CLEVELAND -- The Browns hosted free agent quarterback Josh McCown for two days this week, and though the Buffalo Bills are pushing to sign him, the Browns believed they were still in the negotiation game as of Thursday night.

McCown's camp has talked with a few teams in the last 24 hours. The Browns are believed to be one of them. No deal is imminent.

It's natural to assume the Browns, if they sign McCown, won't re-sign Brian Hoyer or make a bigger play for a Sam Bradford or Mike Glennon.

I'm not necessarily doing that.

McCown is simply a good player to have on the roster, starter or not. There are a few reasons for this. McCown has seen a bit of everything in 12 years. He's started 49 games and watched from the sidelines for many more. He's got a good relationship with new offensive coordinator John DeFilippo. At worst, McCown helps the Browns' transition and becomes a good influence for younger quarterbacks. At best, he starts and wins games.

The Tampa Bay experiment went terribly wrong for McCown, but it's noteworthy that the Bucs' offensive line was brutal at the beginning of the season and offensive coordinator Jeff Tedford's leave of absence in September disrupted continuity. McCown didn't play well, throwing 14 interceptions to 11 touchdowns, but he was dealt a losing hand in Tampa. He's had success as a starter in the past.

Even if McCown signs something close to his two-year, $10-million deal with Tampa a year ago, that wouldn't hamstring the Browns, who have $53.77 million in cap space as of this week. If they wanted to make additional quarterback moves, they can.

McCown is a versatile quarterback option, that simple.

For as much as the NFL discusses quarterback play in absolutes, the Texans won nine games with the Ryan Fitzpatrick-Ryan Mallett-Case Keenum-Tom Savage combination. The Browns won seven of their first 11 last season with Hoyer. There are no quarterback home runs available for Cleveland, but that doesn't mean they can't make the AFC North interesting.