The Browns steered clear of the arms race for Peyton Manning, but they still have some in-house damage control to do after chasing the Rams' No. 2 draft pick for the rights to select Robert Griffin III.
Team president Mike Holmgren gets it: Cleveland's overt wheeling and dealing only heaps more questions on last year's starter, Colt McCoy, but when you go 4-9 as a starter, you're under inspection. As of today -- and all of this can change -- the Browns remain intrigued with McCoy's potential.
"Listen, I want to make something pretty clear, and I might as well do it on your show seeing how it's banned all over the world," Mike Holmgren told KJR-FM, via SportsRadioInterviews.com. "I like Colt McCoy as a player. I think he's a fine player and has a chance to be a fine player in this league."
Holmgren, of course, was pivotal in the team's decision to use a third-round pick on McCoy in the 2010 NFL Draft, and the kid wasted no time in generating electricity with wins over the Patriots and Saints as a rookie. Holmgren looks back on last offseason's lockout -- combined with a new head coach and limited time to learn the West Coast offense -- as roadblocks for McCoy. Less patient types point to Andy Dalton and Cam Newton, and wonder why the Browns appeared stuck in slow motion deep into the season.
"I'm not down on Colt McCoy at all," Holmgren said. "But I will always think as long as I'm in a position like this, we are always going to look for quarterbacks, to make that pile a little bigger, try to create some competition to try to bring the best out of people you already have. I know Colt as a person, and he will respond as well as anyone in the world will to this. I'm not down on Colt. He can play."
McCoy -- 6-15 in his career -- was brutalized last season, and the Browns' ongoing talent vacuum on offense didn't help a bit. Holmgren acknowledged the Browns pondered Matt Flynn along with "10 or 12" other free-agent and draft-eligible quarterbacks.
Nothing surprising here and such is life in this league: 4-12 records breed questions and concern, especially at quarterback. Whether or not he's had a fair shake, McCoy already faces great pressure to succeed in Cleveland -- up to now, a tall order.
