QB Josh McCown Signs with Browns

Another quarterback controversy is brewing in Cleveland.

The Browns have signed veteran quarterback Josh McCown. According to Adam Schefter, the Browns agreed to a three-year deal with the 36-year-old former Buccaneer.

Cleveland is giving former Buccaneers QB Josh McCown a 3-year deal, per source. Cleveland went after him hard.

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) February 27, 2015

The Browns started to show interest in McCown about a week and a half ago, and pursued the veteran at length this week. McCown visited Berea on Tuesday and Wednesday before traveling to Buffalo to meet with the Bills.

McCown will likely compete for the starting job with second-year quarterback Johnny Manziel in Cleveland.

The 6'4, 212 pound signalcaller has played on six teams in his 12 seasons as a pro. McCown's last stop was in Tampa Bay last season. The vet compiled a 1-10 record as a starter in 2014, completing 56.3% of his passes for 2,206 yards, 11 touchdowns, and 14 interceptions. The Bucs released McCown on February 11.

Josh McCown: 17-32 as a starter, 61 touchdowns vs. 59 interceptions, career completion pct 58.8. In '13 w/CHI, 66.5 completions, 13-1 TD INT

— Zac Jackson (@FSOhioZJackson) February 27, 2015

The arrival of McCown likely spells the end of Brian Hoyer's time in Cleveland. Hoyer compiled a 10-6 record as a Brown, the lone starting quarterback of the team's 22 since 1999 to log a winning record.

Second-year quarterback Connor Shaw remains on the team's roster along with Manziel.

Cleveland's new situation at quarterback mirrors the position the Bucs were in at the beginning of last season. McCown began the year as Tampa Bay's starter and suffered an injury, forcing head coach Lovie Smith to turn to second-year quarterback Mike Glennon. Soon after Glennon proved to be ineffective, McCown finished out the season as the team's starter.

Signing a veteran quarterback is not a foreign idea for Browns fans. In the past, the Browns have brought in a number of veteran quarterbacks to compete with youngsters. The names Seneca Wallace, Jake Delhomme, Trent Dilfer, and Jeff Garcia all come to mind.

McCown's brother, Luke, also spent a season as a Brown in 2004.

What do you think of the Browns' signing of Josh McCown? Let your voice be heard in the poll and comments section below.

UPDATE: General manager Ray Farmer, head coach Mike Pettine, and McCown both made comments upon the signing, per Browns.com:

Ray Farmer

"Josh is your consummate professional. He’s known to be a great guy in the locker room and will be great for the quarterback room. He knows how to get an entire offense on the same page and get a team to rally behind him. He has been exposed to a lot of different types of offenses and we think still has the drive and skill set to be a successful quarterback in this league.

We are excited to get him and believe he will help continue to move us in the right direction and help us build the type of team that will bring winning football to Cleveland."

Mike Pettine

"Josh is a high-character, savvy, veteran quarterback that has a lot to offer to our team. When you hear from people that have been around Josh, they speak of the leadership qualities and the positive impact he has on a locker room. I really enjoyed spending time with him during his visit. He has great passion for playing the quarterback position and wants to show that he can still be successful in this league.

Obviously, he is a quarterback that has been in a number of systems and he has worked with (Browns offensive coordinator John DeFilippo) so there is some good familiarity between the two. We are excited to have him become part of our team and we look forward to him playing an important role in our offense."

Josh McCown

"I just want to serve our team and help everybody in that locker room, do my best to help everybody in the locker room be better at their job and they're going to help me, too. It's a two-way street. I'm just excited about coming in and being a part of a team. Year 1 was a solid first year for coach (Mike) Pettine, and to see the vision with what he's got going on is exciting to me. In my room, I want to be able to help those young guys and pass along my knowledge and experiences I've had and help them grow."

McCown added he’s "going to compete at the best level I can to help our team get better."

"We're going to be good at running the football and playing defense and being smart with the football at quarterback. Those are the things I know are going to be stressed. Those are the things I'm going to be focused on as we compete. As a quarterback, it starts off with the offensive line. You look at the guys they have there, namely, Joe Thomas and Alex Mack, it's a rare opportunity. Between meeting with the coaches and having a good connection with Coach Pettine and the offensive coaches, and those pieces on offense, that's kind of what drove the ship for me."