The Cleveland Browns were one of the most offensively challenged teams in the NFL and although they were not in the Alex Smith sweepstakes with the Kansas City Chiefs, there is a chance they could benefit from the fallout, as quarterback Matt Cassel is likely to be released from the team.
The Browns have a new coach in Rob Chudzinski and a new owner in Jimmy Haslam that did not draft quarterback Brandon Weeden, meaning there is a chance that they would like to bring someone in to push the second year player during training camp. The Browns did not have enough draft picks to trade for Smith after using one on wideout Josh Gordon in the supplemental draft, and could be interested in Cassel for next season.
Weeden led the Browns to a 5-10 record and threw 14 touchdowns with 17 interceptions, while Cassel wasn't much better, going 1-7 in eight starts in 2012. The Browns have been rumored in the running for many quarterbacks, including Matt Flynn with the Seattle Seahawks and Ryan Mallett with the New England Patriots.
The Browns have a connection to the Patriots, where Cassel once played and Mallet currently does, as new vice president of player personnel Mike Lombardi has a relationship with New England head coach Bill Belichick. The Browns will likely sit tight and wait for Cassel to be released if they want to bring him in, since they are trying to rebuild and would like to hang on to their draft picks rather than trade them.
One reason they may want to stick with Weeden is due to the fact that the franchise has not been able to find a steady starting quarterback since becoming a team again in 1999. According to ESPN.com, the Browns have used 18 different starting quarterbacks in that span, with Derek Anderson doing the best for the team from 2006 to 2009, going 16-18. Over the past three years, the team has used Colt McCoy, Seneca Wallace, Weeden and Thad Lewis, who went 0-1 from 2011 to 2012.
The Browns have the number six overall pick in the upcoming draft and now that the Kansas City Chiefs have acquired Smith, which may give the team more options come April. Geno Smith of West Virginia is looked at as a top 10 pick, as is USC quarterback Matt Barkley, two players Cleveland could consider taking.
"If I'm Cleveland, nobody in this draft is making me say, 'I have to take this quarterback even though I have Brandon Weeden,'" ESPN's Mel Kiper Jr. said to ESPN.com. "I don't think Cleveland is going to be able to find that guy."
Weeden will turn 30 during next season even though he was just a rookie since he played minor league baseball before starring at Oklahoma State, which is one reason why the Browns may bring in a younger quarterback to challenge him. He has the most balls knocked down at the line of scrimmage by all rookies and he threw for 3,385 yards last season.
New team executive Joe Banner said that Weeden will have a chance to win the starting job next season.
"We're telling you that we see potential that we're going to try to work with it and see what it's going to develop into," Banner said. "Some of that is just going to come from how bad he wants it. So I think we'll know a lot more than we know now shortly."
