The Browns’ busy day isn’t showing any signs of slowing down. After pulling off a deal for Dolphins wide receiver Jarvis Landry, the team has now struck another blockbuster deal by acquiring Bills quarterback Tyrod Taylor for a third-round draft pick (No. 65), ESPN’s Adam Schefter tweets. 
With the move, the Browns locked in their veteran quarterback for the 2018 season while maintaining all their first- and second-round selections and without spending big money on a veteran like Case Keenum or A.J. McCarron. The Bills now are in the market for a quarterback and could potentially package the third-round pick it just picked up in an effort to move up to grab one of the top signal-callers in the upcoming draft.
In his third season as the starter in Buffalo, Taylor continued to limit turnovers while being able to make plays down the field and with his legs. He threw for 14 touchdowns with only four interceptions and added 427 yards and four touchdowns on the ground. In Cleveland, Taylor will be outfitted with his most impressive receiver corps in his stint as a starter with Landry, Josh Gordon and Corey Coleman out wide.
The acquisition of Taylor presumably gives the Browns a stopgap under center, allowing the team to use one its first-round picks (No. 1 and 4) to tab a quarterback in the upcoming draft. Taylor is signed through the 2018 season at a cap number of $18 MM — $10 MM of which is guaranteed.
The move of Taylor away from Buffalo shouldn’t come as a shock. The team had refused to commit to the Virginia Tech product and it was reported in February the quarterback refused to take a pay cut after taking one the year before. Due a $6 MM roster bonus at the beginning of the new league year, it only made sense for the Bills to move on.
If the Bills do not attempt to package picks to move up in the draft, the team will enter the 2018 campaign with Nathan Peterman as its starter, barring any m0ves in free agency.
[RELATED: Browns Depth Chart]
WTF! BROWNS BREAKING THE INTERNET TODAY
Decent trade. Sort of unproven. Would have loved to see them sign sam
Bradford. Still do think they will draft a qb
Sign Sam Bradford? Watch him play 5 games if you’re lucky, then spend the rest of the season on IR. Taylor is a good move for CLE.
Agreed. Taylor is the safer option since both are pretty equal. Bradford is probably the better passer but is extremely injury prone while Taylor has the ability to move out of the pocket and scramble, which really opens up the playbook.
Have to give it to the Browns. They’re trying. Not sure if it will work, but at least they’re trying.
Great move!! Now draft Barkley 1 and a other qb either at 4 or in the 2nd round. With Gordon and Landry, Taylor should do well
A 3rd for a guy they might have cut? Great trade Bills. Browns are dealing big time today
Agreed, a 3rd is high
Especially a Cleveland Brown 3rd. That’s as good as a Patriot 2nd lol
People talk mad crap about the Browns and their inability to trade for proven guys they grab a guy who’s a pretty decent option and the best they’ve had in 5-10 years.
Browns fleeced again
I would say get a life, but somehow I think you’d have difficulty achieving that.
Holy hell Browns are trying to win actually. This is pretty good. Browns are making the headlines for GOOD news for once.
Really thought they were going to go after McCarron. No 0-16 or 1-15 season next year.
Browns doing the right things and are not guna throw a rookie QB straight into starting position. This way Tyrod will play first year and they’ll develop their future qb
I’m a pats fan for life but man it seems like every offseason I say I’m gonna jump on the bandwagon and make the Browns my second team but then they just end up disappointing. If they draft Barkley an offense with Taylor, Barkley, Landry, Gordon, Njoku, and Coleman is gonna cause a lot of drama in the AFC North.
Maybe it’s just me but I don’t think you can justify taking a QB in the top 5 let alone first overall and have him sit a year or two. I just feel like if he’s your guy the guy, you have him start day one
That might make sense for any other organization besides the Browns. Having a rookie QB be thrown into the fire in that environment, with that team’s history, and with every ounce of hope and expectations placed on that guy, would be a horrible move. The first time he loses a game he’ll get ripped for being another Browns’ failure.
Cleveland should draft Barkley first (they won’t get him at four) and then draft whichever QB they value the highest (or lowest, depending on your thinking).
Normally I would agree, but the Browns’ history suggests otherwise. Plus, none of the top QB prospects really seem NFL-ready yet, they all seem like they could use a season or two to work on their mechanics and other issues. If the Browns are not in the playoff hunt near the end of the season, they can still throw in their rookie QB then. @Tom is right with all the pressure that would be thrown onto the rookie QB and the criticism that would be directed his way when he loses games.
It makes too much sense to take RB from pstate first that’s why they won’t do it. He won’t be there at 4 unless they traded that for Landry:)
I definitely still think the Browns need to draft a QB at 1 or 4; Taylor is 28, and this is a team that needs a long-term solution under center.
That said, Taylor is a really good option to have in the meantime. Now they don’t have to throw a rookie QB out into the fire.
Personally I really don’t think they do especially after this move I say take the top 2 skill position players and move up late in the first and grab Lamar Jackson whom I believe will end up being the second best QB in this class. The only situation I would take a QB at 4 is if I feel 100% Jets or Broncos take Mayfield whom I believe will be the best in the class
Why does it matter if the Jets or Broncos take Mayfield? If they’re trading up for Lamar Jackson in the late first round, Mayfield will likely be gone anyway. If Mayfield turns out to be a stud (and the Browns don’t draft a good QB) they’ll still get backlash for passing on him.
But they drafted savior qbs last 2 or 3 years and how’d that work?
Neither of Kizer or Kessler were savior QBs. Their draft positions alone (second and third round respectively) mean they were viewed as projects at best. Both were also questionable picks at the time, made by a front office that had no idea what they were doing…evident by the fact that they took QBs in back-to-back drafts with a decent pick.
If you think either Kizer or Kessler were savior quarterbacks you have no idea what you’re talking about hahahaha
Why would Brownies give up 1st pick of 3rd round for a guy Buffalo was going to cut AND pay his 6mm bonus…CRAZY!!!
maybe so Taylor didn’t get the chance to pick which team to go to as a free agent, this way they assured themselves of getting him
This isn’t a “blockbuster.”
Yeah it is
Like this move for the Browns. Gives them more flexibility to not take a QB at #1. Taylor is solid, if unspectacular, and should be a good bridge QB for whatever rookie QB the Browns draft. He won’t put them on his back and make them a bonafide playoff contender, but he takes care of the ball well enough and makes enough smart reads that the Browns should be competitive. They avoid having to spend big on a free agent QB and if Taylor looks good in Cleveland, maybe they can flip him to another QB-needy team if they feel their rookie is ready to take over. The third rounder feels like its a bit too much, but it will all be worth it if Taylor can help them win a few games and they are able to allow the rookie QB time to develop instead of throwing him into the fire with the weight of Cleveland on his shoulders.
And unless the Cleveland front office is absolutely in love with one of the four QB prospects, I think they’re better off taking a QB at #4. While I think the Giants should and will take a QB at #2, it wouldn’t surprise me if they took Barkley; and the Colts should pass on the QBs if they don’t trade down first.
I like the move. For all of his warts, he led the Bills to their first playoff appearance in nearly 2 decades. He’s not super flashy but he’s a turnover-averse scrambling qb. A black Alex smith
Wouldn’t be surprised to see Dorsey go out and spend heavily on some top FA’s on defense. As a Steelers fan, I can see the Browns making some noise.
If he spends smartly (frontload the deals so if they need to get out of them it’ll only take a year or two instead of having a bad cap hit for the finals couple of years) Dorsey should. Obviously he would need to not completely drop the ball on these deals, but just getting a winning team on the field would probably go a long way to changing the public image of the Browns.
Overpay for journeyman QB. Dorsey burning picks just to make splash. Beware the dream team.
Journeyman? He was the backup on a super bowl winner and then the starter on a playoff team.
Journeyman? What other teams has he played for?
Better choice than McCarron. Hue must be heartbroken.
Probably the safest move since it provides certainty. They can draft a QB with one of their first round picks, start Taylor for a year, and then let him walk.
But I might’ve waited to see if I could convince Cousins to sign. I know the Browns have sucked for a long time, and that they’ve won a single game in two years, but players don’t sign with a team because of their past. They sign with them because of their future. How would this future sound:
QB- Cousins
RB- Barkley
WR 1- Gordon
Wr 2- Landry
Wr3- Coleman
TE- Njoku
… with enough draft picks and cap space to build an offensive line and defense over night.
As much as I’d love Cousins, that was never happening even if they hadn’t made this move.
Plus the offensive line is actually looking good (especially if Thomas returns), and the front seven of the defense is really talented. With some additions to the secondary (Randall is a good start and I want them to pick Fitzpatrick too), the defense will be really good.
dont get this trade.just go get aj mccarron for no draft pick ya got plenty of money.
I was think Foles was going to get dealt to Cleveland, but this deal cost less. I’d expect him to go to Arizona now. Smart move by the Brownies 2.0 to get a veteran to hold it down and let the rookie they draft sit and learn.
Kinda dumb
Taylor isn’t a long term QB, so why would they give up a third for him
And plus, they will probably draft a QB anyway
A third is nothing for a stopgap QB. The rookie QB they should draft will have the weight of Cleveland on his shoulders if he was drafted with the intention of making him the starter right away…the second he loses a game the media will be all over him as another bust. There is absolutely nothing wrong with acquiring a stopgap QB. A third round pick is barely a loss considering they have 5 other picks in the first two rounds (including the second round pick directly before the one this pick they traded).
Agreed. Why trade picks for a stopgap? Someone who is likely to start the first few games and then hand it off to a newly drafted QB.
why pay a quarterback 45 million then trade up to the number 2 pick from 3 to draft a qb?
Well Roll if you are referring to Glennon he is not getting the $45 milllion
Do you think the Browns go with barkley at number one and maybe trade back the 4th pick for the bills 2 round 1 picks with one of those being a qb and maybe another db?
I don’t know what Tyron Taylor is going to do for the Browns! They would have been better off with AJ McCarron! I think they have a plan to draft a qb with the first pick
Browns Fans: Keep Him. Loved him in college, never transitioned to the NFL at high caliber. Pairing his inability to connect with his receivers, his constant check downs, his singling in on one WR only and his comments that he plays for himself and could care less about the fans: Go ahead keep him. Bills have the only advantage out of this deal. Same Browns!