Cleveland Browns: 3 myths surrounding a Jimmy Garoppolo trade
By Thomas Moore
The Cleveland Browns have long been rumored to be ready to deal for Jimmy Garoppolo. But all those trade scenarios are based on three easily refuted myths.
Stop us if you’ve heard this one before, but the Cleveland Browns are in need of a quarterback.
It has been an ongoing situation for the franchise ever since that November day in 1993 when Bernie Kosar was released.
Since then, the Browns have tried numerous strategies to fix the problem.
They’ve gone the route of drafting a quarterback in the first round, four times since 1999 alone, each time with increasingly disappointing results.
The Browns have also tried the veteran bridge quarterback, turning to the likes of Jeff Garcia, Trent Dilfer, Jake Delhomme and Robert Griffin III. Again, the results were more than predictable.
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Then there has been the developmental route, where the Browns have selected quarterbacks like Charlie Frye, Colt McCoy and Luke McCown, hoping to luck into someone who can actually play the position at a high level.
The one area that the Browns have avoided is the fools gold of spending capital – either in draft picks or salary cap – on the annual “hot quarterback” from another team. Plenty of other teams have done it over the years, and each one has ended up with buyer’s remorse.
Look no further than current Browns quarterback Brock Osweiler, who a year ago had both the Denver Broncos and Houston Texans vying to hand out big money to him in free agency.
The fact that Osweiler is now in Cleveland, just a year after the Texans handed him $37 million in guaranteed money, tells you how well that all worked out.
That could change in the coming weeks for the Browns, however, as there have been repeated reports that Cleveland can’t wait to hand over anything that the New England Patriots want to acquire backup quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo.
That’s actually a bit inaccurate, when you come to think of it. The Browns have never expressed an interest in trading for Garoppolo and the Patriots have repeatedly said they have no interest in trading him. (Apparently, absent a signed affidavit from everyone remotely involved in this, people will still dispute the facts.)
It would be more accurate to say that the national PR machine has been working overtime to say that the Browns should trade for Garoppolo – even if it means they have to surrender the No. 1 overall pick.
Everything about the idea of the Browns trading for Garoppolo has felt off from the start, primarily because the trade is built on three fallacies, ones that are easy enough refute if you take a few minutes.
What’s that? You have a few minutes? Well, let’s get rolling then.