Ten factors that still have me scratching my head about the Cleveland Browns signing of 35-year-old Josh McCown for three years and nearly $15 million:

1. Ponder the chronology: Ray Farmer drafts Johnny Manziel. Brian Hoyer barely wins the job out of training camp, then holds onto it by playing well early. Eventually he leads the Browns to a 7-4 record. Farmer, though, sends in-game texts to assistant coaches as early as the New Orleans game. It was the second game of the season and a win for the Browns. He continues to text during games throughout the season, some of it about the quarterback play, and only acknowledges his mistake after the season when the texting becomes public. Farmer clearly was part of the front office effort that undermined Hoyer, and had him playing while wearing a straightjacket. The more Hoyer learned the front office was not supportive, the more he pressed. So the guy who undermined Hoyer by texting during games winds up, with the full support of the owner, ushering Hoyer out of town and signing a 35-year-old to replace him.

2. McCown is a tremendous human being, a quality guy. He also was a teammate of LeCharles Bentley in the Senior Bowl. In 2002. Along with Dave Zastudil, Dwight Freeney, Brett Keisel and David Garrard. That was the same year the Browns took William Green in the first round.

3. The Browns have maintained as they built their team that what was most important to them was they wanted to drive competition at every position. It’s been a mantra, right up there with “play like a Brown.” In signing McCown, the Browns let Hoyer go because he wanted to start and they felt he was not their guy for the long-term. In signing McCown, they added a guy who will start, but is willing to be a mentor. How exactly is this driving competition?

4. McCown was good with the Bears two years ago, going 3-2 in games he started. But that was the only year in his career he was above .500 as a starter. His second-best mark: 3-3 in 2005 and 1-1 in 2011. Take away the Bears season, and McCown is 14-30 as a starter, with 44 starts in 12 seasons.

5. McCown went 1-10 in Tampa Bay. There he had two big and talented receivers and a poor offensive line, and he faced the NFC South, the NFL’s worst division. Carolina made the playoffs with a 7-8-1 record.

6. Kyle Shanahan preferred the Browns draft Jimmy Garapolo last year. In signing McCown, the Browns made a point that new coordinator John DeFilippo worked with him in Oakland. So the team gave a first-time coordinator who -- has never called plays -- his quarterback while denying the veteran coordinator his.

7. It’s worth noting that DeFilippo worked with McCown as quarterback coach in 2007. That was seven years ago when DeFIlippo was a first-year quarterback coach.

8. Relying on past performance seems to really matter with this organization. Farmer said he believes Manziel can succeed because of the way he played in college. Two years ago. The Browns signed McCown, presumably because he played well in Chicago. Two years ago.

9. In fairness, the draft remains an option. A developmental guy like Garrett Grayson could fit. If Marcus Mariota falls to No. 12, the Browns would be nuts not to take him (which of course, based on history, means they’ll take a running back). But if it comes to trading up to acquire Mariota, the Browns would have to surrender both their first-round picks and presumably another to get him. Which means they’d be giving up everything they acquired to build a team that could sustain winning. Which would be continued madness.

10. This of course shrugs off that Mariota will need time to adjust to the NFL game and might not be ready as a rookie. Mariota said at the combine he hadn’t called plays in a huddle since high school, so Kevin O’Connell had him practicing reading plays at night. He also didn’t huddle in college, or take NFL drops. So … he’ll go through the same on-field adjustment Manziel went through.

And, because winter is almost over, a bonus No. 11.

11. The Browns seem to be the only team that believes Manziel and McCown can be a starter. Buffalo was negotiating, but not to the effort the Browns did. What the Browns saw that 31 other teams did not is open to question. Though the draft could reduce the fuzziness, at this point it seems like Farmer simply did not want Hoyer. When McCown became available he became the most attractive quarterback to Farmer who wasn’t Hoyer. Signing a 35-year-old who went 1-10 a year ago, a guy much of the league felt was more ready to be a Matt Hasselbeck type backup than a starter, shows little long-term thinking. It seems more like the Browns are making it up as they go.