The Cleveland Browns have a ton of questions heading into the offseason, from top-to-bottom. They need to figure out what's going on with running back Peyton Hillis, find some receivers who can catch the football, and there's also the small matter of their starting quarterback for 2012.
Colt McCoy was the starter for most of this past season, only giving way to Seneca Wallace when he was sidelined with a concussion following a helmet-to-helmet hit from Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker, James Harrison. Down the stretch, Wallace played well, and the first real sign that McCoy might not be the quarterback of the future surfaced back on Dec. 19, when head coach Pat Shurmur neglected to name McCoy the starter once being medically cleared to play.
On Thursday, team president Mike Holmgren held a long press conference with the media and spoke on, among other things, McCoy's future in Cleveland:
Ultimately, though, as with not only the quarterback position but every position, you're kind of judged on -- and the quarterback more than anybody -- on how well your team did. I'm not ready to anoint Colt yet. Have I changed my mind? No. Do I love him? Yes, I do. But I love Seneca Wallace. We have three good quarterbacks on our team right now. Having said that, heck, we don't know what's going to happen and I've had that conversation with Colt as well.
Holmgren really is saying nothing new, which is news in of itself. Down the stretch, with Wallace playing well, most figured he'd get the nod regardless. When McCoy was officially ruled out of the Week 17 matchup against the Steelers, many asked if that would be the end of McCoy's future in Cleveland.
Though Holmgren would go on to talk about McCoy's potential, and the fact that there's enough upside for the team to remain interested, there's still a chance that he's done there. If the team happens to draft another guy or bring a big name in, it's unlikely that McCoy would get much of a chance to battle for his spot, unless the team is planning on resting a potential rookie.
McCoy completed 57.2 percent of his passes in 2011, with 14 touchdowns against 11 interceptions. Those are unremarkable stats, as is his 74.6 quarterback rating. While they're not team-killing, McCoy was never able to really give his team an offensive spark, something they sorely needed with a tough schedule and a struggling running back in Hillis.
For more on the Cleveland Browns, go to Dawgs by Nature. You can also head over to SB Nation's main NFL hub at SBNation.com/NFL.