Dreaming about the future

Dream time while waiting for the Browns to make their next move . . .

It appears they have set ether quarterback sights very low if they hunger for Jimmy Garoppolo. There is another quarterback on the landscape who is much better than Garoppolo and has the stats to prove it.

He is an experienced National Football League quarterback who was rumored to be sought after by the Browns several years ago when he was a mere backup.

Here’s a hint: He backed up a former Browns quarterback.

Here’s another hint: That ex-Browns quarterback picked up the ex part of his status recently. Very recently.

That’s right, Kirk Cousins would look nice in the Seal Brown and Orange. (This is a dream, remember?)

The Washington Redskins quarterback is one unhappy camper and would not mind leaving the Nation’s Capital. Why not Cleveland?

The five-year veteran, drafted the same year as Robert Griffin III, has adamantly said he will not negotiate with the Washington front office and prefers playing elsewhere.

He has stated he wouldn’t mind heading for San Francisco where Kyle Shanahan, his offensive coordinator in Washington, is now the head coach of the 49ers.

Cousins recently signed a one-year franchise tender for $24 million that ties him to the Redskins for the upcoming season. It also sets the stage for the possibility of a trade. And the Browns have lots of ammunition to pull off such a move.

Instead of targeting the untested Garoppolo, why not give the Redskins a call and go after a genuine NFL quarterback? What harm would it do to pick up the telephone and talk to Redskins President Bruce Allen? Maybe Jimmy Haslam III can chat up Redskins owner Dan Snyder.

Dangle the No. 12 overall pick the Browns own. Maybe throw in the lesser of their two second-round selections, a fourth-rounder this year and the 2018 second-round pick they picked up in the Brock Osweiler trade.

Sure that’s an awful lot to give up for one player, but Cousins is the type of quarterback the Browns have needed for way too long. Since taking over as a starter in 2015, he has thrown for more than 9,000 yards, 44 touchdowns 23 interceptions and scored nine more times as a runner. He is a 66% career passer.

The Skins could fill the loss of Cousins by grabbing one of the quarterbacks with the 12^th selection and fill in weak roster spots with the other picks

(The dream continues.)

And if the Redskins bite, how would the Browns be able to handle the $24 million tender, you ask? Easy. Sit down with the new quarterback and hammer out a long-term deal for the kind of money he seeks.

Don’t forget the Browns still have the most salary-cap space in the NFL and richly rewarding Cousins would be more than worth it. It would finally give the Browns gravitas at the most important position on the team.

With Hue Jackson as his mentor and an offensive line that will definitely be improved this season, Cousins would make a nice fit and finally solve a problem that has nagged this franchise since 1999.

(The dream comes crashing down because . . .)

The above scenario probably won’t happen because those who run this franchise are not smart enough or creative enough to at least give it a shot. It is nothing more than a pipe dream because they seem fixated on Garoppolo.

Thinking like that is what has plagued this team for what seems like forever.