The Browns are in serious danger of joining the 2008 Lions as the only teams to go 0-16 in a single season. Cleveland will take on the Bears and Steelers before the dust is settled, but will be moving forward with a new head football man in John Dorsey.
Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com answers a variety of questions in a video addressing many different questions swirling around the franchise. One question she touches on is how quickly of an impact Dorsey will have on the field? While Cabot did say that it will take some time to turn around the franchise, one thing Dorsey will emphasize is finding that franchise quarterback that the team has been craving for a long time. Cabot states that just like with the 49ers and Jimmy Garoppolo, if the Browns can find their guy this offseason, there could be a dramatic shift in the long-term outlook of the organization.
The Browns will likely hold the first overall pick so they could be faced with a choice regarding Sam Darnold or Josh Rosen should both draft eligible QB’s turn pro this offseason.
Here are more stories coming from the AFC:
- While the Browns do have a new decision maker in Dorsey, head coach Hue Jackson remains a bit in-flux. While the team’s owner has expressed his desire to keep the veteran coach, there could be an added twist in this story because of the division rival Bengals, states Terry Pluto of Cleveland.com. Pluto opines that should Jackson replace the embattled Marvin Lewis, that would allow Dorsey to put his own coach in place, leaving his relationship with owner Jimmy Haslam in-tact. Bengals owner Mike Brown seems to like guys he’s worked with in the past, so Jackson seems like a reasonable possibility, even given his 1-29 record in Cleveland.
- The Broncos are very much playing out the string of this season with a number of different QB’s given injuries and poor play. However, the wide receiver position has taken a hit over the past week, according to Mike Klis of 9news.com. Klis notes that Denver could only have four wideouts active against the Redskins in Week 16. Demaryius Thomas, Bennie Fowler, Jordan Taylor and Isaiah McKenzie are the only healthy receivers available and could lead the team to serious depth problems should one of them go down this weekend. Emmanuel Sanders and Cody Latimer are both listed as questionable and really have no reason to be pushed given that the Broncos are not in the playoff race. Expect the team to rely on the running game in order to keep their receiving corps healthy on Sunday.
- Raiders wide receiver Amari Cooper has not been 100% since he suffered a concussion and an ankle injury vs. the Broncos a few weeks ago. The third-year wideout has been inconsistent while on the field this season, but said after practice on Friday that he “felt all right” and is “still working through” the injuries, according to Michael Gehlken of the Las Vegas Review Journal (Twitter link). He remains questionable to play for Monday night’s game against the Eagles. Gehlken also passed along that four Raiders missed practice today, including: CB David Amerson (foot), C Rodney Hudson (ankle/illness), DL Treyvon Hester (ankle) and TE Clive Walford (concussion/neck) (Twitter link).
Browns have to take Darnold over Rosen. Rosen is skinny and I don’t think he’s got the toughness of Darnold. The AFC North isn’t made for Rosen
Darnold outright said he’d refuse to play for the browns. Those threats probably shouldn’t be taken lightly, considering how they’ve played out in the past. I personally think they should either get Rosen, mayfield or Jackson. (The last two after probably trading down from Texans pick?)
I say draft Josh Allen.
Forget Darnold -sign FA Kirk Cousins and then use the 1st 2 picks for the beast RB from Penn State and the ND offensive lineman. That would make you competitive in a heartbeat. This team can’t afford a gamble in this draft
That sounds solid. Then hire john fox to replace coach throw everyone under da bus Ego Jackson . Sarcasm but need to hire new coach
Sarcasm on fox not on idea of rb OT and cousins signing
Dump Hue and start with your own new Head a Coach.
With the Browns getting the first pick and Darnold’s performance being lackluster against the Buckeyes defense, I predict he will return to USC. This will leave some interesting options for Dorsey to ponder.
One scenario would be to go with best available player at one and Josh Rosen with Houston’s pick. Also with Buffalo have two first round picks, I could easily see them trading Houston’s pick and targeting Josh Allen or Mason Rudolph with the Buffalo pick.
In getting a veteran quarterback, avoid Kirk Cousins. He is not a guy you build a team around, he is a compliment. Look at his track record. I would much rather see Alex Smith acquired (Dorsey connection) with the Chiefs are in a horrible salary cap position. A shorter contract commitment with Smith will put the Browns in a much better long term salary situation than signing Cousins to a bloated contract.