Cleveland Browns attempted to trade for Andrew Luck in 2017
By Dan Justik
Before the Cleveland Browns selected Baker Mayfield with the first overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft, they had their eyes on a veteran to become the team’s franchise quarterback.
Right around the time of last year’s trade deadline, the Cleveland Browns were looking around the NFL to find their next starting quarterback.
The quarterback the Browns were close to acquiring at the deadline was A.J. McCarron. But after an email snafu between the Browns, Bengals, and the league caused the trade not to happen.
McCarron was not the only quarterback that the Browns tried to swing a deal for, however. According to Jay Glazer of Fox Sports, the Browns called the Indianapolis Colts about a potential trade for quarterback Andrew Luck.
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At the time, Andrew Luck was dealing with a shoulder injury that held him out for the entire 2017 season. The Colts were starting Jacoby Brissett, who looked good in his one season as the Colts starting quarterback.
With Brissett playing well, other organizations saw an opportunity to potentially snag Luck, and apparently the Browns were one of those teams.
Glazer reported that the Colts shut down any pursuers of Luck, saying they were not trading him. The Browns may have been doing their due diligence trying to find a quarterback and see if there was a chance Luck was available.
Despite how talented Luck is, it would have been risky for a team to trade for Luck without knowing the seriousness of his injury.
The Browns calling about Luck could have been a last ditch effort by Sashi Brown to keep his job. With how bad the Browns were playing at the time, Brown probably knew that he was on the verge of being fired. If Brown could have acquired Luck, he may have felt that it could have saved his job.
Although the Browns were unable to even come close to acquiring Luck, the organization ended up finding their franchise quarterback in the off-season. But it is apparent the Browns were doing whatever they could do last season to find a quarterback.