Alex is a pro, and he's been through this before...If he gets traded to Cleveland, I'd expect nothing less than complete professionalism from him... What would you expect him to say when asked about the notion of being a Cleveland Brown? I thought he handled it as well as can be expected..
But his likelihood of signing an extension would be greatly diminished. Are we comfortable giving up a high second round pick to have him for 16 games? Just because we wasted a second rounder on a one-year QB last season doesn't mean we should do it again.
Seven Steps to Help Turn Around the Browns Here's mine: #1 - Sign a veteran, bridge QB #2 - Draft Minkah Fiztpatrick and play him at free safety (#4 overall) #3 - Draft Rashaad Penny or Sony Michel (#33 or #35 overall) #4 - Draft Anthony Miller or D.J. Moore (#33 or #35 overall) #5 - Sign Kyle Fuller (CB, Chicago) #6 - #7 - Convince Joe Thomas not to retire
All Alex said was, "I haven't thought about going to Cleveland. They have nowhere to go but up. 1-31 is just amazing." So lets not read any more into it than that...We got a ways to go. We are the Cleveland Browns. We can't hide from our record. Some real salesmanship is going to be needed in Berea at times. There's no doubt about that...
Joe Thomas is retiring a Brown...He has said as much every year for the past 3-4 years. Every time a trade rumor is asked, he says he hopes they aren't true, he wants to retire a Brown.
Technically, "1-13 just sounds amazing" was very heavily sarcastic (if you listen to the exchange). He also said he wishes he was in control of it and loved where he was at. He wants to go somewhere he'll have success. We want Smith because he's a top QB in the NFL, but put yourself in Smith's shoes. I think you were one of the first, TD, to say if we sign Cousins we wouldn't draft a QB at No. 1 overall - why should Smith be/feel any differently? He's a better QB than Cousins and is only 3.5 years old... it's not like he's Josh McCown's age and status. The idea of being traded to a 1-31 team with a bad head coach, only to be on the short leash knowing they want to draft a QB at #1 overall and have that guy be the future of the team while he's already sitting on a playoff-caliber team who's replacing him for a first round rookie QB? Record aside, that's probably the last place he wants to go. Yes, he ultimately doesn't have a say because he'll be traded (if moved) and unless he's got a no-trade clause (doubtful) he's at the mercy of the highest bidder... but what's the bidding war look like if Arizona and Jacksonville are interested? Jacksonville sitting at #29 and #61. Arizona at #15 and #47. If it's a war of second round picks, we'll have to use #35 to beat the offer. Only to move one from him after a season when he (1) doesn't re-sign and (2) the rookie QB is ready to go.
He may sign the one day deal to retire a Brown but I'm sure he would like to make the post season one time but who knows
Jacksonville could seriously throw a wrench in things if they trade #29 overall for Alex Smith. Beats anything Cleveland would offer and the Jaguars are already playoff-built... they're held back by their QB.
I honestly think he retires. He's made enough money. He's got enough going on outside of football to keep himself busy. He's got young kids. He does not want to go through another season with a rookie QB. For his "I'd sign Kirk Cousins" talk this offseason, he also said he'd start Brock Osweiler last season - he doesn't want some young player at the most important position. He's signed through 2018 and that's it. At best, he comes back for one more year. Browns simply must add a qualified LT at some point this draft in order to prepare for life post-Joe.
"Lead by example" kind of guys. It's why a QB like Mayfield is so critical. He's an alpha-alpha and loud leader this team has missed since the reboot. That attitude has been missing and, quite frankly, it's why the team doesn't play with one. And we're screwed if they're counting on Hue "I'll Have to Check the Tape" Jackson to be the vocal, fiery leader this team needs.
Point of that was, we pissed away #52 last season on a guy who'll ever only start one season for this team. I would not be shocked to see them do it again.
He doesn't have to fit Hue Jackson's offense because Todd Haley is running the offense now. Though he also likes to toss the rock a lot, bubble screens and intermediate throws are a huge part of his play calling. What Cousins does best according to your chart would play right into Haley's play book. I will say honestly, the rosters look pretty even...and we went 0-16 without Kirk Cousins...That chart is ONLY interpreting starters though SAS. What about the 31 backups on Sunday? No team in the NFL goes through a 16 game season, or a 4 quarter game for that matter without subbing in backups. Nice try though. I will also say, this is what the Browns have: Cap space: $111.6M Redskins: $52.7M (without Cousins salary) NFL Draft: Browns 1. 4. 33. 35. 63. 65. Redskins 13. 44. So to say, the starting lineups will still be even AFTER the 2018 off season, well, that is saying Dorsey was a terrible hire and I hope to hell you are wrong. Question for EVERYONE on these boards, would you have been happy with a 7-9 2017 season? Yeah, that's what I thought...Now, let's improve the roster even more and get Kirk Cousins a BETTER roster than he had in Washington and go win a Super Bowl. Yes, let's, and you can root for the Broncos in the playoffs, while our rookie starter struggles to get 5 wins and everyone starts talking about how big of a bust he is and looking at the 2019 draft to replace him as well... Great plan! Full disclosure, it is the plan I expect the Browns to implement out of sheer need...but definitely not the best one available on January 30th 2018...that would be to sign Kirk Cousins. (alas, this dream dies when another team that could possibly contend signs him).
