Two things are most often associated with the Browns: Losing and bad quarterbacks.
The second theme remains prominent today, as the Browns are entrenched in an unenviable situation at quarterback. Journeyman Josh McCown stands atop the depth chart, Johnny Manziel sits at second, and Connor Shaw and Thad Lewis occupy the bottom two spots.
NFL.com Senior Editor Gregg Rosenthal highlighted the Browns' weakness on Tuesday evening, calling the Browns' quarterback group the worst in the NFL.
Several other teams lack reliable starting quarterbacks, but it's hard to argue with Rosenthal. In his explanation video, Rosenthal said:
"This position group was not a hard one to pick as the worst in the league, because [the Browns] are the only team I could really think of that has a poor veteran stopgap, that's Josh McCown, and really no one looming in the future that you can get excited about. At this point, I think it'd be a surprise if Johnny Manziel turns into a quality NFL player. Josh McCown has been a journeyman throughout his career, coming off a disastrous season, so they're trying to talk up McCown. But this is a team that really doesn't have any options that are good this year."
Rosenthal's points are tough to discount. McCown is at the end of his career and Manziel has shown little in the way of results on the field so far. Rosenthal went into further depth in his article:
There are plenty of unfinished quarterbacks to choose from, but Cleveland stands out because they have a sub-par "stop gap" option and little hope for the future. Josh McCown is the definition of a journeyman on his seventh roster in 14 NFL seasons. His single promising stretch as a starter came in five starts for Chicago in 2013, but he failed to survive an ugly situation in Tampa last year. The Browns' boffo offensive line should help McCown improve in Cleveland, but he has a shaky group of weapons to throw to ...
Ignoring the off-field issues, Johnny Manziel looked lost as a football player during his rookie season. Early progress reports this offseason have not been promising. The Browns' stated strategy is to "minimize" the quarterback position, which doesn't sound like a great idea in the year 2015.
Again, Rosenthal provides solid points that support his argument. The only significant flaw of the explanation is Rosenthal's failure to mention a deep running back group that includes Isaiah Crowell, Terrance West, and the newly drafted Duke Johnson. Rosenthal also does not mention Connor Shaw, a player the Browns were impressed by in Week 17 against the Ravens.
The rest of Rosenthal's article is worth reading, as he lists the other worst offensive position groups in the NFL, too.
Do you agree with Rosenthal? Do the Browns have the worst quarterback group in the NFL? Let your opinion be heard in the comments section below.