The Cleveland Browns are entering a new era of the franchise with owner Jimmy Haslam and head coach Rob Chudzinski and the 2013 season will be an important one for the team as they will be evaluating what they have in quarterback Brandon Weeden and whether or not he will be the starter in the future.
The Browns said that there will be competition over the summer between Weeden and newly signed Jason Campbell, but Weeden has the edge after starting last season. There will be one less quarterback competing with Weeden for the starting position over training camp though, as the team decided to waive quarterback Thaddeus Young, according to Pro Football Talk.
Lewis went undrafted out of Duke in 2010 and played for the Rams until 2011 when he was released and ended up playing for the Browns. Lewis followed coach Pat Shurmur from St. Louis to Cleveland, but now that Chudzinski is in charge, the team felt it was time to let him go. Shurmur was fired after the season after new owner Jimmy Haslam took over and now Shurmur is the offensive coordinator for the Eagles. Lewis previously had one start for the Browns against the Steelers where he completed nearly 70 percent of his passes for 204 yards in a loss.
The Browns also signed Brian Hoyer to a contract, leaving him along with Weeden and Campbell as the quarterbacks on the roster. Cleveland went 5-11 last season and won just two games in the AFC North. The team ranked 19th in passing yards and 24th in rushing yards while relying on a rookie quarterback and rookie running back in Weeden and Trent Richardson. The team is trying to improve on both sides of the ball under Chudzinski as the team ranked 25th and 19th in passing and rushing yards allowed per game. Thr 27 year old Hoyer has been a solid backup and he got a chance to start for the Cardinals last season and threw for 225 yards and one touchdown and he could be the wild card in the quarterback competition.
