The Cowboys want to bring Josh McCown to his home state of Texas. McCown doesn’t sound interested in leaving his adopted home of Cleveland.
Browns coach Hue Jackson doesn’t seem to be interested in letting McCown leave.
“I have no thoughts, whatsoever,” Jackson told reporters on Thursday when asked about the chatter of the Cowboys wanting to trade for McCown after the loss of backup quarterback Kellen Moore. “You said it, it’s rumor. There is nothing to it as far as we’re concerned. I’ve heard about it, obviously I have, but I feel good that he’s here. He’s a Cleveland Brown and I know nothing else about the other part of it.”
McCown recently explained that he has worn No. 12 because of Roger Staubach, a Cowboys Hall of Famer from the 1970s. But McCown also made it clear he wants to continue to play in Cleveland.
“I hope we’ve created an environment for all of our players to really want to be here, whether it’s in the quarterback room, running back, tight end, defensive backs, anywhere,” Jackson said. “I think this is a tremendous opportunity for any football player. With our ownership with Dee and Jimmy [Haslam] and [executive V.P. of football operations] Sashi [Brown], the rest of our executive group and myself, I would hope that this is somewhere where a lot of players want to be and want to stay.”
If the football organization is thinking about trading McCown, would the head coach know about it?
“I would hope so,” Jackson said, laughing. “I would hope so. I would think I would know exactly what’s going on. I feel very good about where we are and what we’re doing, and right now, there’s nothing to report or talk about.”
That fact that McCown, who has played for so many teams it’s easier to list the ones he hasn’t, wants to stay in Cleveland even if the option is to perhaps cap his career in Dallas is one of the most positive things that could happen for the Browns, essentially giving them a victory in an impromptu P.R. showdown with “America’s team.” The fact that the Browns don’t want to let him go invites speculation that the team isn’t convinced the younger quarterback likely to soon be named starter for Week One will be holding the job deep into the season.
