Cleveland Browns owner Jimmy Haslam said today that his team will not only bring in a new quarterback this offseason, but whomever they sign will compete with Brandon Weeden for the starting job.
“I think [Norv Turner] and [Rob Chudzinski] have been very open that they like a lot of what Brandon [Weeden] does,” said Haslam, ”but we’re going to have competition at that position, and I think competition makes us all better and we’ll see where that competition comes from.”
The Browns have been rumored to be in the mix for the potential services of current San Francisco 49ers quarterback Alex Smith. Smith is likely to be released or traded this offseason and he has a history with Turner, the team’s recently signed Browns offensive coordinator. Mary Kay Cabot of The Cleveland Plain Dealer has also linked the team to Michael Vick due to his history with former Eagles front office wizard Joe Banner.
With the NFL’s free agency period set to kick of on March 12, the Browns will once again take part, but will not look to make any large moves.
“[The front office] is going to look at free agency and we’re going to look at the draft, and I think we’ll be selective in what we do in free agency,” said Haslam. “I don’t think you’ll see us making any big splashy, high-priced moves because I think we’ve said all along we’re going to build through the draft.”
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