Did the Browns Make the Right Choice Signing Josh McCown over Brian Hoyer?

The Cleveland Browns closed out the month of February by signing a quarterback—and it wasn't Brian Hoyer.

No, it was Josh McCown, who was most recently released by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The Browns signed him to a three-year, $14 million contract with $6.25 million in guaranteed money, likely signaling that any hope Hoyer had to return to Cleveland for at least another season is now quashed.

But why McCown over Hoyer? McCown is currently 35 years old and will be 36 years old this summer, and he is now on his seventh NFL team. Hoyer, in contrast, turns 30 this fall, has played with three teams and spent the majority of the 2014 season the Browns' starter—the Browns being his hometown team.

Further, there's not much different between Hoyer and McCown on paper.

Streeter Lecka/Getty Images

In his career, Hoyer has completed 56.5 percent of his passes, thrown 19 touchdowns to 19 interceptions and has a quarterback rating of 76.8. In 2014, he completed 55.3 percent of his passes for 12 touchdowns and 13 interceptions with a quarterback rating of 76.5.

McCown, on the other hand, has a career completion percentage of 58.8 percent, has thrown 61 touchdowns to 59 interceptions and has a quarterback rating of 76.1. In 2014, he completed 56.3 percent of his passes for 11 touchdowns and 14 interceptions and had a quarterback rating of 70.5. It sure seems like the Browns swapped out Hoyer for a six-years-older version of him.

Year	Games	Starts	Atts.	Comp.	Comp.%	Yds.	TD	INT	YPA	Sacks	Rating
2014	11	11	327	189	56.3%	2,206	11	14	6.7	36	70.5
Total	73	49	1,664	978	58.8%	11,033	61	59	6.6	148	76.1

And much like Hoyer, it does appear that the Browns are ready for McCown to start, at least to open the 2015 season, and at the most to be a "bridge"—an older quarterback to carry the offense through another year while younger unknowns like Johnny Manziel get a better grasp of playing the position in the NFL.

McCown too believes he could start in Cleveland, saying to ESPN Radio's Mike & Mike (via ESPN.com's Jeremy Fowler): "That's my expectation right now [to start]. We'll see, as things unfold, what their plan is, but that's my expectation. I'm going to compete as such to do that."

Year	Games	Starts	Atts.	Comp.	Comp.%	Yds.	TD	INT	YPA	Sack	Rating
2014	14	13	438	242	55.3%	3,325	12	13	7.6	24	76.5
Total	32	17	630	356	56.5%	4,557	19	19	7.2	36	76.8

That's not much different than what Hoyer said at an autograph signing in February—that "no doubt" he'd get a shot to start in 2015. Though, of course, he wasn't specifically referencing the Browns, clearly that was one team he had in mind when he made that remark.

What it may come down to is a willingness to mentor the Browns' younger quarterbacks and an awareness of the long-term goals at the position. No doubt does McCown want to start in 2015, but he does know his time to do so anywhere in the NFL is coming to an end. Hoyer, on the other hand, wants to start in 2015—and 2016, and 2017 and so on. That's not an option open to him in Cleveland, it appears.

McCown discussed his willingness to mentor younger quarterbacks (albeit in Tampa Bay) at the end of the 2014 season, telling The Tampa Tribune (h/t Cleveland.com):

"

Whatever they ask me to do, I'll do it and do it the best I can, whatever helps this team. That's my stance on it regardless of whether it's me or anyone else [who's starting]. For a player of my age, he can't play forever anyway. So, somebody has to come in and play and be ready to go. Whether that's next year or whatever, I just want to help whoever it is that's here.

"

He reiterated that willingness upon being signed in Cleveland, per Northeast Ohio Media Group's Mary Kay Cabot:

"

It's always my mindset with any room that I go into as a quarterback, especially at this point in my career, just to help those guys that are in that room to be better, because it helps our team to be better. I'll give them the knowledge I have to help equip them. Obviously whatever the expectation is for Johnny [Manziel] or Connor [Shaw], I just want them to know I'm there and to be able to help them any way I can. That's the main thing.

"

Ultimately, the Browns made a business decision about the quarterback position. Hoyer wants to be a long-term starter somewhere, but clearly Cleveland has designs to get significantly younger at quarterback—if not in 2015, then in 2016. McCown, on the other hand, knows that his starting days are numbered and is more than willing to take a backup, mentorship role in a few months' or a year's time.

There may be little difference between a McCown-helmed Browns offense and a Hoyer-led one on the field. But what the Browns want from their veteran quarterback in meeting rooms and the locker room is something they didn't believe they could get from Hoyer. 

Whether that proves to be the right strategy or not is unknown. But clearly, the Browns were thinking less about their immediate on-field product when it came to their quarterback depth chart and more about what could set them up for greater success in the longer term.