The Scores Report - The National Sports Blog » Cleveland Browns rumors

Quinn or Anderson to be gone this summer?

Anthony Stalter — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 16:19:27 +0000

As Mike Holmgren enters his first offseason with the Browns, one of his biggest question marks is what to do at quarterback. With the way head coach Eric Mangini couldn’t make a decision regarding the position last year, Holmgren will have to decide whether or not to get rid of Brady Quinn or Derek Anderson, if not both and completely start over under center next year.

Holmgren recently spoke about the topic on WKNR earlier this week:

“Right now, I don’t know the situation quite well enough. I’ve been busy doing other things. Everyone knows that position is the most important position on a team. Is the quarterback of the Browns here already? Maybe. If not, then we’ll have to go free agency or draft. We’ll see.”

That doesn’t sound like a man that’s settled on any decision, making the quarterback position an interesting dilemma this offseason for Holmgren and the Browns.

Quinn was an utter disaster earlier in the year before Mangini replaced him with Anderson. But the unthinkable happened and Anderson was actually worse than Quinn was, forcing Mangini to once again start the first round pick.

Much like the entire team, Quinn played better down the stretch and actually looked like he started to gain confidence. But for the second time in two years, Quinn finished the season on IR after he suffered a season-ending foot injury in a win over the Chiefs late in the year.

Holmgren is making a wise decision by not committing to either quarterback, seeing as how neither of them have stepped up and grabbed the reins of the position. Chances are that Holmgren doesn’t view either of them as the long-term answer at quarterback and therefore, he might look to draft or acquire a signal caller this offseason. If he drafts a QB, he could part with either Quinn or Anderson and have the other one start until the rookie is ready to play.

We’ll see how Holmgren approaches this topic over the next couple months.

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Report: Browns to keep Eric Mangini

Anthony Stalter — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 21:09:01 +0000

According to ESPN.com, the Browns will retain head coach Eric Mangini and his entire coaching staff in 2010.

Mangini went 5-11 in his first season with the Browns, who finished with a four-game winning streak.

On Tuesday, his first day running the Browns, Holmgren said Mangini had a legitimate shot of returning for a second season in Cleveland.

Holmgren is also interviewing general manager candidates this week. On Wednesday, Eagles GM Tom Heckert visited the Browns. Per league rules, Heckert could not be hired by Cleveland until Philadelphia completes its season.

While it’s hard to argue with Holmgren’s decision based on how the Browns finished the season, this could potentially be a disaster in the making. The Browns looked completely befuddled under Mangini’s guidance for most of the season and three of their four wins at the end of the year came against the Chiefs, Raiders and struggling Jaguars.

That said, the Browns did improve defensively under Mangini and the emergence of running back Jerome Harrison offers hope for the offense heading into next season. Mangini didn’t handle his quarterback situation very well earlier in the year, but Brady Quinn did show promise before injuring himself in Week 15.

Chances are that Mangini will be on a short leash next year. Holmgren might not be expecting a playoff appearance, but if the team doesn’t show marked improvement n 2010 then Mangini could be on his way out this time next year.

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Mike Holmgren declines offer from Seahawks

Anthony Stalter — Sun, 20 Dec 2009 14:07:36 +0000

ESPN.com is reporting that Mike Holmgren has declined the Seahawks’ offer for a senior leadership position.

“I sincerely thank Paul Allen and Tod for all their support over the years,” Holmgren said in a statement. “I thank them for reaching out to me and we conclude these discussions as friends.”

Holmgren has also been interested in joining the Cleveland Browns. He spent two days meeting with Browns owner Randy Lerner earlier this week.

Holmgren said on his radio show in Seattle on Friday that he planned to give Lerner an answer “sooner than later” but added there was no definite timetable. It may have accelerated after he declined an offer to rejoin the Seahawks.

“It’s a wonderful opportunity for anybody,” Holmgren said of his visit to Cleveland. “It’s about as good a job situation as you could ask for in this business.”

One would think that Holmgren either wants a bigger role, more money or more power. If that’s the case, he’s going to get those three things in Cleveland, which probably means he has made up his mind to join the Browns.

Why don’t the Seahawks want Holmgren back?

Anthony Stalter — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 14:57:42 +0000

In the past couple days, it has been easy to get swept up in the Mike Holmgren-to-Cleveland rumors. But there’s one thing that has had me perplexed about the situation since the story broke: Why don’t the Seahawks want him back? After all, they do need a GM now that Tim Ruskell has decided to resign and Holmgren did lead the Seahawks to the Super Bowl a couple years back.

So why wouldn’t the Hawks be tripping over themselves to retain Holmgren as their GM? The Seattle Times may have the answer:

The Seahawks need Holmgren.

There are, however, people close to owner Paul Allen who are reluctant to bring him back. There are people — just a few people — who had skirmishes with Holmgren in his previous incarnation as president and coach.

There are people in the organization who, wrongly, believe Holmgren has campaigned for this job and are offended by that perceived behavior.

If this is the result of just a few front office people that don’t want Holmgren in Seattle, then the Seahawks are making a mistake. Not everyone in every office setting will get along all the time. And unless Holmgren was walking around punching babies, then I don’t see what he could have done that was so bad that several people don’t want him back so he can help rebuild the Seahawks’ roster.

But alas, if the Seahawks do allow him to go to Cleveland without putting up much of a fight, they might look back at this situation one day and think what a huge mistake it was.

Campbell to demand trade if Redskins draft QB

Anthony Stalter — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 14:40:43 +0000

According to NFL.com, quarterback Jason Campbell says he’ll demand a trade if the Redskins draft a quarterback at this weekend’s NFL draft.

Even though the article doesn’t specify, I’m sure Campbell means he’ll demand a trade if Washington selects a quarterback in the first round. I highly doubt Campbell would be upset if he was watching the draft this weekend and at the bottom ticker it read: Round 6, Pick 186 Washington Redskins: Graham Harrell, QB, Texas Tech.

Personally, I don’t blame Campbell for demanding a trade if the Skins take USC Mark Sanchez at No. 13 or better yet, trade up to get him. Daniel Snyder has put Campbell through the ringer this entire offseason by attempting to trade for Jay Cutler and then talking with free agent Byron Leftwich (now with the Bucs). Snyder has shown little support for Campbell over the past month and things appear to be coming to a head this week as the draft approaches.

The Washington Times speculates that if the Skins trade up to get Sanchez, they have a trade partner for Campbell in the Jets. That scenario certainly makes sense, but it would obviously be contingent on whether or not Washington could land Sanchez, which might be hard given that Seattle could be interested in him at No. 4.

Another scenario to keep an eye on is what the Browns do with Brady Quinn. If Seattle passes on Sanchez and Cleveland loves him at No. 5, the Browns could send Quinn to Washington and then the Redskins could trade Campbell to the Jets. But at this point, that’s way too much speculation and while it’s fun to talk about all of the scenarios, fans are usually left disappointed at the lack of big trades that occur on draft day.

Report: Browns passing on Michael Crabtree

Anthony Stalter — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 18:25:07 +0000

Tony Grossi of the Cleveland Plan Dealer is reporting that the Browns will pass on Michael Crabtree at No. 5.

The Browns have all but crossed off Michael Crabtree as a candidate for the No. 5 overall pick, said a source.

The Texas Tech receiver brought a diva attitude on his visit to the club facility last week and did not impress coach Eric Mangini and others, the source said. In fact, Crabtree was described by some in the building as “not nice.” After Crabtree left, Mangini secured last-minute workouts with borderline first-round receivers Hakeem Nicks of North Carolina, Kenny Britt of Rutgers and Mohamed Massaquoi of Georgia.

What’s funny is that the same paper reported just yesterday that the Browns are still in love with Crabtree, so who knows. Rumors are going to run rampant for the next couple days leading up to the draft.

The fact that the Browns are looking at Hakeem Nicks, Kenny Britt and Mohamed Massaquoi would lead me to believe that they’re going to wait on addressing their wide receiver need until later in the draft – even if they do wind up trading Braylon Edwards.

Cleveland will be one of the more interesting teams to follow on draft day. Their biggest needs are at linebacker (more outside than inside), cornerback and wide receiver, but what they do at No. 5 will obviously depend on what prospects come off the board in front of them. If Aaron Curry falls into their lap, it would be hard envisioning them passing on the best talent in the draft. If they have plans to trade quarterback Brady Quinn, then Mark Sanchez is a possibility at No. 5 if Seattle doesn’t take him at No. 4. And if they can get out of the No. 5 pick altogether in order to acquire more picks and get better value for their first round pick, then that remains a logical option, too.

Either way, Mangini and new GM George Kokinis are doing a fantastic job not revealing their hands.

Update: ESPN’s Michael Smith also says that the Browns won’t take a receiver at No. 5 and his information is usually pretty solid.

Why Mark Sanchez will be a Cleveland Brown

Anthony Stalter — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 16:49:39 +0000

Have you heard the latest draft rumors on Mark Sanchez? Apparently only the Lions, Rams, Seahawks, Browns, Jaguars, 49ers, Jets, Redskins and Broncos are either in love, smitten or downright want to get in bed with the USC quarterback.

Is that all?

It seems every day rumors of a new team being interested in Sanchez emerge and while it’s easy to get caught up in all the pre-draft speculation, it would obviously be wise not to believe everything you hear. That said, with the draft quickly approaching, I’ve thoroughly convinced myself that Mark Sanchez will in fact be a Cleveland Brown.

Where there’s smoke, there’s usually fire and there’s a ton of smoke coming out of Cleveland that new head coach Eric Mangini isn’t a big Brady Quinn fan. Along with daily Sanchez-is-going-here speculation, there have been just as many Quinn-will-be-traded-here rumors. Maybe Mangini and new GM George Kokinis are just throwing up smokescreens to keep other teams guessing at what their draft day plans are. Or maybe (and this seems more logical by the day) Mangini and Kokinis want to blow up the entire roster and start over and that’s why Kellen Winslow was traded to the Bucs, Braylon Edwards will soon be dealt to the Giants and Quinn will be jettisoned to parts unknown.

Read between the lines and you get the impression that Mangini would rather hold onto Derek Anderson than Brady Quinn. Anderson might not have as much upside as Quinn, but he has more starting experience and is just two years removed from a Pro Bowl season. He’s also only 25 years old and has the strong arm Mangini apparently covets to run his team’s offense. (Don’t forget in New York, Mangini eventually banished noodle-armed Chad Pennington last year in favor of big-armed Brett Favre.)

One would have to believe that the Browns want to replenish their pick stock after former GM Phil Savage went gonzo and traded away multiple draft selections last offseason. Getting a first round pick for Quinn would be ideal, but if Mangini truly wants to rid himself of the former Notre Dame alum, then who knows what Cleveland will be willing to accept in compensation. But the bottom line is that Quinn will be traded by draft day in order for the Browns to acquire more picks and to make room for Sanchez.

Getting back to Sanchez, the Browns will make him the No. 5 pick. Who else are they going to take? Brian Orkapo or Everette Brown? Maybe, the Browns do need another outside linebacker. Michael Crabtree? Maybe, the Browns will need a receiver with Donte Stallworth likely heading to prison and if Edwards is traded. Rey Maualuga? Maybe, but doubtful considering he’s an inside linebacker and Cleveland signed free agent Eric Barton this offseason, who played for Mangini in New York. B.J. Raji? Maybe, the Browns could use him in a rotation with fellow defensive tackle Shaun Rogers or use him at one of the end spots in a 3-4, although he’s a better fit inside.

All of the prospects mentioned above are possibilities, but you can make a strong argument that none of them are worthy of the top 5 pick. Sanchez might not be either, but if the Browns see a franchise-caliber quarterback in him down the road, then you better believe they’ll have no regrets taking him that high. So they trade Quinn, draft Sanchez at No. 5 and have him sit for a year or two behind Anderson until he’s ready to play.

This is all just speculation on my part of course, but the more I think about it, the more this scenario makes sense. Cleveland is essentially stuck in a tough spot with no clear-cut choice at No. 5 and again, they would love to acquire more draft picks. And if Mangini isn’t big on Quinn and doesn’t see Anderson as the long-term answer, than Sanchez makes a ton of sense for them in the first round. Plus, if they can acquire more selections, then they can still fill their defensive and wideout needs later in the draft. Hell, if they can convince a team like the Redskins (who clearly aren’t sold on Jason Campbell) to give them their first round pick for Quinn, then a guy like Brown might fall to them at No. 13. Would the ‘Skins be willing to give up their first round pick for Quinn? I don’t know, but anything is a possibility at this point.