The Brock Osweiler Experiment is over. Again.
It’s been a long, strange trip for Osweiler over the last two years. After showcasing some talent for the Denver Broncos, Brock spurned them for a shocking $72 million contract with the Houston Texans. That contract looked downright criminal when the quarterback floundered in Houston, got benched, and was shipped off to the Cleveland Browns after the season. While some expected the Browns to just eat the contract, they let Osweiler fight for the starting job, something he did not do a very good job of doing, and now the franchise has cut their losses and cut Brock before the 2017 season starts.
Brock Osweiler has been cut, per sources.
— Matt Miller (@nfldraftscout) September 1, 2017
The #Browns traded for QB Brock Osweiler, thinking they’d cut him. Then tried to play him, start him, then trade him again… now cut.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) September 1, 2017
Don’t cry too much for the Browns over this (because there are plenty of other good reasons to cry for the Browns). They’re still going to trot out the same guy they expected to before this, rookie DeShone Kizer. Also, they still get the Texans’ second-round pick in 2018 for taking Osweiler off their hands.
The question is, what happens now for Osweiler? The answer might be better than you think. Even though things look grim for him, he’s still got a decent chance at catching on somewhere as a back-up.
Why? Because he’s not Colin Kaepernick.
While Kaep remains quarterback kryptonite to NFL owners and GM’s in spite of his decent stats, Osweiler comes with a lot of on-field baggage but not much off of it. Osweiler did his best work behind a better QB so perhaps that’s what he needs, or at least that’s what owners will try to convince themselves of when they sign him in a couple days while Kaepernick is doing charity work elsewhere.
There’s always another chance coming for a guy who acts like Osweiler.
And perhaps when that happens, the NFL hypocrisy circle will be complete. Until then, however, Brock will just have to cry himself to sleep on those piles of money he “earned” from Houston and Cleveland.
