http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=1753940 Tim Couch balked at the Cleveland Browns' proposal to cut his contract by more than half last week. In an apparent response, the Browns have now offered a larger deal to jettisoned 49ers quarterback Jeff Garcia. The Browns have reportedly offered Garcia a two-year deal worth about $8 million, ESPN's Chris Mortensen has confirmed. The deal, which includes a signing bonus in the range of $4 million to $5 million plus team incentives, is worth more than what Cleveland offered Couch, signaling the team's readiness to cut ties with the quarterback, according to the Cleveland Plain Dealer. The team's original offer would have cut Couch's salary from $7.6 million to $3 million in 2004 and from $8 million to $3.5 million in 2005. The package also reportedly included $3 million in bonuses and incentives tied to the team's record. The Browns were expected to extend a second proposal to Couch after he ignored the first, but the Plain Dealer reports that Cleveland coach Butch Davis has decided against sending another offer, a decision made after meeting with Garcia. Garcia met with the team last week, and was impressive in interviews but did not perform on the field, according to the paper. The Browns also brought Drew Henson in for a tryout last week. San Francisco released Garcia last Tuesday after he refused a $4 million reduction in his 2004 salary. Garcia, who has also received interest from the Atlanta Falcons, Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Dallas Cowboys, had not accepted the Browns' offer as of Sunday night, the paper reported. The 34-year-old quarterback was reportedly in Tampa, Fla., where he was considering his options with those other teams. In Atlanta, Garcia would serve purely as a backup to Michael Vick, while in Tampa Bay, Garcia could compete with Brad Johnson for the starting job. A source told the paper that the Browns' were hopeful Garcia would return to Cleveland on Monday to accept the offer, and that the dealings would be resolved in one way or another before Wednesday. Garcia had been the 49ers' starter since 1999 when Steve Young retired. In 2000, he set a team single-season passing record with 4,278 yards and threw 31 touchdown passes. He passed for 2,456 yards and 16 TDs despite missing four games with injuries last season. Garcia had a quarterback rating of 113.0 in December, throwing for 10 touchdowns and running for four.
Looks like Garcia is a Cleveland Brown.... http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/columns/story? columnist=pasquarelli_len&id=1754514 Likely marking an end to the Tim Couch Era after just five seasons, the Cleveland Browns on Monday night reached a contract agreement with former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Jeff Garcia, ESPN.com has learned. The stunning move came late in the evening and followed a day in which several print and broadcast reports had Garcia prepared to sign with the Tampa Bay Bucs. Some of the reports, in fact, quoted Garcia's father. But sources told ESPN.com early in the evening that those reports were false and that the quarterback was leaning in another direction. That direction turned out to be Cleveland. The Browns visited with Garcia last Friday and quickly began their pursuit of the five-year veteran. Acquiring the three-time Pro Bowl performer all but assures that Couch -- the first overall choice in the '99 draft and a player who averaged a dozen starts a year during his Cleveland tenure -- will be released. Garcia, 34, will sign a four-year contract worth $25 million, ESPN.com confirmed. The Browns are believed to have made Couch two proposals within the past week, with neither successfully addressing his demands. Couch was to have earned a base salary of $7.6 million for the 2004 season, but all parties involved understood that number would have to be adjusted for the former University of Kentucky star to remain in Cleveland. Even before the news about Garcia's agreement, Couch said he was surprised that the Browns had made an offer to Garcia. Couch said he wanted to remain in Cleveland, but did not want to take a salary cut. The team's original offer would have cut his salary from $7.6 million to $3 million in 2004 and from $8 million to $3.5 million in 2005. The package also reportedly included $3 million in bonuses and incentives tied to the team's record. Couch Couch and his agent, Tom Condon rejected the offer. Couch has made more than $30 million in bonuses and salaries since being drafted. "I was a little disappointed with the first offer," Couch said. "I didn't expect it to be that big of a pay cut." Released by the 49ers last Tuesday afternoon for salary-cap considerations, Garcia quickly became an option for several teams seeking to bolster their quarterback position. In addition to the Browns, Garcia met with Atlanta officials on Saturday and Bucs executives on Sunday and Monday. The deal with the Browns came together after Garcia was assured he was being signed to assume the starting job. It is likely that Cleveland will retain Kelly Holcomb, recovering from recent shoulder surgery, as the main backup. Certainly the deal represents a fairly dramatic change of philosophy by Browns coaches and officials, who said their preference and intent was to strike a new deal with Couch. There have been suggestions, though, that Couch and head coach Butch Davis did not see eye-to-eye on several non-financial issues. Given the amount of influence Davis has in the Cleveland football operation, he obviously endorsed the addition of Garcia. Signed as a free agent in 1999 after a successful career in the CFL, Garcia started in 71 of his 74 appearances with the 49ers. He completed 1,449 of 2,360 passes for 16,408 yards, with 113 touchdown passes, 56 interceptions and a passer rating of 88.3. In three of his seasons, the former San Jose State star threw for more than 3,000 yards; he had a 4,000-yard season in 2000. He twice threw more than 30 touchdown passes. Garcia earned in excess of $20 million during the past two seasons -- more than any other NFL quarterback. He carried a 2004 salary-cap charge of more than $12 million, and the inability to agree on a reworked contract led to his departure from San Francisco. His contract stipulated that because he achieved predetermined performance and playing time benchmarks, Garcia was to be paid an '04 base salary nearly commensurate to that of the figure for a "franchise" quarterback. In addition, the contract gave Garcia the right to void the final three years of a San Francisco deal that ran through 2007. Garcia and the 49ers negotiated on and off for months. But a source said that, in the end, there technically was no offer on the table from San Francisco officials. The club had made what was believed to be its last proposal more than a month ago. Couch, 26, started in 59 games for the Browns and completed 1,025 of 1,714 passes for 11,131 yards, with 64 touchdown passes and 67 interceptions.
So is it offical that Tim Couch is a bust? I never understood why Cleveland took him with the #1 overall pick. He's a great example of a team trying to get a franchise QB even though hes not availabe. 99 was a great draft with Holt, Bailey, Cullpepper, Rickey, and Donovan. It's easier to look now and say the Browns messed up but was anybody impressed by Couch in college? I never saw him play in college so I dont know.
Well Couch was a classic example of the offense he played in college. His coach at Kentucky was Hal Mumme and he tried to have a wide-open offense like Florida had under Spurrier. But like Danny Wuerffel, Couch just couldn't adjust from that system to the pro game. In his defense, he was trying to lead, essentially, an expansion franchise and I don't think they had much of an offensive line or running game in the beginning. I think Couch just wore down from all the beatings he took his first 2 seasons.
Teh Browns are a poor offensive team. Garcia will be in big trouble next year. As for Couch I don't think he is a great QB but he is good enough to get another shot in the league. And I agree he does not have a great NFL arm but I think someone (Dallas, Pittasburgh) will give him a shot next year.
Well, they didn't do as bad as their cross-state rivals in the first round of that draft. There did seem to be a lot of support among Browns fans for Ricky Williams, though I don't know that he'd have done any better there than in New Orleans. I don't recall any support for drafting McNabb, though. I don't recall a whole lot of support for McNabb coming out of college (even Philly fans were on the Ricky Williams bandwagon at the time). And I don't recall any support for Culpepper as a franchise QB to any real extent. Though he put up some good numbers, it was at Central Florida, and those stats didn't translate into wins to any great extent. I couldn't see, coming out of college, anyone thinking he was a #1 overall pick.
I am not sure Couch is a bad QB either. The fans turned on him, but his performance was just as good as the fan favorite Holcomb. I think the Browns have suffered from lack of skill people (slow WRs, inconsistent RBs) and a not so great line. Except for the elite QBs, I am not most average to good NFL QBs (like Garcia once away from the WC offense) would really do that much better unless those others problems are addressed. As a Cowboy fan I consider giving up a 3rd round pick and Joey Galloway for him assuming both could renegiote contracts satisfactory. Couch is only 26.
Bottom line, Couch was not worth a first round pick. The guy doesn't have exceptional arm strength and he's not very athletic. He is a good quarterback but in my opinion they could have signed a free-agent of the same ability. Cleveland's draft record has been pretty terrible with Courtney Brown seeming to be a bust at this point also. I never understood the hype surrounding Couch coming out of College. He obviously benefited from the system.
