Report: Browns have no immediate plans to cut Osweiler, could take two QBs in draft
http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/report...o-qbs-in-draft/Here’s what we know: The Browns are in desperate need of a franchise quarterback. It’s why they signed Robert Griffin III last offseason, and when that didn’t work out, it’s why they traded for Brock Osweiler earlier this week (right before they released RG3).
The Browns also got the Texans’ 2018 second-round pick as part of the deal for Osweiler and that, more than a quarterback coming off a horrible season in Houston, was apparently the impetus for the trade. In fact, there was speculation that the Browns might immediately cut Osweiler. But according to Cleveland.com’s Terry Pluto, the Browns never had any plans to dump Osweiler shortly after acquiring him, and more than that, the team preferred Osweiler to Griffin, partly because Griffin struggled to stay healthy.
There’s more: The Browns currently have three quarterbacks: Cody Kessler, Kevin Hogan and Osweiler, but there are several ways that could change in the coming weeks and months. Pluto writes that one plan involves the Browns taking two quarterbacks in the 2017 NFL Draft (as it stands, the team has two first-rounders and two second-rounders and are stacked both this year and next).
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The #Browns draft picks after the Osweiler trade:
2017: 1, 1, 2, 2, 3, 4, 5, 5, 5, 6, 6
2018: 1, 2, 2, 2, 3, 4, 4, 5, 6, 6, 7
5:14 PM - 9 Mar 2017 · Culver City, CA
The other plan includes packaging a lot of those draft picks above and fashioning a deal that would prompt the Patriots to part ways with Jimmy Garoppolo, the man who has thrown a grand total of 94 passes in the NFL and is best known as Tom Brady’s understudy.
Pluto reiterates what has been widely reported around the league: “As of right now, I hear there is nothing happening with the Patriots when it comes to Garoppolo.”
he Browns are -- and have been -- Garoppolo’s biggest suitor, and for good reason: Cleveland doesn’t have the best track record when it comes to drafting quarterbacks in the first round. Johnny Manziel, Brandon Weeden and Brady Quinn are the three most recent examples. But the Pats reportedly want the Browns’ No. 1 overall pick in 2017, and maybe even their 2018 first-round pick too. If that seems extreme, it is.
And even if the Browns should land Garoppolo -- or another quarterback, for that matter -- the expectation is that they will still draft another one, though in the later rounds.
For now, Osweiler remains in Cleveland. How long that remains the case is another matter.
