Josh McCown is currently the most popular player on the free agent market heading into the official start of the offseason. Despite his struggles with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the quarterback is still being viewed as a solid option for a starting player and several teams have taken notice since he was released. After meeting with several teams during the NFL scouting combine, McCown appears ready to sign.
The Cleveland Browns and Buffalo Bills are racing to sign McCown, but only one team will win. According to the Buffalo News, the Bills are currently winning the McCown sweepstakes as they are in the middle of contract negotiations with the quarterback. McCown had paid a visit to Buffalo a few weeks ago, but left without a contract in place. That caused the New York Jets, Cleveland Browns and Chicago Bears to take a meeting with McCown, but the Bills remain the frontrunners heading into the offseason. NFL sources believe a deal could be wrapped up on Friday.
The Cleveland Browns were hoping to still be in the mix for McCown, but the Buffalo News reports they are now out of the running and must look elsewhere for their quarterback option. General manager Ray Farmer had said the Browns would look far and wide for a starting quarterback, but had hoped they found one in McCown. The Bills contract now makes re-signing Brian Hoyer a priority before the veteran quarterback has a chance to meet with teams.
Re-signing Hoyer has always been an option for the Browns, but recent remarks by the quarterback put doubt in his potential return. Hoyer wants to be a starting quarterback and is not interested in another competition with a younger player. The Cleveland Plain Dealer is reporting that Hoyer intends to sit down with Farmer and discuss everything from their quarterback plans in the draft to the ongoing NFL investigation into texting before he makes a decision on whether or not to re-sign.
With McCown swept up, Hoyer would be one of the more popular quarterbacks available. One thing that could really hurt Cleveland is their reported continued interest in trading up for Marcus Mariota. Many NFL experts believe the Browns are the frontrunners for the Oregon quarterback thanks to their two first-round draft picks. If Cleveland confirms the plan to trade up, they can say goodbye to Hoyer returning in 2015.
