It seems like year after year bottom-tier quarterbacks cash in on the free agent market. From Kevin Kolb to Matt Flynn in year’s past to this year with Josh McCown, and I am sure that he will not be the only one that cashes in before the end of free agency. Just last season, McCown was expected to revive the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, but he failed miserably and was released by the team. Teams fell in love with McCown after having a great showing in ten games with the Bears, but if anybody knows football knew that McCown would not sustain that high level of play as a No.1 quarterback. To no surprise McCown, is on a new team as he in on his third team in three years as he just signed a free agent deal with the Cleveland Browns. Yes– those Cleveland Browns. This isn’t the Browns first rodeo in trying their hand with a McCown as the Browns gave the quarterback reins to Josh’s brother Luke back in 2004. Like the previous McCown experiment, I expect this one to follow down the same path.
McCown, is on his seventh team in his career has a history of hoaxing teams out of money. Throughout McCown’s career he’s only showed consistency during the 2013 season with the Chicago Bears. Outside of that 2013 season–McCown has only had one season where he threw more touchdowns than interceptions and that was in 2004 with the Arizona Cardinals. It’s no coincidence that in the best years of his career he was able to throw to two of the top receivers in each of those seasons: Brandon Marshall and Alshon Jeffery in 2013 and Larry Fitzgerald and Anquan Boldin in 2004.
Kudos to McCown and his agent as they continue to fleece teams out of contracts. On the other end the Cleveland Browns have to be befuddled after their ongoing issues at the quarterback position. The Browns made mistakes in drafting Johnny Manziel in the first round over Teddy Bridgewater, benching Brian Hoyer after leading them to seven victories, and now the signing of McCown.
The signing of McCown does add a quality backup quarterback, but he should not be in the competition to be the starter for the team. The problem with the picture is that all three quarterbacks on the roster are backup quarterbacks or stop-gap quarterbacks, but none can be franchise quarterbacks. As it seems to be the case on a year to year basis, the Browns fumble again at making the right decisions at the quarterback position.
The Cleveland Browns have literally been a quarterback away for about the past fifteen years or so, and with the addition of McCown it’ll continue to be that way for a while.
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