Browns were prepared to give up 2nd & 3rd round picks in A.J. McCarron trade

While the San Francisco 49ers were busy acquiring Jimmy Garoppolo in a trade, the Cleveland Browns were looking for their own quarterback solution. Reports out of Cleveland and Cincinnati indicate the Browns and Bengals had a deal done involving A.J. McCarron. However, something crazy went down and the Browns did not call in the deal in time.

Adam Schefter has the less crazy version.

A Cleveland area radio host offered up a crazier story that might not be true, but would be funny as hell if it was.

There are also reports of discord between the Browns front office and coaching staff, and maybe somebody purposely did not call in the deal. I have no idea what’s really true, but the whole thing is kind of crazy.

However, even beyond just the mechanics of it is the report about the potential deal. A Bengals writer is reporting the Browns were prepared to give up a second and a third round pick for McCarron.

The Browns have three 2nd round picks and one 3rd round pick in the 2018 NFL Draft. They have room to do some maneuvering, but it’s intriguing to see the price they might have paid for a quarterback. And that is quite a price compared to Garoppolo. I suppose the fact that Garoppolo could land a huge contract in 2018, and McCarron is still under decent cost control, that could explain some of it.

At the same time, I’ve never been able to figure out why people think McCarron is worth some hubbub. That’s not to say Garoppolo will definitely work out better than him, but it’s still a little odd. And that’s not even factoring in what a disaster it seems like the Browns have between their front office and coaching staff.