As far as recruitment and pull goes, the Cleveland Browns are lacking this offseason.
The face of their franchise, Myles Garrett, wants off of the team. They have no quarterback. And, they've suffered some pretty bad grades from their own players as it pertains to their facilities and treatment of players' families, two pretty major areas of player satisfaction to be failing in.
So, it's hard to imagine that they'll be able to compete with a lot of other teams seeking out the same quarterbacks they are on the free agent or trade market. But, Cleveland's in a tough spot in terms of being able to even land a quarterback through any means other than a veteran minimum and through the draft.
Still, they might try for a few. And one of those options, Matthew Stafford, seems to already be getting wooed by the Las Vegas Raiders' minority owner. Something that typically would be a nothing burger is suddenly a huge deal, as that owner is Tom Brady.
Brady already reportedly meddling in Browns' offseason quarterback search
According to a recent report from FOX Sports' NFL analyst Jordan Schultz, Brady and Stafford met in Montana recently as a part of a recruitment effort on Brady's part to land Stafford in Las Vegas. The team is undergoing a bit of a cultural overhaul with the recent hiring of head coach Pete Carroll, so it would make sense that Brady would be trying to keep the trend going by landing a hard-nosed veteran like Stafford.
The report was pretty quickly rebutted by NFL Networks' NFL insider Ian Rapoport, though, who said it happened to be a coincidence that the two ran into each other in Montana while on separate skiing trips. Sure!
Read more: NFL analyst issues warning to Browns about potential Matthew Stafford trade
Regardless, it's becoming obvious that Cleveland's going to be a step below other teams' recruitment abilities this offseason, and this is just one example. When you can toss the literal greatest quarterback of all time in front of the quarterback you'd like to potentially trade for and pay this offseason, you're likely to have a major leg up on the competition.
Stafford is just one quarterback on the market that Cleveland may be showing interest in trading for, though. Kirk Cousins is another signal caller that has a previous connection to head coach Kevin Stefanski who could pan out as a trade option for the Browns, but similarly to Stafford, his price tag might be too much for Cleveland to take on.
If the Browns aren't totally sold on either Shedeur Sanders or Cam Ward in this year's draft, they might need to make a move soon - it seems like Brady's ready to flex his recruiting muscles, and that's not something another quarterback needy team like the Browns can compete with as their one star is seeking off the team.