Browns reportedly won't pursue Colin Kaepernick, could keep RG3

Here's the bottom line: Cleveland is in desperate need of a franchise quarterback

Colin Kaepernick is opting out of his contract with the 49ers, which means he’ll be available to work for any team interested in his services. And while he no doubt should be able to find work as a backup, in a passing league woefully short on quarterbacks, Kaepernick will likely get long looks for several starting jobs, too.

The Browns, an outfit that won just once last season, would presumably have interest. Partly because they desperately need a quarterback, but also because coach Hue Jackson wanted to draft Kaepernick back in 2011 when Jackson was with the Raiders. It didn’t happen then, and it doesn’t appear as if it will happen now.

A league source tells Cleveland.com’s Mary Kay Cabot that the Browns won’t be in the Kaepernick business, though the team will be in the market for a veteran quarterback. Unfortunately, that “veteran quarterback” won’t be Jimmy Garoppolo, Tom Brady’s backup in New England who has become one of the coveted player heading into free agency.

The reason: The Patriots, according to various reports, won’t trade Garoppolo. If true, the Browns will have to turn to Plan B, which could include Tyrod Taylor, AJ McCarron or Tony Romo.

Taylor, who fell out of favor in Buffalo, now has an ally in Cleveland; the Browns hired quarterbacks coach David Lee, who worked with Taylor the last two seasons and likes the quarterback. But Taylor’s reported unwillingness to take a paycut (he signed a $90 million extension before the ‘16 season) may complicate matters for Cleveland.

There’s also the draft; the Browns have the No. 1 pick and they could take UNC quarterback Mitch Trubisky. Not surprisingly, as often happens with high-profile players expected to go early in the draft, Trubisky has both advocates and skeptics

Then there’s Robert Griffin III, who signed with the Browns a year ago, but because of injury, only started five games (the team went 1-4 in those starts). He finished with two touchdowns, three interceptions and a 59.2 completion percentage. RG3 is due a $750,000 roster bonus on March 11, but that may not be reason enough for Cleveland to dump him.

“We haven’t made a decision one way or the other whether or not he’s going to be on our roster moving forward,’’ Browns head of football operations Sashi Brown said Wednesday, via Cabot. “But he is on our roster today.’’

Brown said that he expects Griffin “will be back here come April when the guys come back,” and that the roster bonus won’t affect the team’s decision on RG3’s future.

“That’s not going to be a major decision for us one way or the other in terms of a lever for making that decision,’’ he said. “We’re going to evaluate Robert, not his contract. And we’ve had some discussions there.”