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Cleveland Browns running risk of downgrading from Brian Hoyer?

By Kevin Parvizi

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The Cleveland Browns haven’t treated hometown quarterback Brian Hoyer with the most respect, and yet Hoyer is still interested in staying with the team due to the highly realistic chance of him starting for the entire 2015 season if he re-signs with the Browns. This team doesn’t have a better quarterback on the roster, so keeping Hoyer around has seemed to be the best option for both sides. Hoyer gets to start, while the Browns get to keep a reliable quarterback in an offseason that features very little options at the marquee position.

One of those options is Josh McCown, who has become a top option ever since the Tampa Bay Buccaneers decided to cut ties with him after he flopped as a free-agent signing in 2014. McCown, of course, worked wonders under Marc Trestman in 2013, and some believe he can be a viable stopgap for a QB-needy team if he’s surrounded with good blocking (the Buccaneers blocking was complete rubbish, aside from Logan Mankins and Demar Dotson).

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Several teams have lined up visits with McCown, and the fact that he’s receiving so much interest shows you just how barren the QB market is this offseason. It makes sense for the E.J. Manuel-led Buffalo Bills to add a veteran QB, but it was a bit perplexing to see the Browns join the list, as reported by Mary Kay Cabot of the Cleveland Plain Dealer.

While the Browns need quarterback help, they already have a better veteran QB who is currently under contract, and they need to spend time hashing out a deal with Hoyer instead of alienating him further by showing interest in a worse quarterback. Showing cursory interest in another veteran QB normally wouldn’t be a big deal, but it is a big deal with the added context of another report that came down the pipes today.

According to Tony Grossi of ESPN Cleveland, Hoyer and the Browns are “not even close” to working out a new contract, and it’s more troubling that the meeting between Hoyer and Ray Farmer hasn’t taken place. Honestly, it’s a testament to the Browns issues at QB that Hoyer is still thinking about re-signing, since everything around him as crumbled. There’s constant turnover on the offensive coaching staff, and he’s about to lose Jordan Cameron along with Josh Gordon. Neither played a big role for him last season, but it’s a reminder that the Browns aren’t a prime destination for most players.

McCown is benefiting from the fact that he’s on the open market earlier than impending free agent QBs like Hoyer or Jake Locker, because it’s clear that his body of work last season isn’t as impressive as Hoyer’s, who actually played at a starting-quality level at points last season.

Maybe I’m reading too much into the Cleveland Browns decision to show interest in McCown, but it seems like they are putting their relationship with Hoyer at jeopardy. In all honesty, all they have going for them in negotiations with Hoyer is a very likely starting opportunity and, presumably, an ability to offer more money than competitors.

Those are two conditions that could be met by other teams on the open market, particularly if the Bills decide they are not interested in McCown, who, again, has multiple teams looking into him. A guy like McCown makes sense as a backup plan for Cleveland, but why would you look at Plan B when you haven’t even tried Plan A yet?

Based on Grossi’s report, the Browns haven’t made a significant effort to work things out with Hoyer, who performed at a higher level last season and should theoretically be easier to sign (since, you know, he’s already on the team). By showing interest in McCown, they risk alienating Hoyer, who already has reasons to be leery about staying with an organization that has become a joke of sorts despite some of the talent on the roster (such as Tashaun Gipson, Joe Thomas, and Alex Mack).

Brian Hoyer is the Browns best option at this juncture in the offseason, and they need to spend their resources on trying to keep him around, rather than diverting their attention to a backup plan. Again, you go for a guy like McCown if things don’t work out with Hoyer, because double-dipping can hurt your ability to get both of them. And what happens if they sign McCown now and then tell Hoyer to take a hike? They basically downgraded without even letting the GM meet with the QB, and that sounds like a problem to me.

Dec 21, 2014; Charlotte, NC, USA; Cleveland Browns quarterback Brian Hoyer (6) runs with the ball during the third quarter against the Carolina Panthers at Bank of America Stadium. The Panthers won 17-13. Mandatory Credit: Jeremy Brevard-USA TODAY Sports

This last line from Grossi is particularly interesting:

"“The Browns’ strategy with Hoyer appears to be to seek other options first and let Hoyer do the same. Maybe they eventually will need each other. Probably not.”"

Uh…you want to let Hoyer seek other options when he’s not allowed to do that while he’s still under contract? Since, you know, the legal tampering period is still a few weeks away.

I don’t really understand the Browns strategy here, because they run the risk of coming up empty-handed with Hoyer and rolling with a worse quarterback without giving Hoyer a realistic chance to hash things out at the bargaining table.

Teams usually try to keep their guys first, but I guess the Browns don’t necessarily seem to care about continuity. I understand that Hoyer is a “he is what he is” guy, but isn’t that kind of what you want when your other QBs are Johnny Manziel or Connor Shaw?Or are they more interested in adding another unproven commodity (Locker, perhaps) or a worse “he is what he is” veteran like McCown?

Per Grossi, Hoyer wants to have that “sitdown” meeting with Farmer, and yet the Browns still haven’t given it to him despite the fact that we’re already at the part of the calendar year when player reps meet with teams at the Combine.

I wonder if the Browns will change their strategy with Hoyer, because it doesn’t seem like they understand how bad the other options are. I’ll be the first to tell you that Hoyer is mediocre at best, but I’ll take that over the others, especially since Hoyer helped them achieve playoff contention at one point last year.

Next: Where do the Browns rank among the best franchises in history?

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