The Cleveland Browns have been heavily linked to trade rumors surrounding Jimmy Garoppolo leading up to the draft. AJ McCarron has also been mentioned as a potential trade target for Cleveland, which certainly needs a quarterback.
However, comments made by general manager Sashi Brown on Wednesday pretty much squashed all that, and in the process he might have tipped his hand about the team’s draft plans. During a media question and answer session, Brown was asked if the team would potentially make a draft-day trade for a veteran quarterback.
“No,” he said, per Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com.
When asked if the team could make a move before the draft, he wasn’t quite so definitive.
“Could we in theory? Yes,” he said. “But are we planning on it or is that the plan? No.”
These comments followed others made earlier in the interview session in which Brown said the franchise is in no way divided about who to take at the top. He also made it clear the Browns aren’t really interested in trading down out of the top spot in the draft (more on that here).
Though we’re reading a bit between the lines here, Brown appears to be making it clear Cleveland is absolutely targeting a quarterback, either with the top pick or No. 12 overall. Or even potentially making a move up from No. 12 if Myles Garrett is the pick at No. 1.
No matter how you slice it, the Browns don’t sound like a team that’s interested in punting the quarterback issue into next year like the San Francisco 49ers have said they’re willing to do.
Now the big question is, will they tempt fate and hope the quarterback they love is still there after No. 1 or will they let the top player in the draft slide in order to secure their guy? Because of the way other teams, like the Buffalo Bills, have been drooling over the likes of Mitch Trubisky, we’re betting on the latter.