CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The Browns have likely said farewell to hometown favorite Brian Hoyer with the signing of veteran quarterback Josh McCown.

The Browns agreed to terms with McCown, 35, on a three-year deal Friday after he the Bills, Bears and Jets all made offers. Of the three other teams, the Bills were the most serious about signing him.

The ballpark average for McCown's contract is about $5 million a year, which means the Browns could be counting on him to start if Johnny Manziel or another young quarterback isn't ready.

McCown's signing makes it highly unlikely the Browns will re-sign Hoyer, who's gone 10-6 for them over the past two years, including 7-6 this season.

Hoyer is set to become a free agent on March 10, and never had the face-to-face meeting he expected to have with general manager Ray Farmer. His agent, Joe Linta, also didn't meet with the Browns at the NFL combine. However, Pettine and Farmer both called Hoyer on Friday to inform him of the move.

The difference between McCown and Hoyer is Hoyer has made it clear he wants to start, and that he's established himself as a winning quarterback over the past two seasons. McCown, on the other hand, is more than willing to serve as a mentor to young quarterbacks such as Johnny Manziel and Connor Shaw.

When Manziel gets out of rehab, he'll need all the help and support he can get, and McCown will excel in that role, a source told the Northeast Ohio Media Group.

"I just want to serve our team and help everybody in that locker room, do my best to help everybody in the locker room be better at their job and they're going to help me, too. It's a two-way street," McCown said in a news release. "I'm just excited about coming in and being a part of a team.

"Year 1 was a solid first year for coach Pettine, and to see the vision with what he's got going on is exciting to me. In my room, I want to be able to help those young guys and pass along my knowledge and experiences I've had and help them grow. (I'm) going to compete at the best level I can to help our team get better."

McCown, who plans to compete for the starting job as well as mentor the young QBs, said the Browns' offensive line, which features eight-time Pro Bowler Joe Thomas, two-time Pro Bowler Alex Mack and rising star Joel Bitonio, was a determining factor.

"As a quarterback, it starts off with the offensive line,'' he said. "You look at the guys they have there, namely, Joe Thomas and Alex Mack, it's a rare opportunity. Between meeting with the coaches and having a good connection with Coach Pettine and the offensive coaches, and those pieces on offense, that's kind of what drove the ship for me."

McCown noted the Browns have the components all quarterbacks love.

"We're going to be good at running the football and playing defense and being smart with the football at quarterback," McCown said. "Those are the things I know are going to be stressed. Those are the things I'm going to be focused on as we compete.''

McCown has close ties to new offensive coordinator John DeFilippo, who coached him in 2007 in Oakland when he was quarterbacks coach. McCown went 2-7 as a starter that year, with nine touchdowns and 10 interceptions. But the two hit it off and look forward to working together again.

"Josh is a high-character, savvy, veteran quarterback that has a lot to offer to our team," Pettine said in the release. "When you hear from people that have been around Josh, they speak of the leadership qualities and the positive impact he has on a locker room. I really enjoyed spending time with him during his visit. He has great passion for playing the quarterback position and wants to show that he can still be successful in this league.

"Obviously, he is a quarterback that has been in a number of systems and he has worked with (DeFilippo) so there is some good familiarity between the two. We are excited to have him become part of our team and we look forward to him playing an important role in our offense."

McCown's signing won't prevent the Browns from landing another potential starting quarterback in free agency or drafting one of the top-rated rookies such as Jameis Winston or Marcus Mariota. They have the No. 12 and No. 19 picks overall and have said everything is on the table, including trying to trade up to land one of the top prospects.

Pettine has also made it clear they're heading into free agency and the draft looking for a starter and not counting on Manziel, who's currently in rehab.

Now, they have a quarterback with starting experience on the roster in the event Manziel can't cut it or they don't land a top rookie.

"Josh is your consummate professional," Farmer said in a release. "He's known to be a great guy in the locker room and will be great for the quarterback room. He knows how to get an entire offense on the same page and get a team to rally behind him. He has been exposed to a lot of different types of offenses and we think still has the drive and skill set to be a successful quarterback in this league.

"We are excited to get him and believe he will help continue to move us in the right direction and help us build the type of team that will bring winning football to Cleveland."

In addition to serving the mentor role, McCown will be able to help DeFilippo implement the new offense and serve almost as another coach on the field and in the classroom. McCown is five years older and has started 49 more NFL games than new quarterbacks coach Kevin O'Connell, a former third-round pick of the Patriots who never started a game.

McCown, who will be 36 in July, is the older brother of quarterback Luke McCown, the fourth-round pick of the Browns out of Louisiana Tech in 2004 who went 0-4 here as a rookie.

McCown, who spent Tuesday and Wednesday visiting the Browns in Cleveland, also talked to the Bears and Jets after getting released by the Bucs Feb. 11 with a year remaining on his two-year, $10 million deal.

He went 1-10 in Tampa Bay last season, throwing 11 touchdowns and 14 interceptions. McCown, who was replaced during the season by Mike Glennon but then reclaimed the starting job, earned a 70.5 rating, second-worst in the NFL to Jacksonville rookie Blake Bortles.

But he showed he had plenty left in the tank in 2013, when he threw 13 touchdowns and only one interception en route to a 3-2 mark for the Bears. During a three-game stretch late in the season, he threw for at least 348 yards a game and eight touchdowns overall. He finished with a 109.0 rating that season to earn the lucrative deal from the Bucs.

A third-round pick of the Cardinals out of Sam Houston State in 2002, McCown spent four seasons in Arizona and then bounced around to Detroit, Oakland, Carolina, Chicago and Tampa Bay. Overall, he's gone 17-32 with 61 touchdowns and 59 interceptions with a 76.1 career rating. He's started 10 games or more in only two of his 12 seasons, going 6-7 in Arizona in 2004 and 1-10 with the Bucs last year.