Browns add Josh Johnson, put Usama Young on IR

Posted by Darin Gantt on December 26, 2012, 11:24 AM EDT
AP

The Browns added another quarterback to look at for the future, signing former Jim Harbaugh protege Josh Johnson.

To make room for him on the roster, they put safety Usama Young on injured reserve with a thumb injury that is expected to require surgery.

Johnson was a fifth-round choice by the Bucs in 2008, after a standout career at the University of San Diego, where Harbaugh was his head coach. He was with the 49ers in the preseason, but was part of their final cuts.

Based on his time with the Bucs, and the fact his old mentor didn’t want to keep him around, Johnson’s acquisition isn’t a sign of any major shifts in thinking at the position, but he is at least an arm with some degree of experience.

The Browns haven’t ruled out starter Brandon Weeden for the finale, but they did promote Thaddeus Lewis from the practice squad as well.

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5 responses to “Browns add Josh Johnson, put Usama Young on IR”

  1. It’s a shame how Mike Holmgren and Tom Heckert have left the Browns rudderless at the quarterback position. There’s no other way to say it. They blew the 2012 draft back in April!
    Many said the Browns should fill the holes and look for a quarterback later. To me, that’s building backwards. That’s contrary to how the draft system is designed to work.
    If a teams needs ‘that” franchise quarterback then they must take utmost advantage when they have a high draft pick in round one. Failure to do so greatly reduces a team’s chances of acquiring “that” quarterback that can take them all the way to a Super Bowl. They have nothing to build around.
    Unfortunately, the Browns are building “backwards.” They are filling holes while a crater exists at the quarterback position. Those filled holes are going to likely result in them being just good enough to take themselves out of position to draft a true franchise quarterback. And, I don’t just mean this year.
    Holmgren and Heckert have left the Browns in a severe quarterback conundrum. Hence, I think Heckert follows Holmgren out the door.

  3. I think the Browns did what they could at QB in the last draft. Luck and Griffin were already gone. Who would take Tannehill at the 3rd pick? Nobody. Weeden was widely thought to be the best QB available when the Browns 2nd pick came around and they got him. Nobody thought Russell Wilson would have the season he had.

    They definitely blew it with the Griffin trade though. We’re all happy to have Trent Richardson but his rookie season was still a disappointment.

  4. Josh

    Josh Johnson can and will help this team if given the chance. He beat out Tolzein in San Francisco. The Niners kept Tolzien because he excelled in the film room, not on the field. That 1st one in the building, last one to leave stuff. Just just needs an opportunity. He will take advantage of it.

  5. Putting a high calibre QB behind a line that is not stabil yet is a disaster waiting to happen. An older example would be David Carr with the new Houston Texan franchise. New coaches, new players all around and a new but very promising QB. To watch those early games you would have thought the O line wore signs that said Hey Carr’s over here. It was sad. He was seriously beaten up for multable seasons and never could come back and play at a high level.
    The Browns did the same thing to Delhomme, McCoy and Weeden. Although Weeden had the best line of the Three they still weren’t what they needed to be. Weak at both guard slots the running game suffered. Good pass blocking gave Weeden the kind of time McCoy dreamed of in 2011. However Weeden was not the find they thought they had and his physical play, lack of understanding even basic O schemes and being not real hard to rattle with a pass rush all showed what he was.
    Can’t build a team from the top down. It all has to be there and clicking right before big time QBs and RB can come in and shine.

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