Brandon Weeden apparently wants a quarterback premium. Or, perhaps more accurately, an old quarterback premium.
Weeden, the 28-year-old signal-caller taken by the Browns with the 22nd pick in the 2012 draft, hopes to land a fully-guaranteed four-year deal, according to Mary Kay Cabot of the Cleveland Plain Dealer. The problem is that the full four-year guarantees ended this year with the 16th overall pick.
Based on two years of rookie classes under the new CBA, Weeden’s slot calls for a three-year guarantee plus a large chunk of the fourth-year compensaton due as a roster bonus in March, which would force the team to cut the player early enough in the offseason to give him a shot at finding a new home with ample time to get up to speed and compete for a spot on the depth chart.
“It’ll get done,’' Weeden said Friday, per Cabot. “We’re working. It takes two sides, though.’'
Weeden’s desire to emerge with a full four-year guarantee could be tied to the team’s sudden ambivalence toward quarterback Colt McCoy, a third-rounder in 2010 who could end up after only two seasons being cut, if he isn’t traded. If Weeden fails to show within three years that he can play at a high level, the team likely wouldn’t hesitate to get rid of him -- especially if his fourth-year pay isn’t fully guaranteed.
Then there’s the reality that, if Weeden can’t get it done, the current coaching staff and front office possibly will be gone, making it even more likely that the next coach would want a different quarterback.
While quarterbacks taken in round one often seek more than their slot otherwise dictates, the truth as to Weeden could be that, unlikely first-round picks who play other positions, he actually needs the protection that comes with having a full four-year guarantee.