follow me on twitter

Thursday, March 11, 2010

Browns QB situation: McNabb? Kolb? Delhomme? Smith? Roethlisberger?

The central question surrounding the Cleveland Browns this offseason, and it seems almost every offseason since they rejoined the league in 1999, is who will be their starting quarterback once the season begins in September. It seems we know more about who won't be the starter next season at this point than who is likely to take over that position. Gone is Derek Anderson, cut by the Browns at almost the 11th hour before they had to pay him an almost 2 million dollar roster bonus. And rumor has it that Brady Quinn is likley to be traded too. So who are the candidates to become the next qb in cleveland? There are the names we have been hearing all along such as Donovan McNabb and Kevin Kolb of the Eagles, and they have also been eyeing Troy Smith of the Ravens as well. Recently they have invited former Carolina Panthers starter Jake Delhomme to workout for them, prompting many to wonder if he could be the next starter. And there is also rumor they could pick up someone in the draft, maybe someone such as Colt McCoy. One name however, that you might not think would be available that could be is current Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger. Sure Roethlisberger has enough on his plate with his current legal situation, but if he comes out of this without any jail time the Steelers could still be willing to trade him because of all the negative publicity he has brought to the team. Nonetheless, detractors of this scenario would argue that the Steelers wouldn't be that dumb to trade someone like Big Ben to a division rival. And I agree they wouldn't. But, if Roethlisberger is indeed traded, the Browns do have 11 draft picks this year, and I couldnt think of a better way to use most of them than to make a trade with the team that lands him. Not only is he a proven winner, with two super bowl rings as proof, but he is also a hometown boy as well, having been raised in nearby Findlay, Ohio. And he would be the perfect for head coach Eric Mangini's ball control offense, having run a similar style offense himself in Pittsburgh. It is probably more a pipe dream than anything else, with the Steelers deciding to retain Ben's services or his legal troubles getting the best of him. But the Browns, who have had a terrible time in naming a starting qb in recent history, would have nothing to lose by going after Roethlisberger.

1 comment:

  1. Rumor has it they have also signed Bernie Kosar to the practice squad with the understanding that there might be a roster spot available if he can complete a pass from the 50 yard line to the one on one knee.

    ReplyDelete