"If the Browns had their sights set on Southern Cal quarterback Matt Barkley in the 2012 draft, they'll have to make other plans.

Barkley announced his decision Thursday to stay with the Trojans for his senior season, which resulted in a collective sigh for a lot of NFL teams drafting high.

The Browns haven't made a commitment to quarterback Colt McCoy beyond this season, in large part because they wanted to explore the top three marquee quarterbacks that could've possibly been available to them: Stanford's Andrew Luck, Barkley and Heisman Trophy winner Robert Griffin III of Baylor.

With the 1-13 Colts expected to draft Luck if they finish with the league's worst record, that leaves several teams vying for the services of Griffin. At 4-10, the Browns are tied with the Jaguars and Buccaneers for the third-worst record in the league.

The Rams and Vikings have the second-worst mark at 2-12. Some NFL experts had Griffin ranked between Luck and Barkley. Now, if the Browns decide they want him, they might have to trade up to try to get him.

Of course, it's still early to determine what the Browns might do, but they've made it clear they'll evaluate McCoy at the end of the season -- and his season could already be over because of the concussion.

At least one player knows how firsthand just how good Griffin is, his former Baylor teammate and Browns rookie defensive tackle, Phil Taylor.

"Robert is a great quarterback," Taylor said. "Even in the losses, he's thrown for over 300 or 400 yards. I was there for him for three years before this year. He's a good kid. He's very smart, and he's great on and off the field." "