Another regime change in Cleveland means uncertainty for Browns players who make up the youngest roster in the league. One of their older -- but less-experienced -- employs, 29-year-old quarterback Brandon Weeden, knows he's starting from scratch under new coach Rob Chudzinski.
"We're talking about a multibillion-dollar corporation, essentially," Weeden told The Associated Press on Friday from a charity event in Oklahoma. "There's going to be changes. Obviously, we've already seen some. But there's going to be competition. The guys that drafted me are no longer there, so I fully expect there to be competition. I would want competition. I want to go into camp and compete. If I had won 10 or 11 games last year, that may not be the case, but we weren't able to get that done."
Said Weeden: "That's the way professional sports are. Unless you're Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, Drew Brees or these guys, you might as well expect for somebody to try to come take your job. That's part of the business. But it's also the fun part. You get to compete and try to be a winner."
Weeden's uneven rookie season leaves Chud and Cleveland's front office with a tough assessment to make. Some of Weeden's problems in 2012 were due to his limitations. We saw too many poor reads, tipped passes and stalled drives. On the other hand, trying to fit Weeden into a hyper-vanilla edition of the West Coast offense was a ill match from the start.
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Chudzinski and offensive coordinator Norv Turner bring a vertical passing game that will be molded to the roster's strengths. Weeden stands to benefit from more shotgun action and downfield looks. He's a strong-armed passer, but must improve his decision-making on the field. He threw too many passes that killed the Browns in key moments.
The reality is that scheme fit and personal growth might not mean a thing. Cleveland has a long list of new faces running the show and it's just as likely they'll start over at quarterback. Ryan Mallett, anyone?
Follow Marc Sessler on Twitter @MarcSesslerNFL.
