Cleveland Browns president Mike Holmgren revealed Monday that he placed a phone call to Colt McCoy to reassure the quarterback of the organization's support.
The Browns tried unsuccessfully to trade up to the No. 2 spot in next month's NFL draft with an eye toward acquiring Heisman Trophy winner Robert Griffin III.
"I just wanted to remind him there’s been a lot spoken and a lot written about our situation and other situations around the league, quite frankly," Holmgren said, according to the team's official website. "There’s a lot mentioned about the draft and potentially what we’re going to do. And all he can really control is what he does. All he can really do is become the best player he can be and try and block out all of the rest of the stuff."
Holmgren said the conversation went well.
"He responds like I expect him to respond ... He’s a very capable young man, he cares, he works harder than any 10 people. I mean, he’s what you want.”
McCoy was drafted in the third round in 2010 after a great career at Texas. Injuries limited him to eight games as a rookie and 13 last season, when the Browns went 4-12.
"He could be judged off of last year’s performance, but don’t judge him too harshly," Holmgren said. "He got knocked around a little bit, a lot. His attitude was great. He’s actually entering into his really second full season of play, so he has a lot of years ahead of him.
"Now, I also said to him ... we’re always going to be looking at other quarterbacks every year whether in the draft or free agency because of the importance of the position."