Browns 2012 offseason

Now that the time is upon us again, it's time to break down the Browns' offseason. First and foremost, a decision needs to be made on Colt McCoy. I believe that his days as starter may be numbered. The Browns may do the almighty trade and trade both first rounders and the second round to the Rams for Griffin at the number two pick. I personally don't feel that is a smart move. Yes he is going to be amazing wherever he goes; however, the Browns are not just a quarterback away from making the playoffs. They have too many holes to fill to be giving up that many picks. Browns history and Cleveland history shows that they are not big spenders in the Free Agent Market. Having said that, I don't think they are going to be able to fill CB, OLB/DE, WR, RT and a WR in free agency. They are going to have to use some picks to fill holes. I feel that the smart (yes a little risky) move would be as follows: Try to sign Matt Flynn in FA (he's a Holmgren grown boy and he has been behind one of the best QB's in the league today). Yes, he could be a Matt Cassell, but heck the way the QB position has played lately for us, if he turned out to be a Cassell we should be happy. Also in FA, try to sign a Veteran WR. There are plenty of options out there this year. Marques Colston, Vincent Jackson, Dwayne Bowe, Manningham, maybe Mike Wallace, maybe Desean Jackson. The Browns need a veteran receiver that can take a little pressure off of Little and Massaqoui. Being that the Browns have close to $30 million in cap room, they could also try to get a pass rusher such as Robert Mathis. I would love Mario Williams, but I think he may be out of reach. Mathis, however, is a bit older, but he has been successful over the past few years. He would provide good experience and mentoring ability to an already beastly (close to one of the best) D-lines. If they can make 2 or 3 big splashes in FA, they should be in good shape. As far as the draft, I would take Claiborne at number 4 or trade down and acquire more picks. If they take Claiborne at 4, they could try to trade up with the number 22 and try to get Trent Richardson. If they trade down from number 4, they could try to get Blackmon and also trade up from 22 for Richardson. If they go this route, they will need to try and make a splash in FA to get Brandon Carr or Cortland Finnegan (I like Finnegan the best). If they can land the first scenario (Claiborne and Richardson) I think they will not only improve their pass defense, but that will improve their pass rush and run defense immensely. They will be able to put more guys in the box and let Haden and Claiborne go 1 on 1. They could then use their middle round picks to pick up a RT, another pass rusher and another WR. Browns fans should have a good feeling about this offseason. We have had great drafts in past years with Heckert and Holmgren (Ward, Haden, Little, Sheard and Taylor) and we have proven assistants and leaders to help Shurmur get this team to where they need to be. Cleveland sports are on the rise ladies and gentleman.