It’s been six whole days since the latest report tying Jimmy Garoppolo to the Cleveland Browns, which might be a new record long for this offseason.
The Browns could soon take one last shot at acquiring the quarterback from the New England Patriots, ESPN Cleveland’s Tony Grossi reported Tuesday. “An NFL source familiar with all the principals involved speculated the Browns ‘would make another run’ at Garoppolo at the league meetings,” Grossi wrote. The NFL annual spring meeting will take place in Arizona early next week, when Patriots head coach Bill Belichick could meet with Browns brass in person.
ESPN’s Adam Schefter has remained adamant the Patriots won’t trade Garoppolo. Other reports indicate the Patriots would consider a trade if the Browns threw in the first overall pick, which seems unlikely.
The Browns picked up an additional 2018 second-round pick from the Houston Texans when they were willing to take on the salary of quarterback Brock Osweiler. The Browns have Osweiler, Kevin Hogan and Cody Kessler at quarterback on their roster. Kessler and Hogan were selected in the 2016 NFL Draft but didn’t originally project as starting quarterbacks. Kessler was fine as a rookie, completing 65.6 percent of his passes for 1,380 yards with six touchdowns and two interceptions in nine games and eight starts.
The Patriots currently don’t have any first- or second-round picks in the 2017 NFL Draft, and trading Garoppolo would be an easy way to recoup some of those selections. It’s probably not worth trading the backup QB if the Patriots truly believe he can be a franchise signal-caller, and if they think Tom Brady, 39, won’t be effective into his mid-40s, as he believes.
The 2017 NFL Draft begins April 27, so there is a deadline for a trade to be completed. The Browns could go into next season with Kessler, Osweiler, Hogan and a rookie completing for the starting role, but it’s not ideal. QBs Colin Kaepernick and Jay Cutler still are available as free agents.
Thumbnail photo via Mark J. Rebilas/USA TODAY Sports Images
