My mind is still trying to encircle the ramifications of the team’s decision to cut Josh Booty in favor of adding a backup offensive lineman. Coach Davis noted that, league-wide, third-string QBs have played in only 10 games in five years, not once pulling out a victory. But the NFL is more than a week-to-week affair. With all the turnover in today’s league, backups inevitably become essential to a franchise’s long-term success. Yesterday the Browns basically abandoned their two-year investment in Booty’s development. What is the likelihood that both Couch and Holcomb will be Browns in 2004? Close to nil. Where will Nate Hybl be in the learning curve next year? Probably somewhere between Spurgeon Wynn and Todd Philcox.

Despite the kind words the coaches used in public about Booty, they must have been disappointed in his performance during the preseason. My quick math shows he went 15 for 34 passing with 0 TDs, 2 INTs, and three fumbles.

Butch is not a patient man. Further evidence of this is his recent dismissal of Qasim Mitchell, a huge guard with huge upside potential in whom the team invested one year. (The Bears snapped him up yesterday.)

Let’s see how patient he is with another intriguing prospect, defensive end Israel Idonije. The 6’7″ 285-pound Canadian is on IR this year. As explained in this article, the Browns think enough of him to keep him around. Whether he survives next year’s training camp is anyone’s guess, but he’ll most certainly need to prove he has more polish than potential.