CLEVELAND TEAMS

Is the Colt McCoy era over in Cleveland? The Browns drafted Brandon Weeden last night with the 22nd pick in the 2012 NFL Draft, so now they have a quarterback that they see as “the guy” in Cleveland. Tom Heckert and Pat Shurmer made that clear with their comments last night, and then they went even further as they suggested they could be trading Colt McCoy.

Let’s deal with Brandon Weeden first. Some Browns fans are concerned about his age, but most scouts agreed that Brandon Weeden has first round talent. He has a great arm and he has the size at 6′ 4″ to play quarterback in the NFL. He’s a gunslinger, which is the opposite of Colt McCoy. Will he need to work hard and develop, given that he’s mostly played in the spread offense in the lame Big 12? Of course? But the kid is a player, and you can be sure that the handicappers on the sports betting sites will be giving the Browns more respect this season. I was hoping the Browns would grab him in the draft, and while they may have reached at bit at #22, they got the guy they wanted.

All of this is important because Colt McCoy was a huge disappointment last year. Yes, he had to learn a new system without an offseason, and for that reason he probably deserved another chance. But the Browns couldn’t afford to wait, mostly because Colt’s size and arm strength were obvious limitations. Watching Colt get thrown around like a rag doll didn’t inspire much confidence when we face the Steelers and Ravens.

More problematic, however, has been Colt’s reactions to adversity. Now I know the whole concussion fiasco was not his fault, but his father didn’t make things easier with his comments, and Colt never came out to discuss it during the offseason to diffuse the situation. Then yesterday, after the Browns selected Weeden, either Colt or someone from his camp leaked to Adam Schefter that the Browns told him to his face that they would not be drafting a quarterback in the first round. I know he may be upset, but why try to embarrass the organization? Then they put out word that Colt hasn’t requested a trade.

There’s a bit of a pattern here. Remember past year when reports came out about how Brian Daboll was mistreating Colt? Most of the public reaction was to have sympathy for McCoy. Was this intentional? Is Colt acting like a prima donna?

On one level I don’t care. But I wonder about keeping a guy like this around. It may be time for him to go.