The Facts: The Browns have released McCown, the team announced. McCown, 37, intends to continue playing, NFL Network's Mike Garafolo reported, per a source informed of the move.

Diehards Line: The release brings a close to an unmemorable two seasons in Cleveland for both McCown, who was signed as part of former GM Ray Farmer's spending spree of 2015. After being cut by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Browns owner Jimmy Haslam, former head coach Mike Pettine and former quarterbacks coach John DeFilippo teamed up to lure McCown to Cleveland as a reliably average solution to the quarterback position while the uncertainty of Johnny Manziel festered in rehab and Brian Hoyer was packing his bags to leave for good. The results were two predictably forgettable seasons under center, a two-year campaign that began with McCown sacrificing his body in a vain attempt to score in Week 1 against the Jets and ended with McCown on the bench, watching Robert Griffin III play out the season. Relatively speaking, McCown wasn't that bad. He completed 276 of 457 passes for 3,209 yards and an 18-10 touchdown-to-interception ratio. But his play falls in line with the collective performance of the team, which was reflected in their win-loss record.