Colt McCoy and Brett Ratliff Will Battle for Cleveland Browns Third QB

It's down to Colt McCoy and Brett Ratliff to battle it out for the third quarterback spot on the Cleveland Brown's roster this year.

Quarterback Graham Harrell, who was invited to the Brown's Rookie Camp last month but had yet to be offered a contract, has signed with the Green Bay Packers.

The Harrell factor became interesting because the Browns could've kept him on their practice squad once the season started whereas Ratliff no longer has that option, according to my interpretation of the collective bargaining agreement.

Head Coach Eric Mangini has indicated he's open to keeping four quarterbacks on the roster, and that is not a totally uncommon move. However, keeping Harrell would've allowed for more flexibility on the roster front.

The other reason Harrell's participation earlier this spring was interesting was due to Harrell's participation in Brown's Rookie Camp last year. Mangini obviously liked the guy enough to bring him back for a second look.

Ratliff had been unimpressive last preseason, and obviously didn't inspire enough confidence in Mangini to be used at the end of last season.

So Harrell is gone, good luck to him, but Ratliff has to really impress the coaches this year if he wants to keep his roster spot.

In four preseason games last year, Ratliff went 16-37 for 162 yards with one touchdown and three interceptions. He had a 31.6 QB rating. Granted he was playing with fourth and fifth stringers, but that also proves the point that he needs to improve.

If Ratliff can't look decent against the backups, he's not going to look any better against the starters.

Never underestimate the value of having good depth at quarterback, you never know when you're going to need that fourth guy.