The Browns' QB mismanagement becomes more obvious after Taylen Green's NFL debut
What a fine mess Taylen Green discovered in Cleveland. The Browns had three rostered quarterbacks. When they drafted Green this past April, a lot of people (us included) thought the Browns would turn Green, a super athlete, into a hybrid player who would get the ball in open space and show off his speed, lining up at different spots in the formation and being a Swiss Army knife more than a downfield passer. Green, who didn't play in the Browns' first two preseason games, finally did play his first NFL game Thursday night against the New England Patriots. He produced a long scramble from his own goal line which got a first down. Al Michaels of Prime Video gushed about Green's speed. Viewers got to see what Arkansas (and Boise State) fans always knew: He can run. He can make plays. The potential for him is there to be an impactful NFL player with all that athletic ability.
Yet, despite Green's display of talent, the Browns seem unlikely to keep Green on their opening day 53-man roster. They don't want four quarterbacks... but that's precisely the point: Drafting Green should never have been about adding a fourth quarterback. It should have been all about adding a playmaker who could be re-slotted to tight end, slot receiver, or running back, with endless positional flexibility. Just get Green the ball and let him run with it. Somehow, the Browns, who continue to show how bad an organization they are, have not really entertained this idea. They view him as a QB, and therefore, it seems nearly certain they will cut Green. Coach Todd Monken reacted after Thursday's game against the Patriots:
“That’s why we played them,” Monken said. “We’ve got a lot to talk about. I thought they both did some really good things. The way they played is how I thought they’d play. Dillon within himself, very poised, and then Taylen was going to have some splash plays, some plays where you get him on the perimeter, use his athleticism, and keep working to refine his passing. It was fun to watch him play. But just like every position, we’re going to have to cut it down. We can’t keep everybody.”
The article continued:
"The logical thing for a rebuilding team that can’t keep everybody would be to cut Watson, but the reality of the enormous sunk cost the Browns have already put into Watson means he’s not going anywhere. Sanders is entrenched at No. 2. The Browns appear to have a decision to make between keeping Gabriel or keeping Green, and that decision got harder with their play on Thursday night."
Dillon Gabriel threw three touchdown passes in the first half of the Browns-Patriots game. He played so well that it's hard to see Green passing Gabriel on the depth chart for QB3. This is why it's very likely Taylen Green will be cut and will have to look elsewhere for a real shot at an NFL career.
The Browns bungled this to no end. Now we will wait and see where Taylen Green lands next, because it's almost certainly going to happen.
