I'm very happy to announce that I've recently become the charter member of the Brandon Weeden fan club.

Somebody had to because that kind of support for the second-year quarterback sure as heck isn't going to come from his employer, the Cleveland Browns, and I think that stinks to high heavens. It's sad, really.

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In case this is news, let me peel back the curtain. The Browns have publicly supported Weeden as you would expect. He is, after all, the team's presumptive starter at the most important position in all of team sports.

For the vast majority of franchises in the NFL, that player would also have the private support of the front office and coaching staff.

That doesnâ€™t include the Browns, evidently.

Any other organization would realize how fortunate it would be if Weeden blossomed under new head coach Rob Chudzinski and offensive coordinator Norv Turner and became a top 20 quarterback.

Instead of holding out hope that Weeden could be the guy, it appears someone within the organization has been letting multiple NFL insiders and reporters know that they've already decided he's not. I don't know that to be the case for sure, but my instincts lead me to strongly suspect that is what is going on here.

One national reporter wrote a column about the Browns quarterback of the future likely being in the 2014 draft. Another tweeted after attending Browns camp that he doesn't believe Weeden is the guy for this franchise. These are the type of insiders who offer opinions based more on what they hear than what they see. Fact is, they are great reporters who are just doing their job and I don't fault them at all.

My issue is with the person feeding them this information. It could be owner Jimmy Haslam or team president Joe Banner or general manager Mike Lombardi or even Chudzinski. That part of it is immaterial to me. What matters is that someone of authorityâ€”because respected national writers wouldn't write such things unless they knew it to be trueâ€”has been putting the word out that Weeden wasn't the answer before the guy even took a single snap in a preseason game. To me, that is total garbage.

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Maybe I'm being too sensitive as a former player. Perhaps the Browns source is just being honest and telling it like it is. Weeden had an average rookie season in 2012, especially compared to classmates like Andrew Luck, Robert Griffin III and Russell Wilson. Plus, he's already 30 years old and as such may not be the type of guy that a new regime wants to build around. I recognize all of that and in fact could even be on board with that logic, but do you have to tell members of the media that?

What on earth can possibly be gained? Even if all of that is true, wouldn't it be better to keep that to yourself and throw all of your support, both publicly AND privately, behind the guy? That would give Weeden the best chance to succeed and if he does succeed, this franchise is in business and everyone's job security would be enhanced significantly.

If I can deduce that this is happening, I'm quite sure players in the locker room can as well. Fans, who are much smarter than front office executives give them credit for, see it too. Heck, Weeden's an intelligent guy. He's probably figured it out. Talk about cutting off a guy's legs and not even giving him a shot.

I've seen this dynamic happen too many times during my time in the NFL, which is why I laugh at the notion of football being the "ultimate team sport.â€ That's true in high school and maybe in college, but the NFL is a complicated maze of personal agendas.

My roommate back in 2002 was a fellow offensive lineman. He told me that one of the pro scouts said, "You can beat out Tucker; he sucks," because it would have made the scout look better if the guy he scooped off another team's practice squad (my roommate) beat out the undrafted free agent out of Princeton whom he had nothing to do with acquiring. Assistant coaches I was particularly close to on teams I played for told me directly that college scouts would badmouth me behind closed doors for the same reason.

It's really kind of pathetic, isn't it? Don't we all have the same employer? Aren't we all supposed to have the same goals? Evidently not and this Weeden story is just the latest example.

That's why I was so pleased that Weeden played so well in the first preseason game this past weekend. He went 10-13 for 112 yards and a touchdown. Good for him. I hope he does that 19 more times. Maybe more if he can get the moribund franchise into the playoffs for the first time since 2002.

If the organization won't support him properly, then I will. I'm now fully on board with Team Weeden and want him to have success this season in the worst way.

For him, not the Cleveland Browns.

Ross Tucker is a 2001 Princeton graduate who played seven years in the NFL for five different teams before retiring in 2008. He is currently the host of "The Opening Drive" weekdays from 8-11 a.m. ET on SiriusXM NFL Radio.

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