Update: Colt McCoy will stay a Brown … for now
Cleveland Browns quarterback Colt McCoy (12) is sacked by Chicago Bears linebacker Xavier Adibiin during a preseason game at Cleveland Browns Stadium. Eric P. Mull-USPRESSWIRE
Greg Rosenthal of NFL.com reported earlier this evening that though the Browns have signed Jason Campbell there isn’t any plan by the Browns to cut or trade quarterback Colt McCoy.
Twitter came alive earlier tonight with speculation that the Packers would be interested in the services of McCoy – that will be on hold … for now.
Here’s what I wrote about the situation earlier today …
Remember way back when – well, it wasn’t really that long ago, it was last season – when the Green Bay Packers seemed hot on the trail of Cleveland Browns backup quarterback Colt McCoy?
Well, don’t look again, but the talk about McCoy joining the Packers has risen again. When the Browns added Jason Campbell to their roster, McCoy again looks to be the odd man out.
Cleveland Browns quarterback Colt McCoy. David Richard-USA TODAY Sports
But going back to the summer of 2012 – it was when the Packers had lost backup quarterback Matt Flynn to the Seahawks and their recently promoted second string QB Graham Harrell was playing like crap. It was an August night – Aug. 16, to be exact – at Lambeau Field when the Cleveland Browns came to town and embarrassed the Packers 35-10. Many expected McCoy to walk across the field to the Packers’ sideline and don a Green Bay uniform.
Though it was Brandon Weeden who did most of the damage for the Browns that night, going 12-for-20, for 118 yards to lead the Browns to a win, McCoy played, completing 4-of-6 passes for 58 yards – certainly not something to write home about, but better than Harrell, who played most of the game. Harrell went 12-of-24 for just 100 yards and threw two interceptions on the night. The fans were wary, to say the least. How could they keep Harrell on the roster when they could possibly trade for someone like McCoy, who had some starts under his belt and would certainly be a better backup to Packers QB Aaron Rodgers than the unknown Harrell.
Flash forward to today when the news out of Cleveland was that McCoy was soon to be released. Already this afternoon, there has been Twitter chatter about Green Bay as a landing zone for McCoy.
Graham Harrell.
Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports
Unless the Packers can bring him in on the cheap to utilize for competition purposes and to push Harrell and third-stringer B.J. Coleman, they should probably do like they’ve done with every other free agent they’ve been linked to … walk away.
In his fourth season, McCoy has completed 409 passes in 702 attempts for 4,488 yards. That’s a 58.3 percent completion rate and 74.8 quarterback rating. Certainly not starting material, but OK for a backup.
At least he has some statistics in which to evaluate him in a superficial way – unlike Harrell. Thankfully Harrell hasn’t had to play, except for that disastrous one play last year when he came on the field for one play against the Saints when Rodgers was poked in the eye and had to leave the game.
We all know what happened – Harrell tripped over a lineman’s foot attempting to hand off on a running play from the one yard line. The exchange was botched, the Saints recovered and the Packers nearly lost the game. Had Rodgers not been able to come back in, that game could have turned ugly in a hurry.
So, the question about whether the Packers should go after McCoy, especially in light of Harrell’s downside, won’t be answered by anyone other than Ted Thompson.
My guess he will pass – but I’ve been wrong before.
Stay tuned.