Cleveland Browns head coach Hue Jackson isn’t buying the idea of his team trading away veteran quarterback Josh McCown to the Dallas Cowboys.
“I have no thoughts, whatsoever,” Jackson said, via Pro Football Talk. “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 has been widely discussed as a top trade option for the Cowboys after backup Kellen Moore fractured his ankle earlier this week. Dallas now lacks a legitimate quarterback option behind 36-year-old starter Tony Romo, who missed 13 games last season with two different fractured collarbones.
According to Ed Werder of ESPN, the Browns “prefer” to keep McCown.
#Cowboys, #Browns discussed trade for backup QB Josh McCown. Browns prefer to keep him, attached a high price, Cowboys rejected for now
— Ed Werder (@Edwerderespn) August 4, 2016
McCown, 37, played in eight games for the Browns last season, throwing 12 touchdowns and four interceptions. He entered training camp in Cleveland battling new quarterback Robert Griffin III for the starting job under Jackson, the Browns first-year head coach.
“I feel very good about where we are and what we’re doing, and right now, there’s nothing to report or talk about,” Jackson said.
Barring a change of heart in Cleveland, McCown will remain a member of the Browns, and the Cowboys will have to look elsewhere to fill the void behind Romo.