up should be looked into. In the case of Siemian, he provides a veteran presence for a short time, at a minimum, and at least some intel into Cincinnati’s offseason process.

Unless there is a quarterback that Stefanski and company love as their third quarterback for this season, Cleveland should move Siemian about three hours north at least for a couple of weeks.

What do you think about “afu97’s” idea?