If the Cleveland Browns were to undergo offseason activities this week, Josh McCown and Connor Shaw would be the only two quarterbacks on the field.
While that will change when the team’s OTA’s start next month and Johnny Manziel presumably returns from rehab, it’s still a scary proposition for the team.
Understanding full well that their quarterback situation isn’t the best in the league, the Browns are apparently in the market for another signal caller.
I think they’ll try to trade up to draft Marcus Mariota, and I also think they could make another run at Sam Bradford on draft day.” The Cleveland Plain Dealer’s Mary Kay Cabot indicated in a Q&A with fans on Sunday. “If they don’t land one of those two, I do think McCown will be their man in 2015.”
Cleveland boasts the 12th and 19th picks in the upcoming NFL draft. Barring a dramatic slide down the draft board, Marcus Mariota will not be available with that 12th pick. In fact, there stands a strong chance that he goes second overall to the Tennessee Titans or another team trading up to that slot. If not, there’s no realistic reason to believe he’ll last beyond the New York Jets with the sixth pick.
This all seems to indicate Cleveland would have to send both first-round picks in order to move up for Mariota. It remains to be seen if that’s a price general manager Ray Farmer and company would pay.
Sam Bradford may be a likelier scenario. We already know the Browns attempted to acquire him from either the St. Louis Rams or Philadelphia Eagles earlier this offseason. They reportedly offered the 19th pick to one of those two teams.
If Chip Kelly and the Eagles believe they have a realistic shot of landing Mariota, they could easily engage Cleveland in a potential trade. This would then leave the Browns with a first-round pick and still give them a starter-caliber quarterback.
At the very least, Cleveland is being proactive here. After all, the idea of heading into next season with McCown and a question mark in Manziel as the team’s top two options can’t be too appealing.
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