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If the pursuit from several NFL teams of free-agent quarterback Josh McCown could ever have been considered a sweepstakes, the Buffalo Bills have come out on the losing end. McCown, 35, agreed to a three-year deal Friday with the Cleveland Browns, choosing Buffalo's neighbors on Lake Erie over the quarterback-needy Bills. Plenty of Bills fans seem to be breathing a sigh of relief that McCown, a career backup who went 1-10 as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' starter last season, isn't the veteran the Bills ensured would arrive to compete with EJ Manuel. After all, McCown was an underwhelming option on what is a generally underwhelming quarterback market. But the Bills wanted McCown and were in negotiations to sign him as recently as Thursday. They only carried two quarterbacks last season, and adding McCown to the mix with Manuel could have completed the team's offseason shopping at the position. In that sense, this is a setback for the Bills. They had their sights set on McCown above the other available options. Now they'll have to turn to Plan B. Who could that be? Brian Hoyer vaults toward the top of the list now that it's a virtual lock that he won't be back in Cleveland when he hits free agency next month. Hoyer didn't lead the Browns much of anywhere the past two seasons, but represents a younger option with potentially more upside. Beyond that, it's the usual suspects: Mark Sanchez, Jake Locker, Matt Moore, and other available free agents. There are also dominoes that could fall during the draft this April that could lead to Nick Foles being available on the trade market. It's slim pickings, and the Bills aren't going to find a quality starter at quarterback before next offseason, at the earliest.
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