Cleveland Browns: Josh McCown over Robert Griffin III?

Fans of the Cleveland Browns should prepare themselves for the idea of Josh McCown starting at quarterback over Robert Griffin III in Week 1 of the 2016 National Football League season.

Why is quarterback Josh McCown still on the roster of the Cleveland Browns?

Regardless of what anybody thought about the signing of former Washington Redskins starter Robert Griffin III, that transaction made McCown surplus to requirements heading into the 2016 National Football League preseason. McCown turned 37-years-old on July 4. He obviously isn’t the long-term answer for the Browns at the QB position. McCown is no longer mentoring a former first-round pick as he did a year ago when Johnny Manziel worked alongside him in the Cleveland QB room.

“Well, McCown remains a positive figure for RG3 and also for rookie QB Cody Kessler,” one may retort.

This isn’t Griffin’s first rodeo. Griffin is a one-time Offensive Rookie of the Year, a player who rose to great heights and who also plummeted to the point that Washington head coach Jay Gruden relegated him to scout team duties in 2015. Griffin doesn’t require tutoring as it pertains to working out, watching film and impressing new head coach Hue Jackson.

That same Jackson possesses the reputation of a “quarterback guru,” one able to get the best out of the likes of Griffin, Kessler and any other young QBs the Browns may sign between now and the start of the regular season. The question, thus, is asked again: Why is McCown still on the roster of the Browns?

Maybe the answer is that Jackson and company believe McCown should start in Week 1.

A couple of weeks ago, I pointed out on this website how certain individuals covering the Browns criticized Griffin’s performances during spring sessions. Essentially, Griffin’s passing demonstrations landed somewhere between “meh” and “uh oh” on an imaginary scale, and the hot takes flowed from there.

More from Cleveland Browns

It is still the case that Griffin’s accuracy, throwing strength and overall physical attributes in June should not at all affect his status on the Cleveland depth chart months down the road. To steal the overused cliche: This is a marathon, not a sprint. Griffin and everybody on the roster of the Browns are about 1-25th finished with the race as of July 1.

What all, myself included, should remember about Griffin is that he’s a project with the Browns, a project with significant rust following the past 12 months of his career. Griffin’s days as a NFL QB, for all intents and purposes, halted after August 2015 and after Kirk Cousins “won” the starting job with the Redskins. The structure of Griffin’s contract prevented the Redskins from parting ways with the QB until this year. That, more so than anything else, is why Griffin remained on the Washington roster through the completion of last season.

Maybe Jackson can’t save Griffin. There’s no hurry, however, for Jackson to make any final decision on RG3. Griffin, per Spotrac, is signed with the Browns through the 2017 NFL season. The Browns hold the power regarding Griffin’s deal and his spot on the Cleveland roster come next offseason.

Griffin is up against it early this summer. He is attempting to shake off the cobwebs accumulated during a “red shirt” year. It’s understandable that Griffin’s confidence is shaken if not completely shot. Griffin is learning a new offense under a new coaching staff while attempting to build chemistry with new teammates.

Mary Kay Cabot of the Cleveland Plain Dealer recently reported that Griffin is the favorite to win the starting job at this time (video below). What’s the rush?

The Browns are not a dynamic QB away from competing for anything of note this season. The Cincinnati Bengals, Pittsburgh Steelers and Baltimore Ravens are all years — plural — ahead of the Browns in multiple facets. Griffin magically finding his ROTY form and returning to the player who frustrated defenses back in 2012 would maybe help the Browns win seven games in 2016; and that’s a big “maybe.”

Why not name McCown the starter before training camp? McCown is an ideal transition QB, one who is respected by his Cleveland teammates and a veteran who has faced every type of NFL defense out there. Jackson naming McCown the starting QB would, in such a scenario, turn Griffin into a veteran-rookie, one who knows he’ll eventually receive the keys to the car that is the Browns offense but also one who is not yet ready to take that car out onto the highway.

Do not, for a second, think that McCown is on the roster to serve as insurance in case Griffin experiences a physical setback or suffers another serious knee injury. Jackson would not be holding any kind of QB competition if that was the case.

Anybody can get hurt. Eli Manning, Tom Brady, Aaron Rodgers, Ben Roethlisberger, Cam Newton and every other QB out there are all in danger of being sidelined. Heck, we’ve witnessed players tear ACLs merely by running.

The New York Giants, New England Patriots, Green Bay Packers, Pittsburgh Steelers and Carolina Panthers aren’t holding open QB competitions this summer.

There is more pressure on the Browns to win right now than at any point since the team returned to the NFL in 1999. The Cleveland Cavaliers ended the city’s often-discussed title drought. Progressive Field is home to the Cleveland Indians, the hottest team in Major League Baseball.

The Browns are third among the town’s pro sports teams. There is nothing the Browns can do about that today, tomorrow or at any point in 2016.

Jackson and his staff must not succumb to this pressure. They must, instead, stay the course and treat the rest of this year as one long preseason and as one massive tryout for 2017 and for years to come. If making Griffin second on the depth chart is what’s best for RG3 and the Browns past Week 1 of the upcoming season, Jackson needs to make that call sooner than later.

What’s the point in not doing so?

Home/Cleveland Browns