Bengals, Browns Discuss A.J. McCarron Trade
The Browns have discussed a trade for quarterback A.J. McCarron with the Bengals, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. However, the two sides haven’t gotten very far as Cincinnati is asking for a lot in a potential deal. 
Earlier this week, the Bengals were said to be asking for a first round pick for McCarron. With the first round in the books, it remains to be seen whether the Bengals are willing to come down from that absurd ask. No matter what, it sounds like the Bengals will hold out for an impressive offer because they value having McCarron as Andy Dalton‘s backup.
McCarron may not be worth a first round pick, but the Bengals know that he might be the only thing keeping their playoff hopes alive in the event of a Dalton injury. If the Bengals are to part with him, they’ll need both a quality haul and a good amount of confidence in one of the available Day 2 quarterbacks.
Browns Inquired On Jimmy Garoppolo During Round 1
The Browns once again asked about the availability of Patriots quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo during the draft on Thursday night, but New England rebuffed Cleveland’s advances, per Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (Twitter link).
Cleveland, of course, has been interested in acquiring Garoppolo for some time, but the Patriots aren’t inclined to give up the 25-year-old backup. Just last week, Schefter reiterated that a draft-day trade involving Garoppolo was “not happening”, indicating that New England fully intends to hang onto Garoppolo for the 2017 campaign.
At least one report last night also indicated the Browns were attempting to deal for Redskins quarterback Kirk Cousins, and Cleveland is still in the market for a signal-caller after failing to land one last night. At present, Cody Kessler is the incumbent Browns’ starter, while the club also employs Brock Osweiler and Kevin Hogan.
If the Browns do want to make a trade at some point, they’ll certainly have the assets to do so. They own seven more picks in 2017, and picked up an extra 2018 first-rounder in a trade with the Texans on Thursday.
Browns Cut TE Gary Barnidge
The Browns have released tight end Gary Barnidge, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter). It appears that he has been squeezed out by the selection of Miami’s David Njoku. Barnidge has confirmed the news via social media. 
“I want to thank the Cleveland Browns for giving me my opportunity and looking forward to seeing the change. Time for the next step,” Barnidge said (Twitter link).
Barnidge signed a three-year, $12.3MM extension with the Browns during the 2015 season. The deal, which featured $5.73MM in guaranteed money, had two years still to go. This year, Barnidge was set to carry a $3.812MM cap number. Instead, the Browns will carry $1.625MM in dead money and save $2.2MM against the cap.
Barnidge has appeared in 61 of 64 possible games for the Browns over the last four seasons. In 2016, he caught 55 passes for 612 yards and two touchdowns. His best season came in 2015, his lone Pro Bowl season, when he had 79 receptions and 1,043 yards and nine touchdowns.
Did Bears Bid Against Themselves For Trubisky?
The Bears gave up a fortune to move up one spot and select Mitch Trubisky. It’s not immediately clear whether that was necessary, however. 
The Browns, Chiefs, Texans, and Cardinals all had interest in moving up and the Browns and Chiefs in particular coveted Mitch Trubisky, Adam Jahns of the Chicago Tribune hears (Twitter link). Meanwhile, Charles Robinson of Yahoo Sports (Twitter links) hears the Niners shopped the pick hard for a week and found no takers. While some teams, like the Bills, had legitimate interest in Trubisky, none were interested in paying the steep price to move all the way to the second pick.
Could the Bears have stayed at No. 3 and selected Trubisky? We may never know for sure, but it sounds like there could be truth in both reports from Jahns and Robinson. The Browns, Chiefs, and other teams may have been after Trubisky, but they were probably unwilling to leapfrog the Bears to get a deal done. 49ers GM John Lynch says that Solomon Thomas and Reuben Foster were two of the top three players on his board and it’s safe to assume that Myles Garrett was the third musketeer, not Trubisky.
The Bears, it seems, got pump faked into paying a king’s ransom when they could have stood pat and gotten their man. At the same time, if Trubisky turns out to be a star who greatly outperforms Thomas, Marshon Lattimore, and other top talents linked to Chicago, none of this will really matter.
Photo courtesy of Pro Football Rumors on Instagram.
Browns Eyeing QB Joshua Dobbs?
- Browns head coach Hue Jackson said the team will get a first round quarterback “when it’s time for us to get one,” (Twitter link via Nate Ulrich of the Akron Beacon-Journal). Jackson noted that the team did try to land a QB in the first round, but it didn’t materialize. Many believe that the Browns had their eye on Mitch Trubisky.
- Jackson likes Tennessee quarterback Joshua Dobbs and he’s one to watch on Day 2 for the Browns, Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com tweets.
Browns Acquire No. 29 Pick From Packers
The Browns have acquired the No. 29 pick from the Packers. The Packers will receive pick Nos. 33 and 108. With the pick, the Browns are taking tight end David Njoku. 
Tonight, the Browns dialed the Redskins to ask about Kirk Cousins and they missed multiple opportunities to take some of this year’s best signal callers. They could have used this pick to nab a quarterback like DeShone Kizer of Notre Dame, but they opted for Njoku instead.
Heading into the draft, many pegged Njoku as the second best tight end in this year’s class. It turns out that he’s the third tight end to come off of the board after O.J. Howard went to the Buccaneers and the Giants selected Evan Engram.
The No. 29 pick will be the Browns’ third first round selection of the evening. Already, they have taken Texas A&M defensive end Myles Garrett and Michigan utility man Jabrill Peppers.
Broncos Tried To Trade Up For Christian McCaffrey
The Broncos tried to make a legacy pick tonight. They explored moving up from No. 20 to land running back Christian McCaffrey, but they were ultimately unsuccessful, as Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets. The Broncos also inquired about Joe Thomas‘ availability, but they wound up staying at No. 20 and drafting Garett Bolles instead. 
Thomas was a trade candidate as the deadline last year and many believed that he would be on the block this offseason. In December, coach Hue Jackson denied that Thomas would be shopped.
“That is not happening, OK? — or I am going with him,” Jackson said. “OK? I guarantee you that. I am going with him.”
Thomas is due to make a non-guaranteed $10MM salary in both ’17 and ’18, so teams like the Broncos were not necessarily warded off by his contract. Last year, he graded out as the league’s No. 8 offensive tackle, according to Pro Football Focus. The Broncos would have loved to add him, but they could not pry him away.
Texans Acquire No. 12, Take Deshaun Watson
The Texans have acquired the No. 12 overall pick from the Browns. The Browns will receive the Texans’ No. 25 overall pick plus their 2018 first round pick. With the pick, the Texans have selected Clemson’s Deshaun Watson.
The Texans, of course, have been on the lookout for a quarterback and Watson could be the player to supplant Tom Savage as the starter in 2017. Watson has been criticized for having less accuracy than other QB prospects in this year’s class, but he has two years of solid football under his belt and he is the most athletic of the bunch.
The Browns now own both the Texans’ first and second round picks in next year’s draft. The Browns previously acquired Houston’s second round pick in the Brock Osweiler trade.
Browns Attempting To Trade For Kirk Cousins?
The Browns are trying to trade for Redskins quarterback Kirk Cousins, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter). At this time, Rapoport says the Browns aren’t particularly interested in dealing Cousins, but anything is possible.
Meanwhile, Redskins sources are telling Dianna Russini of ESPN.com (on Twitter) that Cousins will not be traded to the Browns. Also, top Cleveland exec Sashi Brown told reporters that the Browns have not called on Cousins (via Mary Kay Cabot of The Plain Dealer).
For his part, Cousins has said that he wants to remain with the Redskins.
“I want to be where I’m wanted, and that’s what I’ve said all along,” Cousins said recently. “When a team is willing to step up and commit to me fully for the long haul, then why would I want to be anywhere else? I mean, this is an incredible fan base. It’s one of the top five fan bases in the history of the NFL. It goes all the way back to the early 1930s. There’s three Super Bowl trophies, there’s multiple Hall of Famers, there’s high character players still living in the area — Darrell Green, Art Monk, guys that we can learn from. I love this organization and want to see us get back to those glory days that they had with Coach (Joe) Gibbs in the ’80s and early ’90s. And I want to add to that great history. There’s really no reason to want to look elsewhere. It’s a matter of wanting to be where you’re wanted, and I think that’s what all of us want — not just in football but in any walk of life.”
Cousins started in all of the Redskins’ games over the past two seasons and helped the team to a 17-14-1 record, including an NFC East title in 2015. Along the way, Cousins combined for over 9,000 yards, 54 touchdowns and 23 interceptions.
Browns Select Myles Garrett With No. 1 Pick
After what was reportedly ample internal debate, the Browns have officially selected Texas A&M edge rusher Myles Garrett with the No. 1 overall pick.
Garrett had been the consensus top prospect in the 2017 draft for some time, as nearly every draft board listed the Aggie pass rusher atop the list. Both of PFR’s mock drafts projected Garrett to Cleveland, as did most of the draft community, but the Browns’ need for a franchise quarterback seemingly invaded the club’s recent thinking. Cleveland’s front office was reportedly also considering North Carolina quarterback Mitch Trubisky with the first overall selection — perhaps at the behest of owner Jimmy Haslam — and may still trade up from pick No. 12 in order to secure the signal-caller.
Instead of opting for a passer, however, the Browns have selected Garrett, who’s viewed as an eminently safe pick with the upside of one of the NFL’s best defenders. Cleveland had placed an “astronomical grade” on Garrett during the 2016 collegiate football season, and was subsequently “blown away” by Garrett’s combine performance: he weighed in at 272 pounds, ran the 40-yard dash in 4.64 seconds, and posted 33 bench press reps.
Garrett boasts the measurables of a No. 1 overall pick, and his statistical production at Texas A&M was also eye-popping. In three seasons in College Station, Garrett posted 31 sacks and 47 tackles for loss (even while dealing with injuries during his final year with the Aggies). He also graded as a top-three edge defender during all three of his collegiate campaigns, according to Pro Football Focus.
The Browns can use that type of performance, as they ranked just 30th in sacks and 23rd in adjusted sack percentage in 2016. Garrett immediately becomes the best pass-rusher on the Cleveland defense, which saw rookie Emmanuel Ogbah lead the club with six sacks last season. Garrett will now line up in a Browns front seven that also includes Jamie Collins, Demario Davis, Desmond Bryant, Danny Shelton, Carl Nassib, and Ogbah.
Photo courtesy of Pro Football Rumors on Instagram.