The Brady Quinn Era in Cleveland Comes to an End

After plenty of speculation, quarterback Brady Quinn has finally been traded by the Cleveland Browns. He was traded to the Denver Broncos for fullback Peyton Hillis, a 2011 sixth-round draft pick, and a conditional pick in 2012. A move to the Broncos makes sense, as the team was looking to trade for Quinn last season, but opted to trade for Kyle Orton instead. One has to think Orton is still the starter, but maybe a new team will help Quinn realize his potential. This also now makes the quarterback position entirely the product of the new front office.

It seems that people are disappointed with what the Browns received in exchange for Quinn but, to be honest, what could we expect to get in return? Quinn’s time here was injury-plagued and he was never given a full chance to prove himself, so the Browns were probably lucky to get someone like Hillis, a fine back who just didn’t fit in Josh McDaniels’ system. Hillis also adds more depth to the running back position, making this one of the more intriguing position battles.

Lost in the Quinn aftermath was the fact that the Browns also traded LB Kamerion Wimbley to the Oakland Raiders for a  2010 third-round draft pick. There is no doubt that Mike Holmgren wants to turn this into his own team; let’s just hope he knows what he’s doing. Though, to be honest, his moves have been solid up to this point. Even the Jake Delhomme signing, as baffling as it is, leaves them with at least a serviceable option at quarterback should they not make a move to draft one. I’d be shocked if a quarterback was not taken by the Browns in the first three rounds, though, especially with the picks the team continues to stockpile.

I want to say we can safely assume the Browns won’t dip back into the Notre Dame pool and grab another quarterback in Jimmy Clausen, but that could just be wishful thinking. I want to believe that Holmgren knows that Clausen is a product of the Notre Dame hype machine and just, plain and simple, isn’t. that. good.