McCarron Unrestricted Free Agent

[jrb12711]

1+1 really seems to equal 2 based on this development. Honestly, I'd be totally fine with it as long as we still draft a top guy this year too. Chicago showed a good example of just because you bring in a FA QB doesn't mean he has to be your guy. If he ends up being elite, even better.

I think AJ is also a very logical piece of the puzzle too. Cousins is a pipe dream and other guys (keenum, bradford, etc) will be more attractive than AJ will.

[The Gipper]

17 hours ago, stillmotion said:

Hue just got hard for AJ. Expect a deal to be done immediately unless you believe that Ghoolie's theory of Dorsey being a yes-man and coffee fetcher to be incorrect.

Can't be done immediately....not officially.    

 

Under the rules they cannot even talk until like March 12.

[The Gipper]

9 hours ago, Ghoolie said:

There are two kinds of men in the world. There are leaders, and there are coffee fetchers. You cannot judge a man by his failures, but instead by the manner in which he fails. leader don't fear failure, they loathe it, and swing both fists, all out, balls to the wall to conquer the universe as they see fit. A coffee fetcher, on the other hands, also hates failure but from the very first day he is put on center stage, begins positioning himself for longevity and position to lay blame elsewhere.

Dorsey is a coffee fetcher, and I urge you all, especially those most irritated by me, to earmark this post. Copy it as pdf,  do whatever homo-millennial-digital queer thing you idiots do nowadays to archive something. That he came to Cleveland with the call from all of us to be a hero, a leader, a conqueror, he instead chose to position himself in a no-lose situation. By acquiescing to Haslam's committment to Hue, Dorsey risks nothing and picks up his first "get out of jail free" card. After Hue gets fired, Dorsey can say, "after a year observing, I am ready to get the right guy". Everyone is happy, and nobody expects him to turn it around for a few years..............because of sins of the past.

I will bet dollars to donuts that Dorkey buys his second "get out of jail free" card by backing off and letting Hue take McCarron. Regardless how McCarron does, Dorkey looks good. 

We will see what happens but my bet is on McCarron. 

Actually....there are 3 types:    Leaders, coffee fetchers, and guys that do neither but just sit back and bitch, whine, moan and complain and make pontifications about stuff they know nothing about.

[hoorta]

12 hours ago, Ghoolie said:

There are two kinds of men in the world. There are leaders, and there are coffee fetchers. You cannot judge a man by his failures, but instead by the manner in which he fails. leader don't fear failure, they loathe it, and swing both fists, all out, balls to the wall to conquer the universe as they see fit. A coffee fetcher, on the other hands, also hates failure but from the very first day he is put on center stage, begins positioning himself for longevity and position to lay blame elsewhere.

Dorsey is a coffee fetcher, and I urge you all, especially those most irritated by me, to earmark this post. Copy it as pdf,  do whatever homo-millennial-digital queer thing you idiots do nowadays to archive something. That he came to Cleveland with the call from all of us to be a hero, a leader, a conqueror, he instead chose to position himself in a no-lose situation. By acquiescing to Haslam's committment to Hue, Dorsey risks nothing and picks up his first "get out of jail free" card. After Hue gets fired, Dorsey can say, "after a year observing, I am ready to get the right guy". Everyone is happy, and nobody expects him to turn it around for a few years..............because of sins of the past.

I will bet dollars to donuts that Dorkey buys his second "get out of jail free" card by backing off and letting Hue take McCarron. Regardless how McCarron does, Dorkey looks good. 

We will see what happens but my bet is on McCarron. 

My bet is probably on McCarron too- but not because Dorsey is sucking up to Hue. Take a look at who else is out there. Cousins? If Smith didn't want to go to the Browns you think Kirk will? He's going to a team like the Vikings, Bills, or Broncos. Drew Brees is going nowhere, and will finish his career out with the Saints. I wouldn't mind bringing back Helicopter McCown after the decent season he had with the Jets, but would he want to come back? Everything else is assorted versions of garbage. Glassman Bradford, Fitzpatrick, I could keep going. Eagles won't part with Foles short of a first round pick. 

Here's an unbiased view Tom- take the time to read it.   https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/ranking-aj-mccarron-landing-spots-browns-get-a-second-chance-at-quarterback/

So sure, if it's only a quick fix you're after, you make Cousins the richest QB in NFL history- after I've been telling you Redskins fans don't think he's worth it, draft Barkley and overdraft Ridley. I want the Browns to return to the Glory Days of the 60s when they were in the mix every year for a decade, not a flash in the pan one and done. 

So, if the Browns play their cards right in the draft and nail at least 3 out of the top five picks, pick up a quality positional FA or two, like Jarvis Landry WR. Hue could save his job by going at least 7-9.  If Jackson stinks right out of the gate with improved talent- Dorsey will have no qualms canning Hue before the bye- don't forget both the OC and DC were head coaches in the past. 

[jrb12711]

39 minutes ago, hoorta said:

So sure, if it's only a quick fix you're after, you make Cousins the richest QB in NFL history- after I've been telling you Redskins fans don't think he's worth it, draft Barkley and overdraft Ridley. I want the Browns to return to the Glory Days of the 60s when they were in the mix every year for a decade, not a flash in the pan one and done. 

 

I don't really care what Redskins fans say, Kirk is objectively worth it. If Jimmy G. got what he got, a QB like Cousins who has been top 15 in QBR (including being 6th both in 2015 and 2016) for three years deserves it too. Heck, you can even justify his down year a good bit seeing as they lost something like 6 OL last season. Cousins by about any metric you can choose is a top 10-12 QB in the NFL right now.

 The day we ink Cousins would instantly make him the best QB Cleveland has had since 1999. I just think it's a pipe dream he'd pick Cleveland over several other teams with as much of a QB need as we do.

[Westside Steve]

9 hours ago, jiggins7919 said:

A.J. McCarron is going to the Vikings, that's my guess. They're a playoff team, McCarron knows their head coach quite well from Cincinnati, and they aren't 1-31 in their last 2 seasons. 

The Browns aren't getting Kirk Cousins, so let's not engage in any further fantasy nonsense. I already had my fantasy moment by hoping Alex Smith would come here, and that's enough hope for one offseason. Who are we going to get? Obviously, we're going to get the same crap we've always gotten. The cast off, washed up, oft-injured, has-been, looking for money QB that always go to bad teams, and that's not going to suddenly change for the worst team in NFL history. 

In other words, welcome to the Cleveland Browns Josh McCown, Sam Bradford, Chase Daniels, or whoever the rest of the league DOESN'T want. That's how it works. We're likely to sign an older veteran with an injury history, and I'm guessing this guy gets injured around week 4 or 5. That's when the REAL fun starts. Why? Because that's the exact moment our coaches will have to determine whether they want to play our shiny new 1st round QB, or if they want to play Deshone Kizer. Won't THAT just be a joy to witness? Play the human turnover machine or ruin our shiny new QB? Fun times. Our only chance for finally fixing the QB quandary is to somehow, some way, by the grace of God, draft the right guy. Lord knows we're due, but suffice to say I have no confidence in it actually happening. We're going to trade the #1 pick and take whichever QB is left at 4...watch. 

 

I guess Anything is Possible but I'm wondering why the Vikings would rather have a completely untested guy like AJ McCarron in place of one of their three actual quarterbacks? Bilgewater and Bradford have got health issues but aside from that should be quality players. 

I still think there's a chance that Kizer could step up at some point

WSS

[dawg2fan]

17 hours ago, PoeticG said:

Cousins, McCarron, Bridgewater, Rosen, Darnold, Mayfield, Allen, Rudolph, Jackson.... on and on and on the list of QBs goes...

And the first time one of these guys have a bad start (ala Hogan) you will bash and trash and cry to high heaven that we have to take the next QB #1 overall in the 2019 Draft...

 

I don't always agree with you PoeticG, but you are absolutely correct.  I'm at the point that I won't even talk about our QBs anymore.  I'll accept whomever falls our way. 

[hoorta]

1 minute ago, Westside Steve said:

I guess Anything is Possible but I'm wondering why the Vikings wood rather have a completely untested guy like AJ McCarron in place of one of their three actual quarterbacks? Bilgewater and Bradford have gut health issues but aside from that should be quality players. 

WSS

The only link McCarron would have to the Vikes is their coach. They'll keep Keenum and one of the others as a backup. Most likely Teddy. McCarron is only going to a place where he has a legit chance to start- and that isn't in Minnesota.  

Wonder what AJ is going to think if we sign him and then turn around and draft Sam Darnold?  If I was Dorsey, I'd be upfront with him about our expectations and plans.  

[hoorta]

23 minutes ago, jrb12711 said:

I don't really care what Redskins fans say, Kirk is objectively worth it. If Jimmy G. got what he got, a QB like Cousins who has been top 15 in QBR (including being 6th both in 2015 and 2016) for three years deserves it too. Heck, you can even justify his down year a good bit seeing as they lost something like 6 OL last season. Cousins by about any metric you can choose is a top 10-12 QB in the NFL right now.

 The day we ink Cousins would instantly make him the best QB Cleveland has had since 1999. I just think it's a pipe dream he'd pick Cleveland over several other teams with as much of a QB need as we do.

I'll trust guys who have seen every one of Cousins' games over a pile of stats. I don't disagree he'd be a massive upgrade over anything we have now. Here's the $150 million dollar question. Do we think Cousins is good enough to lead the Browns to a Super Bowl, or just a slightly better version of Andy Dalton?   

[calfoxwc]

46 minutes ago, hoorta said:

Here's the $150 million dollar question. Do we think Cousins is good enough to lead the Browns to a Super Bowl, or just a slightly better version of Andy Dalton?   

    Way closer to the latter, imho.

[Canton Mike]

I agree with Cal, but I'll defer to Dorsey & staff.

Mike

[TexasAg1969]

Well the smart thing to do would be to go to a more established team in search of a QB and not the Browns 1-31 without even a proven HC. But on the other hand he has worked with that same HC before and there is that other little factor that most people have long forgotten. The year JM won the Heisman McCarron was trying to make the case that he was the better QB of the two. He's a competitive guy so what better place to go to prove he really was better if not to JMs old team where he failed.

[calfoxwc]

what should be interesting, if the Browns sign a top veteran star wr in FA, then

their choice to bring the FA qb in has more attraction.

Should start happening soon.

https://operations.nfl.com/football-ops/league-governance/2018-important-nfl-dates/

[gumby73]

1 hour ago, calfoxwc said:

Should start happening soon.

FA team visits started last week..Seems were looking at CB position as possible FA fill. Two former 1st round picks have been in. Today Colts CB Vontae Davis..Last week Bills/eagles CB Leodis McKelvin..no other positions that i have read so far..

[calfoxwc]

1 hour ago, gumby73 said:

FA team visits started last week..Seems were looking at CB position as possible FA fill. Two former 1st round picks have been in. Today Colts CB Vontae Davis..Last week Bills/eagles CB Leodis McKelvin..no other positions that i have read so far..

I'm hoping for Trumaine Johnson, cb, maybe.

[Ghoolie]

15 hours ago, TexasAg1969 said:

<<<OK Ghoolie, exactly how do we tell if McCarron comes to the Browns that Dorsey really didn't want him?>>>

Not the point.Hue wants McCarron. If AJ comes, it is Hue's doing, not Dorkeys'. If AJ comes, Dorkey is just here for the ride. Again, you look at the big picture, and already you see a GM who doesn't want to make waves, who doesn't want to go out on a limb, and is happy to be a wallflower. He is a politician, a coffee fetcher.

<<What if  he comes because Dorsey DOES want him and isn't just fetching coffee? Get my drift? >>

Great hypothetical, but not valid. AJ was already coming. Hue wants him. Hue gave him wiener rubs on national TV,, and took him to meet Haslam. Dorsey, by taking this job without even a silent fart tells you that he is a lamb, not a LION.

<<No way to prove whether or not he likes him, especially if we are in a bidding  war now for his services with other teams that also want him. So your claim has no way of being proven or disproven if he shows in Cleveland.>>

Again, he took a job where he was emasculated by having to accept Hue, without conversation.

 

[hoorta]

3 hours ago, Ghoolie said:

19 hours ago, TexasAg1969 said:

<<<OK Ghoolie, exactly how do we tell if McCarron comes to the Browns that Dorsey really didn't want him?>>>

Not the point.Hue wants McCarron. If AJ comes, it is Hue's doing, not Dorkeys'. If AJ comes, Dorkey is just here for the ride. Again, you look at the big picture, and already you see a GM who doesn't want to make waves, who doesn't want to go out on a limb, and is happy to be a wallflower. He is a politician, a coffee fetcher.

<<What if  he comes because Dorsey DOES want him and isn't just fetching coffee? Get my drift? >>

Great hypothetical, but not valid. AJ was already coming. Hue wants him. Hue gave him wiener rubs on national TV,, and took him to meet Haslam. Dorsey, by taking this job without even a silent fart tells you that he is a lamb, not a LION.

<<No way to prove whether or not he likes him, especially if we are in a bidding  war now for his services with other teams that also want him. So your claim has no way of being proven or disproven if he shows in Cleveland.>>

Again, he took a job where he was emasculated by having to accept Hue, without conversation.

Hue has these incredible powers of hypnotism to still have a job. Haslam is sort of a goofball guaranteeing Jackson would be back. It wouldn't have mattered who we hired as GM, we're on the "continuity". wagon. Jimmy fires Chud after one year- a guy who bled orange and Brown, and now he's keeping arguably the worst head coach in the history of the NFL around for another year. 

I suppose if we do get McCarron- it's not the worst choice we could make. I reserve judgment until after the dust settles in free agency and the draft to determine how much say-so Hue has in building the roster. 

[boo fagley]

23 hours ago, Ghoolie said:

There are two kinds of men in the world. There are leaders, and there are coffee fetchers. You cannot judge a man by his failures, but instead by the manner in which he fails. leader don't fear failure, they loathe it, and swing both fists, all out, balls to the wall to conquer the universe as they see fit. A coffee fetcher, on the other hands, also hates failure but from the very first day he is put on center stage, begins positioning himself for longevity and position to lay blame elsewhere.

Dorsey is a coffee fetcher, and I urge you all, especially those most irritated by me, to earmark this post. Copy it as pdf,  do whatever homo-millennial-digital queer thing you idiots do nowadays to archive something. That he came to Cleveland with the call from all of us to be a hero, a leader, a conqueror, he instead chose to position himself in a no-lose situation. By acquiescing to Haslam's committment to Hue, Dorsey risks nothing and picks up his first "get out of jail free" card. After Hue gets fired, Dorsey can say, "after a year observing, I am ready to get the right guy". Everyone is happy, and nobody expects him to turn it around for a few years..............because of sins of the past.

I will bet dollars to donuts that Dorkey buys his second "get out of jail free" card by backing off and letting Hue take McCarron. Regardless how McCarron does, Dorkey looks good. 

We will see what happens but my bet is on McCarron. 

Its all on Hue anyway. If 1 - 31 cant get you fired this will. Let Hue have his QB and virtually anything else he wants. Dorsey cant run the show with Haslam all googly eyed about Hue and his magic

Dorsey is in the perfect situation with all the cap space and bevy of draft picks. 4 very high picks. If there was ever a situation where Dorsey can prove his mettle, Cleveland is it.  All the while Hue is on thin ice. 2 - 6 and Hue wont see snow on the ground as the Browns Head Coach again and Haslam will have Dorsey appoint an interim head coach and begin the search for his guy. Then its all Dorseys team.

The Browns are a young team with talent. I look for Dorsey to add playmakers just he did in KC. Its up to Hue to produce the wins and nobody else.

[hoorta]

2 minutes ago, boo fagley said:

Its all on Hue anyway. If 1 - 31 cant get you fired this will. Let Hue have his QB and virtually anything else he wants. Dorsey cant run the show with Haslam all googly eyed about Hue and his magic

Dorsey is in the perfect situation with all the cap space and bevy of draft picks. 4 very high picks. If there was ever a situation where Dorsey can prove his mettle, Cleveland is it.  All the while Hue is on thin ice. 2 - 6 and Hue wont see snow on the ground as the Browns Head Coach again and Haslam will have Dorsey appoint an interim head coach and begin the search for his guy. Then its all Dorseys team.

The Browns are a young team with talent. I look for Dorsey to add playmakers just he did in KC. Its up to Hue to produce the wins and nobody else.

Except- I'll let Hue have McCarron, but stay away- far, far away from the draft room. Dorsey has brought in some top shelf talent evaluators. LOL, we bring in McCarron, and he flops- Hue just bought his ticket out of town. After RG III (read the article I posted in the Joe wants Cousins thread) "trust me on Kessler", and screwing up Kizer- I can already hear the ice cracking underneath him. 

And should we go interim if\when Hue crashes right out of the gate, I've pointed out to Ghoolie both Haley and Williams have head coaching experience. 

[jiggins7919]

14 hours ago, Westside Steve said:

I guess Anything is Possible but I'm wondering why the Vikings would rather have a completely untested guy like AJ McCarron in place of one of their three actual quarterbacks? Bilgewater and Bradford have got health issues but aside from that should be quality players. 

I still think there's a chance that Kizer could step up at some point

WSS

I completely agree with you in that it's strange Minnesota would bring in a relatively untested QB like McCarron, but everything I seem to read says Bradford, Bridgewater, and even Keenum are all heading for different teams. Now, this could all be silly season stuff, but Minnesota is also confident that their defense puts quarterbacks in excellent positions to win, and they may not pay Case Keenum what he could receive on the open market. Additionally, the Vikings are losing Pat Shurmur (yes, THAT Pat Shurmur) and it's entirely possible, if not probable, Keenum will follow him. Vikings also can't place their faith in the oft-injured Bradford or Bridgewater. They'll want to move on in my opinion. 

Now, to your point about Kizer. In all honesty, there's a part of me that says NOT to count him out. I see Kizer as a hard-working individual who is his toughest critic (which is saying something). He's going to be working his tail off, reviewing film, hiring "qb gurus", and trying to find ways to get better. He's not the type of person who will demand a trade, cause a stink, or pout when the Browns draft another QB or bring in a veteran. Physically, Kizer has it. Obviously it's the mental part that concerns everyone, and then there's the accuracy issue. I've heard several analysts say that accuracy isn't generally something that gets a whole lot better at this stage, but there are always exceptions to the rule. To me, the biggest problem with Kizer's accuracy wasn't just the turnovers or throwing incomplete passes, it was the yards after catch (YAC) dilemma. 

Todd Haley and Hue Jackson both are huge proponents of YAC, and they pride themselves on getting their playmakers the ball in space. This is something we simply haven't been able to do, and much of it has to do with Kizer's ball placement. Even on some big completions that may have resulted in 1st downs, typically you saw our receivers have to fall down to secure the catch, jump up for it, or slow down and wait for the rock. How many diving catches across the middle did Corey Coleman make when he was finally back in the lineup? Corey also made several others where he had to jump and bring it down, but hardly ever, IF EVER, did you see Corey catch the ball and keep running. In fact, I can't think of ONE TIME where Corey had basically ANY YAC. Now, not all of this is Kizer's fault, but you better believe a lot of it is. 

Baker Mayfield is my first choice atm, with Rosen a close 2nd because they both get the ball out and get it out so the receiver can catch it and still run with it. This is also another reason why I was clamoring for Garoppolo for 2 years, and also why I was SCREAMING to get Alex Smith at basically ANY cost. Alex Smith throwing in-stride passes to Josh Gordon would terrify teams, and likely would demand a crap-ton of defensive attention which would open up things for others. 

Anyway, I don't expect McCarron to come to Cleveland because he will likely want a guarantee of being the starter, and he probably won't get that in Cleveland. We're going to draft a QB either at 1 or 4, and there's no guarantee McCarron will beat that guy out, OR that he'd beat out Kizer (although it's extremely likely). Minnesota could jettison their 3 qb's (actually, I don't believe Minnesota HAS a QB on their roster, technically speaking. They're all free agents, correct?) and sign McCarron as their starter. With a dominant defense, strong running game, and solid weapons, I think they'd still be the team to beat in the NFC North. And if I'm McCarron, I'm going to the team with the best defense. The team that gets me the most possessions, the most stops, and the team that doesn't put me in the worst position game after game (like us). 

For fans that want McCarron, I'm sorry, but I doubt we're getting him. For fans that DON'T want him, breathe easy. Our QBs will likely be Deshone Kizer, Baker Mayfield/Rosen/Darnold, and finished off with the old has-been/never-was type veteran QB. 

[gumby73]

Tough QB crowd Yes Hue may have his bridge QB to target & compete as Starter with Kizer..But Dorsey has his guy also that he Drafted & has sat at KC till contract expired behind Alex Smith. Now set to be a FA in KC is Dorsey's QB Tyler Bray..Did I ever say I hate McCarron's ball Velocity mph of 53 mph that matches B.Hundley,Laundry Jones & Poe's hunk/hunk of burning love of Kevin Hogan? Has Hue ever saw a deep ball, that Hue wants to take shots with down the field of AJ McCarron's to AJ Green?(not many) Tyler Bray is 6'6" 215 with 59 mph. Here's some others...59mph-Cousins,Weeden,P.Lynch,Bray////58mph-Goff////57mph-Foles,C.Daniels,Wentz//////56mph-Dalton,Jimmy G,Newton,Bortles,Mariota,Colt McCoy////55mph-Keenum,R.Wilson,Maholmes,KESSLER,Flacco,Winston////52mph-Kizer///50mph--Ty.Taylor,C.Cook,M.Trubisky....how bout Deshawn Watson at 45mph... source Ourlad's      

[mjp28]

2 hours ago, gumby73 said:

Tough QB crowd .......

You've got that right! I would like a few more to actually step up and say (admit) they/we really don't know how this current crop of 2018 will preform. 

Quarterbacks like any other position aren't a guarantee unless they already have an NFL track record. 

[gumby73]

42 minutes ago, mjp28 said:

You've got that right!  

Quarterbacks like any other position aren't a guarantee unless they already have an NFL track record. 

I mean am sitting here watching Cousins tear up the Saints in New Orleans right now on Nfl Network..With a Bunch of nobodies getting his arss kicked every throw..It's a QB league that you can only take what people are willing to pay while your still walking..Like Osweiler was given the Money by Elway & Texans but why is that his fault..Make it rain Cousins(that's on Skins FO imo)..but Cousins at least has the eyes/arm of a QB..Edit-holy crap Cousins just dropped another rainbow in the bucket at 8:35 remaining in 4th..Edit- TD Cousin's..to WhoTF is Jeremy Sprinkle? it's only a light rain in the dome EDIT-Am hoping Brees gets paid in this game before Cousins    

[jiggins7919]

If we actually had a choice between signing Cousins to a long term contract versus drafting a rookie and signing another low-caliber veteran qb, I would think the majority of fans would be all over Cousins as our guy. Problem is, we're likely not to have that choice. Why on earth would he come to Cleveland? What's the difference between making $27 million and $29 million? So we can PAY him more, that's the reason why he would play for us? Hell no. And Joe Thomas being on the fence? That doesn't help. 

You wanna know the frustrating thing? If we signed Kirk Cousins, we wouldn't even have to worry about drafting a QB, and just THINK of what we could do with our picks this draft. We could trade down, trade for veteran players, we could turn the 1st and 4th picks into God knows what. THAT'S the truly frustrating thing....if we could just SIGN a quality qb, we could use assets on everything else and make a team...A REAL team. 

But Kirk ain't coming to Cleveland. He's not coming to the worst team in history. He's not taking more money to freeze his butt off and be under the microscope in a football crazy town that has the most rotten track record imaginable. We need to nail the qb in the draft, NOT get cute and trade down until we have our guy, and pray to the gods that we finally get it right. 

[hoorta]

7 hours ago, gumby73 said:

Tough QB crowd Yes Hue may have his bridge QB to target & compete as Starter with Kizer..But Dorsey has his guy also that he Drafted & has sat at KC till contract expired behind Alex Smith. Now set to be a FA in KC is Dorsey's QB Tyler Bray..Did I ever say I hate McCarron's ball Velocity mph of 53 mph that matches B.Hundley,Laundry Jones & Poe's hunk/hunk of burning love of Kevin Hogan? Has Hue ever saw a deep ball, that Hue wants to take shots with down the field of AJ McCarron's to AJ Green?(not many) Tyler Bray is 6'6" 215 with 59 mph. Here's some others...59mph-Cousins,Weeden,P.Lynch,Bray////58mph-Goff////57mph-Foles,C.Daniels,Wentz//////56mph-Dalton,Jimmy G,Newton,Bortles,Mariota,Colt McCoy////55mph-Keenum,R.Wilson,Maholmes,KESSLER,Flacco,Winston////52mph-Kizer///50mph--Ty.Taylor,C.Cook,M.Trubisky....how bout Deshawn Watson at 45mph... source Ourlad's      

Nice research Gumby- but other than having an NFL arm, not much to say about Tyler. Obviously, Dorsey knows a good deal about him. UFA out of Tennessee, Spent a year on IR with a torn ACL, and has thrown exactly one pass in a regular season game.  

Regarding McCarron, you posting his ball velocity confirms what I saw in the YouTube I posted in another thread- not great. Do we want to bring in a higher priced edition of Kevin Hogan and Cody Kessler? 

Doubtless Allen will be in the 59 mph range when they clock him at the combine. 

I've resigned myself to the possibility Dorsey will buy into the "win now" crowd, and open the vault for Cousins. As Jiggins has said, it may not matter how much money we throw at Kirk if he's got his sights on that "win now" team. 

[Bigalow80]

4 hours ago, jiggins7919 said:

If we actually had a choice between signing Cousins to a long term contract versus drafting a rookie and signing another low-caliber veteran qb, I would think the majority of fans would be all over Cousins as our guy. Problem is, we're likely not to have that choice. Why on earth would he come to Cleveland? What's the difference between making $27 million and $29 million? So we can PAY him more, that's the reason why he would play for us? Hell no. And Joe Thomas being on the fence? That doesn't help. 

You wanna know the frustrating thing? If we signed Kirk Cousins, we wouldn't even have to worry about drafting a QB, and just THINK of what we could do with our picks this draft. We could trade down, trade for veteran players, we could turn the 1st and 4th picks into God knows what. THAT'S the truly frustrating thing....if we could just SIGN a quality qb, we could use assets on everything else and make a team...A REAL team. 

But Kirk ain't coming to Cleveland. He's not coming to the worst team in history. He's not taking more money to freeze his butt off and be under the microscope in a football crazy town that has the most rotten track record imaginable. We need to nail the qb in the draft, NOT get cute and trade down until we have our guy, and pray to the gods that we finally get it right. 

I'm not sure he's a firm no on Cleveland as much as anyone wants to say otherwise. There is ego involved here. The Browns are going to play this up to him. They will essentially say, "You think you are great. Come to Cleveland. Turn an 0-16 team into a Super Bowl winner and you will be a GOD! Hell, just take them to the playoffs. and oh by the way, you are going to sign the richest contract in nfl history. Plus you are going to be supported with 6 of the top 65 draft picks in this draft and a whole lot of cap room for other FA's...You like that?!" There is definitely something to be said for that mindset. If he really only wants to go to a winner, than it's MN hands down. Denver is aging and not that good, AZ is in the same boat. Jet's aren't terrible but they outperformed how good that roster really is. Jax would be nice, but i'm not sure they have the cap room especially if Bortles doesn't pass his physical after wrist surgery. Cleveland is young and hungry.

The talent on the browns is not nearly as bad as their record showed. They should have won at least 4-5 games that they blew. There is way more talent on this team than the Redskins had. 

[gumby73]

12 minutes ago, hoorta said:

Regarding McCarron, you posting his ball velocity confirms what I saw in the YouTube I posted in another thread- not great. Do we want to bring in a higher priced edition of Kevin Hogan and Cody Kessler?  

I've resigned myself to the possibility Dorsey will buy into the "win now" crowd, and open the vault for Cousins. As Jiggins has said, it may not matter how much money we throw at Kirk if he's got his sights on that "win now" team. 

Careful or I can pay Poe to make Tyler Bray the next walking/talking Peyton Manning..Cousins in Todd Haley's system can win here just as many times as Skins did with Cousins. Opens the door in draft to many things..Crowder at Skins would be a used toy compared to Gordon & the gift wrapped WR Christian Kirks from draft..see Poe has already brain washed me..but am not sold on Barkley..Y E T

[hoorta]

22 minutes ago, gumby73 said:

Careful or I can pay Poe to make Tyler Bray the next walking/talking Peyton Manning..Cousins in Todd Haley's system can win here just as many times as Skins did with Cousins. Opens the door in draft to many things..Crowder at Skins would be a used toy compared to Gordon & the gift wrapped WR Christian Kirks from draft..see Poe has already brain washed me..but am not sold on Barkley..Y E T

On further review, and some intel from another board- when McCarron posted that lame 53 mph fastball at the combine, he was coming off a shoulder injury he suffered at Alabama. Already posted his draft profile, nfl.com had him rated as a 2nd round prospect. Had a 60% completion rate with the 'Tide, and yeah, I know- Kessler was great in that respect in college. 

Regarding Cousins going 8-8 or maybe 9-7 here. Sheeze, it's a growing pre FA crowd that's been so used to the Browns going 2-14 or worse, they're ready to throw a parade for a .500 finish. I have my sights set higher. 

[Richiswhere]

I guess we will see how Hue really feels about AJ and if he has any pull. I just don't see how if we sign McCarron (28) or Cousins (30) how we can look at these guys as "bridges". Quarterbacks are playing longer and longer now. There is no reason to sign one of these guys if you are not expecting them to lead you for the next 7 to 10 years.

[TexasAg1969]

53 minutes ago, Richiswhere said:

I guess we will see how Hue really feels about AJ and if he has any pull. I just don't see how if we sign McCarron (28) or Cousins (30) how we can look at these guys as "bridges". Quarterbacks are playing longer and longer now. There is no reason to sign one of these guys if you are not expecting them to lead you for the next 7 to 10 years.

If they think they are expected to be only the "bridge" they won't sign with the Browns. They are expecting to be someone's starter, not a bridge. That will exclude them from considering the Browns at all. So if the Browns go after one, they had better be explaining to that person their intents with the picks coming up in the draft.