Report: Browns sign QB Austin Davis to contract extension
By Thomas Moore
Nov 9, 2014; Glendale, AZ, USA; St. Louis Rams quarterback Austin Davis (9) calls a play against the Arizona Cardinals at University of Phoenix Stadium. The Cardinals defeated the Rams 31-14. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
The Cleveland Browns have reportedly signed third-string quarterback Austin Davis to a two-year contract extension.
The deal, which was first reported by ESPN’s Field Yates, is worth $4.137 million, which includes a $500,000 signing bonus and $600,000 in total guarantees.
This being the Browns, the deal can’t be a simple transaction of a team signing a player, it has to have a deeper meaning, apparently.
We’ve already seen conspiracy theories that the move signals the end of starting quarterback Josh McCown (securing Davis means McCown will retire and the end of the year) and that the timing of the deal has deeper implications for general manager Ray Farmer because the deal was struck while he serves the final week of his suspension.
All of that is possible, we suppose, and each day it gets easier and easier for people to believe everything and anything negative about the Browns. But it is also possible the Browns simply like what they’ve seen from Davis since signing him on Sept. 7 (and like him more than Connor Shaw) and want to keep him around for a while.
“Austin (Davis) is a guy that his name has come up often. He’s played some quality minutes in this league,” head coach Mike Pettine said when the team originally signed Davis. “He does not have practice squad eligibility so the only way to get him was to put him on the 53. Also, given still the uncertainty, without going into detail, we feel good about where (QB) Johnny (Manziel) is, but it was an opportunity for us to added Austin and that was really the only way we could do it.”
As for McCown, it is hard to create a scenario where his status is impacted by the contract extension for Davis. McCown is the starter, for now, and when the day comes for the Browns to make a change, it will be Johnny Manziel taking over as the starter.
And irregardless of any deal the Browns work out with Davis, the fact is that, at age 36, McCown is closer to the end of his career than the beginning.
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As for Farmer, we really don’t understand the fuss about the Browns making moves while he is out of the building. Prior to the suspension, people were up in arms about how the Browns would function in Farmer’s absence, the team picked Bill Kuharich to run the show and he’s getting things done.
So why should that be an issue now?
Time will tell if this is just another in a season-long list of the type of everyday transactions that NFL teams perform.
Until then, we should probably all start preparing for the inevitable Week 17 start that we all know is in the future for Davis.