By Justin Porreca
Staff Writer
There is no team more dysfunctional, and so internally filled with thoughtless personnel, quite like the Cleveland Browns.
It could be argued that the Jacksonville Jaguars, Washington Redskins, and Oakland Raiders are equally as, if not more, dysfunctional than the Browns, but at least these teams try to be reasonably successful franchises. Plus, these organizations have key pieces in place to have success in the future.
The Browns have been filled with mediocrity since coming back as a franchise in 1999. The Browns have had seven different general managers in 16 seasons: Dwight Clark, Butch Davis, Phil Savage, George Kokinis, Tom Heckert, Michael Lombardi, and current general manager Ray Farmer. They have also had eight different head coaches since 1999: Chris Palmer, Butch Davis, Terry Robiskie, Romeo Crennel, Eric Mangini, Pat Shurmur, Rob Chudzinski, and current head coach Mike Pettine.
The Browns have been playing musical chairs amongst their personnel department every two to three years, but this is not nearly as bad as their handling of quarterbacks.
The quarterback position has been a revolving door for the Cleveland Browns since 1999. The Browns have been unable to obtain the franchise quarterback they desperately need to make it to their first Super Bowl. The Browns have had 22 different starting quarterbacks since remerging in 1999. From Tim Couch, the first, to Charlie Frye, to Brandon Weeden, to Johnny Manziel, and most recently Conor Shaw, the Browns have struggled mightily in finding a quality quarterback. However, the Browns front office is looking to find their twenty-third unique starting quarterback this offseason.
Despite drafting Manziel in the first round of the 2014 draft, the Browns are looking to break up with him for the even more appealing Heisman winner, Marcus Mariota. Despite starting in only two games and not having enough game experience to throw him overboard, Manziel looked small, slow on the field, and the game looked too fast for him. Add these deficiencies with his game to his off-the-field issues, and it makes sense for the Browns to part ways with their former first-round draft choice.
Last Monday, it was announced that Manziel had voluntarily entered rehab to better himself as a human being, because he had glaring off-the-field issues that were hampering his commitment to success in the NFL. The following day, rumors swirled about the Browns looking to trade up with the Tennessee Titans or Tampa Bay Buccaneers to draft Mariota.
There are multiple red flags about this scenario, and one is that the Browns have lacked the coaching and patience to develop their former first-round quarterbacks into quality starting quarterbacks in the league. This would mean that Mariota may not get the proper coaching, patience and loyalty he needs from the Browns personnel in order to be successful in the NFL.
Coach Brady Quinn, Weeden, and now Manziel have all been first-round draft picks by the Browns with a lot of promise who ultimately failed because the Browns gave up on them after one unsuccessful season. The Browns’ inability to properly develop their first-round quarterbacks has led them to the embarrassing 22 different starting quarterbacks since 1999.
If this idea to trade up for Mariota comes to the fruition for the Browns, expect him to fail miserably. Look at the history of first-round quarterbacks taken by the Browns; they do not last very long with the organization. The Browns have no loyalty or commitment to their quarterbacks, and Mariota would be lucky to stay in Cleveland for longer than three seasons. Plus, Mariota has deficiencies in his game, like Manziel.
Mariota is a system quarterback, and lacks the ability to throw from the pocket consistently and has accuracy and decision-making issues when under pressure. Plus, he has a knack of locking onto his first read, instead of going through his progressions, which makes him apt to be intercepted frequently in the NFL. Combine these flaws with the fact that Cleveland has zero weapons, and he is destined to fall flat on his face immediately.
Cleveland is ultimately going to have to give up their two first-round draft choices (12, 19) and either a third or fourth round draft choice from this year’s draft to move up. This leaves the Browns’ later round choices to draft receivers in a deep, wide receiver class. However, if the Browns want eventual success, they would sign a free agent quarterback as a contingency plan, while they wait to draft the right quarterback to lead their franchise.
In free agency, and the draft, there is a lack of true quarterback talent and depth. In the draft, after Mariota and Jameis Winston, there are just a bunch of guys left at the quarterback position who have serious question marks regarding their game. However, in free agency the Browns could re-sign Hoyer for two years or sign career Matt Moore back up.
Moore would be the better option over Hoyer, because the Browns organization already knows what he can and cannot do. Hoyer can only thrive when he has a running game to back him up, he cannot push the ball down the field, and he is a passive-aggressive quarterback.
Despite Moore’s rust, he has a solid arm, decent accuracy, has the aggressive nature to take chances down the field, and he is a locker room leader. Signing Matt Moore to a two-year, $10 million deal will allow the Browns to continue their search for a quality franchise quarterback through the draft.
In the meantime, the Browns can use their two first-round draft choices this year to draft wide receivers DeVante Parker and Kevin White to bolster their depleted wide receiver depth. With Josh Gordon suspended for the 2015 season and likely not coming back, the Browns are in desperate need of playmaking weapons at wide receiver. Not trading up for Mariota will allow the Browns to build for their future quarterback, instead of bringing in one with no weapons.
The Browns should sit back and wait until the 2016 NFL Draft to draft a future quarterback. Next year’s draft may consist of Cardale Jones, Christian Hackenberg and Conor Cook. Next year would be better to trade up for a quarterback if they were not in the position to get the quarterback they have their eyes on. Cook, a pro-style quarterback with all the intangibles. would be a solid fit for the Cleveland Browns.
The Browns still have an issue with what to do with Manziel. The experiment evidently failed. Manziel can still be a quality quarterback in the league, but not with Cleveland. He lacks trade value, but there is one team that would take him, the Dallas Cowboys. Jerry Jones would give the Browns a 2015 fourth or fifth round pick for Johnny Football. It would benefit both parties. The Browns get a mid-round draft pick and drop the headache, and the Cowboys receive a young, developmental back up who will increase jersey sales.
If Cleveland wants to be successful going into the future, and not the butt of 31 other NFL teams’ jokes, they need to seriously think about the pros and cons of trading up for Mariota. As sexy as the decision may seem, it could have serious drawbacks on Mariota and the future of the organization.
