He's easily the best "available" veteran QB. There are plenty of reports that Green is both available for a low-round draft pick AND willing to renegotiate his contract to a fairly modest amount for a starting QB.
It's clear that Charlie Frye is not going to be the starting QB of the Browns in 2007. I thik he could have a nice career as a backup where he could both develop and be a good off-the-bench threat when called upon. But his physical skills won't ever allow him to be a consistently good starter. Most notably, his accuracy is barely adequate for a college QB -- and that's not going to suddenly improve. I still kind of like Frye and thought he really started off his career here with promise. But I'm resigned to the fact that Frye can't be apocket passer, and you can't win in the NFL with a QB who constantly needs to be moving around to be effective. Jeff Garcia is about the best possible QB of that sort in the NFL, and we've already churned through him. Why push Frye down that same road? At this point I think Frye is very likely to get traded around the draft.
Derek Anderson stands a somewhat better shot. His physical skills are far better than Frye's, and I'm very high on him. I thought last year he showed good decision making and was both poised and competitive. Still, I think he would be suited to be an ideal backup/developmental guy. As a backup I'm very comfortable with Anderson. Someday maybe he could start.
If you assume the Browns draft Quinn or Russell (I'm not doing that), either of those guys ought to sit on the bench for a year. What's the point of being overly aggressive with a prized rookie QB? The Browns can't expect to make the playoffs with a rookie QB.
All of this means that the Browns MUST acquire a veteral QB who is capable of being the starter in 2007. Trent Green is, far and away, the best available guy for this purpose. Freaking go get him already.
Top 8 reasons why Trent Green is a good fit for the Browns:
- A bona fide starter now.
- Could be the starter for this team in 2008 and 2009 too.
- Affordable. Both in trade and in a renegotiated contract.
- A high-quality person. He is not going to be frequenting the Warehouse District and dating Playmates.
- A good mentor for Anderson, Frye, or a rookie QB.
- Throws a very good deep ball. Think Braylon Edwards could thrive on that?
- Knows how to use the tight end. Cross your fingers, the Browns have a pretty talented tight end.
- A strong argument could be made that the Browns, more than anything else, need steadiness out of their QB. Green brings that.
#3 Pick Order of Preference (running item)
- Joe Thomas.
- Calvin Johnson.
- Trade Down.
- Adrian Peterson.
- Brady Quinn.