Cleveland Browns: Could Brandon Weeden's Issues with Ball Security, Affect His Job Security in First Year?

By Tyler Robinson
CFB/NFL Writer

Coming off a 2011 season in which they ranked 30th in the NFL in per game scoring average, the Cleveland Browns know all too well the need to avoid turnovers and give the offense as many chances to score points as it can get.

Brandon Weeden has been anything but a symbol of ball security so far this preseason, fumbling three times (losing two) during his roughly five quarters of game action through three exhibition games.

For a rookie quarterback in the NFL—heck, for every quarterback in the league—everything is magnified and critiqued heavily. When addressing the fumbling issue with reporters on Sunday, Weeden said he isn’t too worried.

“I’m not going to carry a football around with me at night,” Weeden told the Akron Beacon Journal. “I’m not going to do that. If you start thinking about all of that other stuff, you get in trouble. … It’s not something I’m going to lose a lot of sleep over, but I’m definitely going to take it seriously, and when I can work on it, I’m definitely going to work on it.”

While some may initially perceive Weeden’s reaction as somewhat apathetic, not worrying or thinking about fumbling is probably the best course of action for the rookie. Much like a struggling free throw shooter in basketball, a clear mind offers the best chance at solving the problem. Over thinking will likely just make it worse.

Growing pains are inevitable for any rookie signal-caller, even 28-year old ones. For the time being, Cleveland fans shouldn’t be too alarmed by Weeden’s fumbling—it’s still the preseason after all.

But what if Weeden’s fumbling issue continues into the early part of the regular season? Could it result in Weeden being benched? After all, he can’t fumble if he’s not in the game.

Browns head coach Pat Shurmur recently offered heavy praise to backup quarterback Colt McCoy, who has an impressive preseason quarterback rating of 119.1. Despite being a constant subject of trade rumors, it seems that Cleveland is poised to enter the season with McCoy as its No. 2 quarterback behind Weeden.

Even though McCoy has stood out amid Weeden’s struggles, it would take a massive string of underwhelming performances by Weeden for McCoy to move into the starting role this season.

Weeden will be 29 in October and the Browns need to get him as much experience as possible in his initial season. Flip-flopping between quarterbacks will only harm Weeden’s development.

So unless Weeden’s fumble-itis turns out to be a full-fledged infection, don’t expect to see a quarterback change in Cleveland anytime soon.

Follow Tyler on Twitter: @TRob27

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