It’s officially crazy season, and this might be as crazy as it gets: The defending Super Bowl champions are hoping to end up with the top pick in the NFL Draft.
According to Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com, it seems that the only way the Patriots will think about trading Jimmy Garoppolo is if the Browns are willing to give up the No. 1 pick in the 2017 NFL Draft. Cabot also added that the top pick might not even be enough, and that the Patriots might also ask for Cleveland’s 2018 first-round pick.
That’s two first-round picks for a backup quarterback who has only started two games. Basically, if the Browns want Garoppolo, it appears they’re going to have to pay dearly to get him.
Although most teams would probably laugh at that offer if the Patriots made it, this is the Browns we’re talking about, a team where crazy seems to be the name of the game.
For instance, the Browns pulled off the most shocking move of the day Thursday when they traded for Brock Osweiler, even though multiple reports suggested that they didn’t even really want Brock Osweiler.
In a statement after the trade, Browns executive vice president of football operations Sashi Brown made sure to emphasize that he was excited about the second-round pick the Browns received in the trade. He then mentioned Osweiler in passing.
“We’re really excited to acquire a second-round draft choice in this trade,” Brown said. “Draft picks are extremely important to our approach in building a championship caliber football team. We are intent on adding competition to every position on our roster and look forward to having Brock come in and compete.”
The thinking is that the Browns are stocking draft picks so that they can pry Garoppolo away from the Patriots without giving up two first-rounders. The Browns hold two second-round picks in 2017 and three second-round picks in 2018, and if they offer some or all of those up -- along with the 12th overall pick in 2017 -- they might be able to convince the Patriots to make a deal.
On the other hand, the Browns might not be able to convince the Patriots to accept any deal, and then they might just end up agreeing to whatever the Patriots want because Cleveland is desperate for a quarterback.
According to NFL.com, the Browns are planning to release Robert Griffin III, and they have no plans to keep Osweiler, which makes it feel like they’re putting all their eggs in the Garoppolo basket. Several reports have made it clear that the Browns want Garoppolo, so it seems that it’s just going to be a matter of the Patriots’ asking price.
If they don’t land Garoppolo, the Browns could also just draft a quarterback this year, but starting a rookie in 2017 seems like a horrible idea for a team that has an ugly history of starting rookie quarterbacks.
For the rest of the teams in the NFL, the thought of the Browns handing over the the No. 1 overall pick to the defending Super Bowl champion is what nightmares are made of. It would be a crazy move, and there’s a slim chance the Browns would actually do it. However, as Cabot notes, the Browns do seem very open to trading the 12th pick, so if the Patriots are willing to lower their asking price, we could see a blockbuster trade between the two teams go down before the draft kicks off on April 27.
