Colt McCoy traded to 49ers

The controversial career of Colt McCoy in Cleveland ended Monday as the Browns traded the popular backup to the San Francisco 49ers.

The Browns traded McCoy and a sixth round pick in the upcoming draft and received a fifth and seventh round pick for McCoy.



McCoy was taken in the third round of the 2010 draft out of Texas and quickly became a popular figure with the fans in Cleveland,although he did not seem to be as popular with the two coaching staffs that he played for in his three years as as Brown.
Eric Mangini's staff did not want to play him at all,preferring the near-finished Jake Delhomme and Mike Holmgren favorite Seneca Wallace,while Pat Shurmur played him,he never seemed to truly have confidence in McCoy as he often threatened to use Wallace,despite the problems that move would bring.

McCoy's tenure truly ended on that night in Pittsburgh,with the Browns threatening to pull a huge upset when James Harrison slammed home a huge cheap shot that concussed McCoy and would end his season,despite Shurmur returning him to the lineup.
NFL Network closeups showed a clearly dazed McCoy being returned to the game and then throwing an interception that allowed Pittsburgh to hold on for the victory.
McCoy would miss the remainder of the season and would then never be given a chance to regain the job as Cleveland took Brandon Weeden in the first round during the following off-season.

I don't have an issue with the Browns moving McCoy at this time.
The offense that is being installed does not play to the strengths of McCoy,who does not have a huge arm to throw downfield,which is a huge part of the new offense.
However,I do think his skills fit much better in the Pat Shurmur offense,much better,in fact,of those of Brandon Weeden and McCoy was never given a chance to compete with Weeden.

Good for McCoy,who will be a clear backup for the 49ers and good for the Browns too as they managed to get something,albeit late round picks, for someone that they likely would have released before the training camps began.
Colt McCoy was a good man that never was given the chance to see if he was a good quarterback.
It's good for both parties that this was finally resolved.....

The Browns also released two of the previous regimes free agent signees as linebacker Chris Gogong and safety Usama Young were cut and therefore saved the Browns cap space.
Gogong had been a productive player in 2011,but a training camp Achilles injury forced him to the sidelines for 2012 and considering the Eagles had traded Gogong when Joe Banner was there and the hefty contract that Gogong had been signed to after 2011,this appeared to be a foregone conclusion to me.

Young was signed to start from the Saints in 2011,but quickly proved to be a less than adequate solution at safety,which shows in the Browns need to add someone at the position for this season.

I would not have minded giving Gogong a chance in camp,but understand the cap hit that would allow a player to do so,especially if a player is coming off an injury like an Achilles that hampers mobility.
Young,on the other hand,is a dime a dozen player that can be easily replaced at a lower cost...