The Cleveland Browns released veteran quarterback Josh McCown on Tuesday. At the same time, reports have been circulating that connect New England Patriots quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo to Cleveland.
McCown has since given input as to what Garoppolo could contribute to the Browns if a partnership were to form.
“I’ve seen him on tape because we had a common opponent in Miami,” McCown told Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com. “He made some high level throws and did some things that would get you excited about his ability to maybe carry a franchise. That’s definitely on the tape.”
McCown continued with his praise, mentioning Garoppolo in the same sentence as one of the league’s elite quarterbacks.
“I see the same things when I watch Jimmy: quick release, strong arm, athletic. I’m not saying he’s Aaron Rodgers, but he’s got some traits in the same mold, and he’s got tremendous upside.”
That’s pretty awesome. All eyes will be on the Patriots’ offseason moves here soon. There was recent talk that New England might offer up Garoppolo as trade bait for a first-round pick in the 2017 NFL Draft.
Coincidentally enough, or maybe not so much, the Browns have two first-round picks. They could easily offer the 12th overall pick to Bill Belichick and see what transpires.
The young quarterback did a more than a fine job filling in for the Pats during Tom Brady’s suspension to start the season. Garoppolo completed 68.3 percent of his passes for 502 yards with four touchdowns and zero picks en route to leading New England to a 2-0 record.
The addition of Garoppolo would be absolutely huge for a Browns team that has not had a franchise quarterback to call its own since the Bernie Kosar days.
It is also nice that McCown has the Browns’ best interests in mind after the team sent him to the unemployment line earlier in the week.