At the end of the 4-12 train wreck of 2004, the Browns’ quarterbacks were Jeff Garcia (injured reserve), Kelly Holcomb (unrestricted free agent-to-be), Luke McCown (rookie fourth-round pick), and Josh Harris (rookie waiver claim). Here are all the QB transactions since Phil Savage took over as general manager in January 2005.
2005:
2/22: Released Garcia (currently the starter for Tampa Bay)
3/4: Buffalo signed Holcomb (currently a backup for Minnesota) to a four-year, $6.6 million contract.
3/5: Traded a fourth-round pick to Seattle for Trent Dilfer
3/8: Signed Dilfer to a four-year, $8 million contract
4/23: Drafted Charlie Frye with a third-round pick (67th overall)
4/24: Traded McCown to Tampa Bay (currently their second-stringer) for a sixth-round pick (203rd, used on Andrew Hoffman)
4/28: Signed UDFAs Lang Campbell and Daniel Wimprine
5/6: Waived Wimprine
6/20: Signed UFA Doug Johnson to a one-year contract
7/29: Signed Frye to four-year contract after brief holdout
8/29: Waived Campbell
9/4: Waived Harris
9/22: Claimed Derek Anderson off waivers from Baltimore. Released Johnson.
2006:
1/6: Signed Campbell (later allocating him to NFL Europe)
5/4: Traded Dilfer to San Francisco for Ken Dorsey and a seventh-round pick (202nd, traded to Chicago for Lennie Friedman)
5/5: Signed UDFAs Dustin Almond and Darrell Hackney
6/23: Waived Almond
8/29: Waived Campbell
9/2: Waived Hackney (currently on Denver practice squad)
12/26: Placed Anderson on IR. Signed Campbell.
2007:
3/17: Declined to offer Campbell (currently on Arizona practice squad) a contract
4/26: Drafted Brady Quinn with a first-round pick (22nd) acquired from Dallas for their second-round pick (36th) and 2008 first-round pick
8/7: Signed Quinn to a five-year contract after 11-day holdout
9/1: Waived Dorsey
9/11: Traded Frye to Seattle for a 2008 sixth-round pick. Signed Dorsey to a one-year contract.
So, in summary, that’s
- Two past Browns starters gone without compensation
- Three other Browns starters traded for less value than was used to acquire them
- Three first-day draft picks used on two Ohio-born QBs, who both held out and missed some rookie training camp
- Five young prospects waived without ever playing a regular season snap
- Zero quarterbacks signed to the practice squad
- Two very limited young veterans acquired and released, one re-signed soon thereafter as a quasi-coach
- A current roster with a combined record as NFL starters of 1-12
- A whole lotta thin-shelled eggs in one basket, soon to be carried by a certain 22-year-old whose initials backwards spell QB.
