In the cold weather of Pittsburgh Pennsylvania on December 8th 2011, Cleveland Browns quarterback Colt McCoy may have played his last snaps as a starting quarterback in the NFL and he doesn’t even remember it. McCoy suffered a helmet-to-helmet collision with Steelers linebacker James Harrison which caused McCoy to suffer a concussion. The incident not only ended McCoy’s season, but it also sparked a controversy and tightened efforts by the NFL to monitor and improve player safety during the games. Unfortunately, as McCoy has fully recovered from the traumatic hit, he has suffered a Rip Van Winkle type of circumstance as the Browns have all but replaced him with a rookie, who is 3 years his senior.

McCoy was a victim of no offseason program, a new playbook, new coaching staff, inept running game, poor offensive line performance, and poor receiver play during his 2011 sophomore campaign as the Browns starting QB. Now that the Browns have drafted a dynamic athlete in running back Trent Richardson, solidified the offensive line, and added pieces to the wide receiver corps, he finds he will more than likely not get a shot at proving himself as a durable starter in the NFL.

The Cleveland Browns front office has made it clear that they are going a different direction with the selection of quarterback Brandon Weeden (22nd overall pick) from Oklahoma State which causes a cascade of questions. Was there something that the Browns brass saw in Weeden that compelled them to draft him in the first round? Or was there something in Colt McCoy that they didn’t see that compelled the Weeden selection?

I ask these questions not only based on the current situation. I ask them because of the post draft information that came to light after April’s draft. It was made known that the Browns were targeting wide receiver Kendall Wright from Baylor with the 22nd selection. This begs another nagging question. If the Browns had gotten Wright, would McCoy still be the uncontested starter?

With the way McCoy’s season ended last year, coupled with the offseason rumors, and selection of Weeden, this has all set into motion a quarterback controversy that has been created solely to feed on itself and is only a controversy because of the way that Heckert, and Holmgren have handled the situation since that Thursday night game that ended McCoy’s season.

What kind of drama will play out as this firestorm grows in intensity through training camps and preseason? Weeden has made it clear he doesn’t want to sit, and Shurmur has made it”appear” clear that Weeden will not just be handed the job. In fact, the only one to keep quiet on the situation is the odd man out, Colt McCoy. If he has proven anything in his time in Cleveland, it’s that he is a tough, scrapper who isn’t afraid to put it all on the line. He has poured everything into his efforsts leaving nothing behind. Regardless, it will lead to an interesting offseason now that the battle lines have been drawn.

What do you think?