In Cleveland, pure excitement.
In San Francisco, unmistakable anguish.
In Arizona, something in between.
Three NFL franchises, three Week 4 quarterback changes, with the Browns promoting No. 1 pick Baker Mayfield, the Cardinals giving Josh Rosen a try, and the 49ers coming to grips with losing Jimmy Garoppolo.
Garoppolo suffered a season-ending left knee injury with about 5 minutes 35 seconds remaining in a 38-27 loss to Kansas City on Sunday. Beginning in the second half of last season, he had led a foundering franchise back to respectability and relevance.
"It's a tough injury. I feel bad for Jimmy ... it sucks," Tom Brady, his former teammate in New England, said Monday on his WEEI radio show. "You hate to see someone go down, someone I really like and have been friends with since the day he got here."
Like Garoppolo, Brady suffered a torn ACL against the Chiefs, his coming in Week 1 of the 2008 season.
The 49ers, who play Sunday at the Chargers, will turn to C.J. Beathard, who started five games as a rookie last season and lost four. He has a connection to the Chargers too, as his grandfather is Hall of Fame executive Bobby Beathard, who was general manager of San Diego from 1990-2000.
At the opposite end of the emotional spectrum are the Browns, who are coming off their first victory in 635 days. Mayfield replaced a struggling Tyrod Taylor against the New York Jets last Thursday and brought the Browns back from a 14-0 deficit to win 21-17.
"There was nothing that I saw that he was not ready to handle," coach Hue Jackson said Monday in making the change official.
Mayfield, whose first start comes at winless Oakland on Sunday, will be Cleveland's 30th starting quarterback since the franchise's rebirth in 1999.
Former UCLA standout Rosen, the 10th pick in this year's draft, will get the start for 0-3 Arizona at Seattle on Sunday. He replaced starter Sam Bradford in a 16-14 loss to Chicago with 4:31 to play and was unable to lead a comeback. In attempting to put his team in position for a winning field goal, he was intercepted on his first drive. On his second possession, he was sacked to end the game.
"He's going to have some growing pains," coach Steve Wilks told reporters. "That happens as a rookie, and you're going to see some great things from him as well."
