Brandon Weeden’s Stranglehold on the QB Position Begins

Cleveland Browns quarterback Brandon Weeden has dealt with plenty of opposition this offseason. With a top-to-bottom regime change, few positions are safe from scrutiny, and the quarterback position is often the most precarious position during this time.

And after a rocky end to his rookie season, the questions surrounding him were to be expected. The rumors flew of the Browns trading for someone – anyone – but all of those fizzled into nothing, unless you’re counting Brian Hoyer.

Then, the Browns signed veteran signal-caller Jason Campbell, perhaps as an attempt to light a fire under Weeden. During the team’s minicamp, though, Weeden took the first-team reps. For now, he is the Browns’ go-to man, and he’ll have every opportunity to prove them right.

However, it is still hard to gauge the Browns’ level of commitment to Weeden. On the one hand, they are essentially stuck with him right now. With no worthy trade targets and a weak quarterback class in the draft, the team had to envision a reality with Weeden still under center (or, hopefully, in the shotgun).

But on the other hand, the hiring of head coach Rob Chudzinski and offensive coordinator Norv Turner speaks to some sort of effort to take advantage of Weeden’s skills. He is nothing if not able to chuck the ball downfield, and Turner’s offenses can often do that with ease.

An interesting scenario will develop if Weeden improves this season and the Browns actually make some noise. He will turn 30 years old during the season and no one in the organization has any draft ties to him. No one’s job is necessarily tied to Weeden, and everyone knows how nice it is to draft your own quarterback prodigy.

The Browns likely have to consider the future of the position no matter what happens, but Brandon Weeden can, at the very least, make it a difficult decision for the front office.