Rumor: Browns looking to trade Brock Osweiler
By Thomas Moore
The Cleveland Browns are reportedly looking to trade Brock Osweiler for a draft pick. Hopefully they are learning the folly of free agent quarterbacks.
If you were planning on repurposing your old Brian Sipe jersey into one for quarterback Brock Osweiler, you may want to hold off just a bit, Browns fans.
That is because, as expected, the Browns are planning to move on from Osweiler as soon as possible. (So don’t be fooled if someone tells you they saw Osweiler house shopping in Strongsville.)
According to Mary Kay Cabot at cleveland.com, the Browns are hoping to trade Osweiler for a draft pick and are willing to even pay at least half of his $16 million salary to make a deal happen:
"The Browns have been shopping Osweiler since almost the minute they acquired him Thursday in a trade with the Texans, along with a 2018 second-round pick and a 2017 sixth-rounder (188). The Browns have been offering Osweiler to teams for about a third-round pick, and are willing to give back a fifth-rounder, multiple league sources tell cleveland.com. The Browns would also eat a portion of Osweiler’s $16 million contract, as much as half, sources say."
It will be a bit impressive if executive vice president of football operations Sashi Brown can convince another team to give the Browns a draft pick for Osweiler, who became the latest backup quarterback to hit free agency and flame out once he had to play full time.
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The one thing the Browns have going for them in any potential deal is the ability to pay a portion of Osweiler’s contract, a luxury that the Texans did not have.
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For his part, Osweiler has no updates on his future, according to NFL.com’s Steve Wyche, who caught up with Osweiler at a charity flag football tournament in Arizona.
Osweiler should be a cautionary tale for the Browns and those fans who still believe the team should “do anything it takes” to acquire current New England Patriots quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo.
Osweiler spent four years with the Denver Broncos, “learning” from quarterback Payton Manning. He made seven starts in 2015, throwing for 1,967 yards and 10 touchdowns, while completing almost 62 percent of his passes, but was benched as the Broncos made a run to the Super Bowl.
He hit it big in free agency with the Texans, but only lasted one year in Houston, although he did help the Texas reach the playoffs.
Like Garoppolo, Osweiler was a second-round pick and spent several years in the same quarterback room with a future Hall of Fame quarterback. He proved how little value there is that setting, however, during his one season in Houston as the Texans could not wait to get rid of him.
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The Browns are currently on the right side of the Osweiler deal right now. Here’s hoping they don’t go down a similar path and are on the wrong end of a similar situation a year from now.