We’ve said it here before and we’ll say it again: While Josh McCown is certainly not the quarterback the Browns want to go forward with as their starter, he is a Pro Football Hall of Famer as the back-up.
He’s a selfless team-first guy and as such can be a valuable commodity for the Browns for as long as he’s around.
This quality came through once again on Monday when he was asked for his reaction to Robert Griffin III beating him out and being formally announced as the starter earlier in the day. Instead of complaining, he praised the club for its decision.
“Obviously, as a competitor, you want to play. You want to be the guy,” McCown said. “But I understood the direction we were going. I’m excited for our team.
“I said this last time that I talked: I’ve been on both ends of it. When the quarterback competitions kind of drag out through training camp, I don’t know if you’re any better off because then you have two guys that kind of had half-reps. I think it’s great that we know who it (the starter) is. Moving forward, we’re behind that guy. Our team can rally around that guy, and we can move forward accordingly.
“Robert is certainly plying at a high level right now, and that’s exciting. As a competitor, you want to be on the field. You want to play. There’s no question about that. At the same time, it’s so much bigger. It’s about the team. Now that question is settled and we can go move forward in our game-planning this week for Green Bay (on Friday night in the preseason opener) and ultimately for Philadelphia in Week 1 (of the regular season).”
McCown was also asked if he thought he didn’t get a full chance to compete due to the fact Griffin received more repetitions in practice than he did. Again, McCown wouldn’t bite at the controversy. He was a true pro.
“Not necessarily,” McCown said. “I’ve been in the league almost 10 years longer than Robert. The evaluation process for he and I are different in the sense that they kind of know what type of player I am and so on. It’s relatively new for Rob and learning the system and all of that stuff. I think the reps were necessary (for him).
“Not in any way do I think it was unfair. It was exactly how it needed to be to fairly evaluate things. I trust their judgment, I trust their evaluation and then we move on. It’s both.
“As a competitor, you want reps. You want to play. That’s what we do this game for. It’s to play. Ultimately, they have to make judgments that are best for our team and best for them to evaluate situations. That was no more than that, and I understood.”
The Browns are better – much, much, much better, in fact — with a guy like McCown as the back-up – and not the starter — at the most important position on the field.
