Stop Making It Up! Five Reasons Colt McCoy Is Not on the Roster Bubble

At the bottom of a recent Cleveland Plain Dealer story, author Tony Grossi suggested Colt McCoy may be on the roster bubble when the team cuts down to 53 players.

Without talking to Grossi, it's difficult to say whether he was just trying to cover all the bases for a complete article, whether he was trying to start a controversy, or if he'd had too much coffee before writing the piece.

To even suggest at this point McCoy is on the roster bubble is kind of a suspect move, though.

Here are five reasons why the idea Colt McCoy is headed for unemployment is very far-fetched.

McCoy Has Barely Seen the Field

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BEREA, OH - MAY 01: Colt McCoy #12 of the Cleveland Browns talks with team president Mike Holmgren during rookie mini camp at the Cleveland Browns Training and Administrative Complex on May 1, 2010 in Berea, Ohio. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)

McCoy hasn't been taking very many snaps during practice and has had only limited playing time in the first two preseason games as head coach Eric Mangini tries to get Jake Delhomme and Seneca Wallace ready for the preseason.

If McCoy were under serious evaluation, he'd be getting a lot more snaps and a lot more attention in practice.

Right now he's not a priority for the coaching staff, but that's because he's not supposed to be a priority for the coaching staff right now.

McCoy Never Was Supposed to Start

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CLEVELAND - AUGUST 21: C.J. Ah You #99, Ernest Reid #62 and Hall Davis #90 of the St. Louis Rams tackle Colt McCoy #12 of the Cleveland Browns at Cleveland Browns Stadium on August 21, 2010 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo by Matt Sullivan/Getty Images)

Team President Mike Holmgren said from the very first day McCoy's job in 2010 was to hold the clipboard, and that's pretty much the way things look like they're heading.

McCoy is getting a few reps with the backups and getting some playing time in preseason. Once the season starts, he'll wear a ballcap and hold a clipboard. That doesn't mean he's on the roster bubble, it means the team is moving forward as planned.

He's Mike Holmgren's Pick

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BEREA, OH - MAY 01: Colt McCoy #12 of the Cleveland Browns talks with team president Mike Holmgren during rookie mini camp at the Cleveland Browns Training and Administrative Complex on May 1, 2010 in Berea, Ohio. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)

This is team president Mike Holmgren's pick.

What part of this equation fails to get through to some people?

He's not giving up on his pick after one training camp and limited playing time.

Next!

What's Brett Ratliff Done to Become a Superstar?

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GREEN BAY, WI - AUGUST 15: Quarterback Brett Ratliff #5 of the Cleveland Browns looks to pass against the Green Bay Packers during the preseason game at Lambeau Field on August 15, 2009 in Green Bay, Wisconsin. (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)

Brett Ratliff is Colt McCoy's competition for the third quarterback slot, and while Ratliff could be considered "Mangini's Guy," Mangini isn't exactly the final word on the roster anymore.

The truth is Ratliff has done absolutely nothing to impress anybody since coming to Cleveland, and Mangini didn't even play him last year after Brady Quinn got injured and Derek Anderson continued to fail at everything.

So if Mangini didn't trust Ratliff over Anderson, why does anyone think McCoy is on the outs?

Putting McCoy on the Practice Squad Would Be Stupid

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BEREA, OH - AUGUST 04: Jake Delhomme #17 and Colt McCoy #12 of the Cleveland Browns stand next to each other during training camp at the Cleveland Browns Training and Administrative Complex on August 4, 2010 in Berea, Ohio. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Gett

If Colt McCoy goes to the practice squad, which would be an alternative to actually cutting him, he'd last about a day before another team picked him up.

Any player signed to the practice squad effectively becomes a free agent for any team that wants to sign them to their active roster, per the current collective bargaining agreement.

Just because he may not be starting for Cleveland this year doesn't mean he's getting thrown in the garbage.

Colt McCoy will be on the 53-man roster come Week One, and if I'm wrong, then any team that picks McCoy up should be very suspicious of what went wrong in Cleveland, because there's no reason to give up on a third-round draft pick that's not supposed to start this year this quick.

Here endeth the lesson.