Cleveland Browns Training Camp Report: 8/13/12
August 13, 2012Box Score: Indians 6, Angels 2
August 14, 2012This is a little meta because Jamison Hensley was quoting Adam Schefter’s mailbag in creating his own blog post about Colt McCoy being a trade fit with the Green Bay Packers. Schefter’s thoughts are nothing new, really, except to say that Aaron Rodgers still needs a capable backup now that Matt Flynn has moved along to Seattle. Hensley’s take is what I am quoting and responding to here.
I’ve said repeatedly that I would keep McCoy as the backup. He’s a cheaper alternative to Wallace, who’s scheduled to make $2.4 million this season. He’s younger than Wallace. And he has just as much starting experience as Wallace after last season. But, if the offer was a fifth-round pick, it makes sense to trade McCoy for that level of compensation.
All due respect to Hensley, but if Colt McCoy has as much value as a backup as I think he does for the Cleveland Browns, then I’m definitely not going to take a Green Bay fifth round pick in exchange for his services. Despite common thought, McCoy is not a distraction yet. He had some pointed words when the starter was named, but he and Brandon Weeden appeared to communicate just fine on the sidelines during the first pre-season game. McCoy also seemed to compete hard in his quest to play and get better when he had his chance with the twos.
The Packers had the 163rd pick in the fifth round this last draft, and they’re considered favorites to make the playoffs, if not reach the Super Bowl. So that fifth is actually more like a high sixth round choice. Just for reference though, the Browns’ last couple fifth round picks were Larry Asante in 2010, and Buster Skrine in 2011. The high sixth rounder the Browns got in 2010 was Carlton Mitchell. As excited as we are about Buster Skrine’s potential, you can’t tell me that’s worth as much as a solid backup quarterback with at least a little bit of starter potential, no matter how badly he was over-matched a year ago.
As I said this morning, I might just hang on to Colt McCoy unless I thought the Browns could snag a third or a fourth round pick. Assuming Schefter is correct and the trade partner is Green Bay, I’m holding out that much more because their pick isn’t liable to be a great one with expected on-field success.
[Related: It’s just pre-season… Colt McCoy, Concussions and Free Agency]
14 Comments
“All due respect to Hensley…” With all due respect, Craig… what? Jamison Hensley has worked very hard to earn my disrespect, and I’ll be damned if I’m going to give him anything but that.
Ryan Lindley, BJ Coleman, Harnisch. Those are the QBs drafted after the 4th round last year. Really raw guys that have a shot, sure, but will likely fizzle.
unless Colt is being a distraction, he makes more sense on the team than off (and there is some debate about that – Detroit feed of game on NFLN had some type of interaction between Weeden/Colt/Whipple that some are interpreting as Colt being defiant. I couldn’t really tell).
If we must trade him, wait until a team in the hunt hurts their QB, or until MikeVick gets hurt this yeah and then see what we get for him.
Remember guys it is Adam Schefter..
With our luck, and Weeden’s inability to scramble very effectively I am confident that our No. 2 starts 2-3 games for us this year. There is always the worst case too, where Weeden misses significant time. Obviously, I hope for the best case which would be Weeden starting all 16, but I’d feel very good about McCoy as the guy we go to this year when the time comes for an injury replacement. If he has a good showing, then his trade value increases….I also think teams will pay a higher price for him after the season, as he proves he is over the concussion. Keeping him through the season seems like a win-win to me.
Weeden is going to take a beating. And I don’t remember the last time a Cleveland QB finished the season without getting hurt. So I’d rather have Colt stack up with new weapons at WR/RB and see what he does, than put Seneca Wallace out there.
🙂
I believe that GMs will now use those extra 5th and 6th rounders to move up to get the guys they want in the 3rd and 4th.
But I agree Colt is worth more to the Browns right now than a little draft flexibility.
Beyond ridiculous.
Best case for flipping a backup quarterback is when they are an unknown quantity with maybe a few games of success, usually in a good system (i.e. Kolb, Schaub, Flynn, etc). Since his “body of work” has already been shown over a season, McCoy’s trade value will never be higher than a 4th or 5th at this point…and rightfully so. So that said, why not just keep him until he becomes a headache?
I would like to see them trade Wallace for a 5th round pick…Keep Colt, he is cheep and gives you the best chance to win a few if Weeden goes down….
I don’t hate Hensley the way many Browns fans do, but he’s off base here. No reason to let go of McCoy at all, especially for a 5th round pick. With already 18 career starts, he’s a perfect NFL backup. If GB wants him, make them prove it.
At some point, it comes down to whether or not you want to keep a player when that player doesn’t want to be there. McCoy is never going to rock the boat in the locker room, but I’d be shocked if he still wants to be in Cleveland as a backup.
The Browns would be crazy to give away McCoy for a 5, especially since our QBs usually lead the league in high ankle sprains.
If a team offers…
2nd round pick (because their starter just went down), you do that in a heartbeat.
3rd round pick, maybe, if Weeden is healthy and playing reasonably well.
4th round pick, sure, if you have an extra starting linebacker to throw in.
5th round pick (or less), sorry I’ve seen ‘Barter Kings’ and I’m not trading with you.