Brandon Weeden Brandon Weeden ( born October 14 , 1983 ) is an American football quarterback for the Cleveland Browns of the National Football League ( NFL ) . He was drafted as the 22nd overall pick in the 2012 NFL Draft . He was the starting quarterback for the Oklahoma State Cowboys from 2010 to 2011 . In that time , Weeden , along with teammate receiver Justin Blackmon , broke several school passing / receiving records at Oklahoma State . Early years . Weeden was the starting quarterback at Edmond Santa Fe High School , where he led the team to a victory in the state semifinals in the school ' s first - ever playoff appearance , and was named team MVP and offensive player of the year . He finished 2nd in the state of Oklahoma in passing yards with 2 , 863 and accounted for 25 touchdowns . He was also an all - state baseball player and football player . Later on , Weeden graduated from Edmond Santa Fe High School in 2002 . Professional baseball career . A pitcher , Weeden was drafted in the second round of the 2002 Major League Baseball Draft by the New York Yankees as their first selection in the draft . After the 2003 season , he was traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers with Jeff Weaver and Yhency Brazobán for Kevin Brown . Following the 2005 season , he was selected in the Rule 5 draft by the Kansas City Royals . Weeden played his last season of professional baseball in 2006 with the Class - A High Desert Mavericks of the California League . Injuries and a high ERA led to Weeden quitting baseball . College football career . Weeden enrolled at Oklahoma State in 2007 and redshirted his first year . The following year , in 2008 he appeared in only one game against Missouri State . In 2009 Weeden played in three games , including one in the absence of injured Zac Robinson on Nov . 19 . Alex Cate started the game , but Weeden replaced him at halftime and led the Cowboys to an 11 - point comeback victory , 31 - 28 over Colorado in the nationally - televised Thursday night game . In 2010 Weeden was named the starter for the Cowboys . In week two Weeden suffered a severe injury to his thumb , which led to two interceptions and two fumbles in a win over Troy . Weeden said , " Hurt thumb , no thumb , whatever , it doesn ' t matter . I don ' t care if I don ' t have a thumb . You ' ve got to take the snaps . " He followed that performance by throwing six touchdowns the following week . He was named Big - 12 Offensive Player of the Week in the victory over Tulsa . The win helped move Oklahoma State into the Coaches ' Poll top 25 for the first time in 2010 . Coach Gundy reflected on the win : " Sometimes , you have games like that . We were rolling on all cylinders . " Weeden added , " We had a great week of practice . . . It was a whole lot of fun tonight . " In his senior season , 2011 , he led Oklahoma State to an 11 - 1 regular season , a number 3 ranking in the BCS standings , and a berth in the 2012 BCS Tostitos Fiesta Bowl . He also broke school records in total attempts , completions , yardage , and touchdowns ( all which were previously held by incumbent Coach Mike Gundy ) . In 12 games , Weeden completed 379 of 522 passes for 4 , 328 yards . In the 2012 Fiesta Bowl , the last game of his college football career , Brandon Weeden threw for 399 yards , completed 29 of 42 passes , and had 4 touchdowns ( 3 passing , 1 rushing ) along with one interception in a 41 - 38 win against the Stanford Cardinal in the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl . School records . Brandon Weeden set numerous records for passing , and offensive performance at Oklahoma State University , many of which surpassed records set by his college coach , Mike Gundy , when Gundy was a player . Professional career . 2012 NFL Draft . Weeden was drafted by the Cleveland Browns with the 22nd pick in the 2012 NFL Draft ; the oldest player ever taken in the first round , at 28 years old . Cleveland Browns . Weeden beat out Colt McCoy for the Browns starting job . In his first game , Weeden had a 5 . 1 passer rating after throwing four interceptions in a loss to the Philadelphia Eagles , which is the sixth lowest in a season opener by any quarterback attempting at least 15 passes since the merger in 1970 . However , one week later , he was much improved throwing for 2 touchdowns , completed 26 passes on 37 attempts for 322 yards , no interceptions with a passer rating of 114 . 9 . During Week 6 , Weeden celebrated his 29th birthday by completing 17 passes on 29 attempts for 231 yards and 2 touchdowns en route to his first NFL win by defeating the intrastate rival Cincinnati Bengals . In the Browns victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 12 , Weeden ' s helmet collided with Joe Thomas ' knee , giving him a concussion . Weeden practiced three days later , and played the following week against the Oakland Raiders . Personal life . In the summer of 2009 he married Melanie Meuser . The couple resides in Stillwater , Oklahoma .