Jay Glazer of FOXSports.com reports that the Broncos have acquired quarterback Brady Quinn from the Browns in exchange for fullback Peyton Hillis and two conditional draft picks. Glazer doesn’t provide any details outside of that, so it it’s unknown at this point what round the two draft picks are for.

Even though his dream was to be a Brown, this is a good situation for Quinn. In Denver, he’ll have the opportunity to run the exact same offense that he ran at Notre Dame, although he’ll have to beat out Tom Brandstater and Chris Simms to earn the right to backup Kyle Orton. Still, if he proves that he can run Josh McDaniels’ offense, he still has a chance to become a regular starter in this league.

As for the Browns, the recent signing of Jake Delhomme virtually secured a one-way ticket for Quinn out of Cleveland. Mike Holmgren hasn’t made his desire to upgrade the Browns’ quarterback position a secret and now Delhomme will battle Seneca Wallace for the team’s starting job.

It is still unclear at this point whether or not Holmgren will draft a quarterback in April. Neither Delhomme nor Wallace has long-term upside, so Holmgren will eventually have to add a young QB to the mix at some point. But that doesn’t necessarily mean that he’ll do it in April’s draft. He may have his eye on a potential free agent or believe that the quarterback class in 2011 is a stronger crop than the 2010 class. Who knows at this point.

I wrote more about the Browns’ quarterback situation this morning. You can read the post by clicking here.

Update: The Browns also traded Kamerion Wimbley to the Raiders for undisclosed draft compensation.

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]]> http://www.scoresreport.com/2010/03/14/browns-give-up-on-quinn-trade-former-first-rounder-to-broncos-for-hillis/feed/ 2 http://www.scoresreport.com/2009/10/13/will-the-browns-deal-quinn-before-the-trade-deadline/ http://www.scoresreport.com/2009/10/13/will-the-browns-deal-quinn-before-the-trade-deadline/#comments Tue, 13 Oct 2009 15:49:02 +0000 Anthony Stalter http://www.scoresreport.com/?p=26462

There is growing speculation out of Cleveland that the Browns will deal quarterback Brady Quinn before the October 20 trade deadline. Quinn won the Browns’ starting quarterback job in preseason but struggled mightily once the regular season started and was replaced by Derek Anderson.

Considering the Browns traded Kellen Winslow to the Buccaneers this offseason and Braylon Edwards to the Jets last week, it’s clear that the team has no reservations about dealing former first round picks. So the rumor of Quinn being shipped out of town certainly holds water.

Despite his brutal 2-for-17 passing performance against the Bills last Sunday, Anderson has shown that he can move the offense better than Quinn can. Anderson is turnover prone, but he has the strong arm that head coach Eric Mangini covets. Quinn, on the other hand, displayed poor pocket awareness and the inability to hit receivers in stride during the first few weeks of the season.

But while a trade makes sense for the Browns (Mangini reportedly favors former Jet Brett Ratliff as his backup, making Quinn even more expendable), they just don’t happen that often midseason. I realize Cleveland just dealt Edwards to New York last week, but his recent off-field incident and growing tension with management expedited that process.

Plus, Edwards is a receiver – Quinn is a quarterback. Teams can’t just trade for a quarterback two days before a game and start him. He has to learn the playbook, get acclimated to his receivers and have at least a week or two of practice under his belt before he’s ready to play. Most teams that need a quarterback are watching their seasons sink into the abyss, so would it be worth it for them to make a trade?

This is just speculation on my part, but one team that could pull the trigger is the Carolina Panthers. Jake Delhomme is aging and at times, has been a total disaster. Carolina’s refusal to develop a young quarterback behind Delhomme will cost them dearly at some point (if it isn’t already) and maybe the Panthers would take a shot on a youngster like Quinn who needs a lot of polishing. Delhomme could remain the starter while Quinn learns the offense and then if Jake continues to struggle, Brady could eventually take over.

We’ll see how this plays out. It’ll be interesting to see if these rumors pick up as the deadline approaches.

According to a report in the Denver Post, the Broncos recently contacted the Browns about possibly acquiring Brady Quinn and Cleveland told them that the third-year quarterback wasn’t available for trade.

Well this blows my whole Mark Sanchez-will-be-a-Cleveland-Brown idea straight to hell. I wonder if the Browns don’t want to deal Quinn to a fellow AFC competitor or just don’t want to deal him period. Or maybe they want to deal Derek Anderson instead?

Perhaps the biggest takeaway from this report is that the Broncos are still interested in acquiring a quarterback. When they traded Jay Cutler to the Bears a few weeks ago, several media outlets reported that Denver was satisfied with Kyle Orton as their starter.

But with two first round picks as leverage, the notion of Denver trading one of those selections for the opportunity to trade up to draft Sanchez surely exists. It just depends on whether or not head coach Josh McDaniels feels as though Sanchez can run his offense. If he does, then Sanchez could work behind Orton until he’s ready for game action.

Getting back to Cleveland, if Quinn is off the table, it’ll be interesting to see if the Browns make any trades this weekend involving players that are currently on their roster. For the past month, speculation has grown that the Browns could trade Quinn and/or Braylon Edwards by draft weekend, but maybe Eric Mangini isn’t as willing to part with those players as originally thought.
I’m dying to see what the Browns do at No. 5.

According to NFL.com, quarterback Jason Campbell says he’ll demand a trade if the Redskins draft a quarterback at this weekend’s NFL draft.

Even though the article doesn’t specify, I’m sure Campbell means he’ll demand a trade if Washington selects a quarterback in the first round. I highly doubt Campbell would be upset if he was watching the draft this weekend and at the bottom ticker it read: Round 6, Pick 186 Washington Redskins: Graham Harrell, QB, Texas Tech.

Personally, I don’t blame Campbell for demanding a trade if the Skins take USC Mark Sanchez at No. 13 or better yet, trade up to get him. Daniel Snyder has put Campbell through the ringer this entire offseason by attempting to trade for Jay Cutler and then talking with free agent Byron Leftwich (now with the Bucs). Snyder has shown little support for Campbell over the past month and things appear to be coming to a head this week as the draft approaches.

The Washington Times speculates that if the Skins trade up to get Sanchez, they have a trade partner for Campbell in the Jets. That scenario certainly makes sense, but it would obviously be contingent on whether or not Washington could land Sanchez, which might be hard given that Seattle could be interested in him at No. 4.

Another scenario to keep an eye on is what the Browns do with Brady Quinn. If Seattle passes on Sanchez and Cleveland loves him at No. 5, the Browns could send Quinn to Washington and then the Redskins could trade Campbell to the Jets. But at this point, that’s way too much speculation and while it’s fun to talk about all of the scenarios, fans are usually left disappointed at the lack of big trades that occur on draft day.

Tony Grossi of the Cleveland Plan Dealer is reporting that the Browns will pass on Michael Crabtree at No. 5.

The Browns have all but crossed off Michael Crabtree as a candidate for the No. 5 overall pick, said a source.

The Texas Tech receiver brought a diva attitude on his visit to the club facility last week and did not impress coach Eric Mangini and others, the source said. In fact, Crabtree was described by some in the building as “not nice.” After Crabtree left, Mangini secured last-minute workouts with borderline first-round receivers Hakeem Nicks of North Carolina, Kenny Britt of Rutgers and Mohamed Massaquoi of Georgia.

What’s funny is that the same paper reported just yesterday that the Browns are still in love with Crabtree, so who knows. Rumors are going to run rampant for the next couple days leading up to the draft.

The fact that the Browns are looking at Hakeem Nicks, Kenny Britt and Mohamed Massaquoi would lead me to believe that they’re going to wait on addressing their wide receiver need until later in the draft – even if they do wind up trading Braylon Edwards.

Cleveland will be one of the more interesting teams to follow on draft day. Their biggest needs are at linebacker (more outside than inside), cornerback and wide receiver, but what they do at No. 5 will obviously depend on what prospects come off the board in front of them. If Aaron Curry falls into their lap, it would be hard envisioning them passing on the best talent in the draft. If they have plans to trade quarterback Brady Quinn, then Mark Sanchez is a possibility at No. 5 if Seattle doesn’t take him at No. 4. And if they can get out of the No. 5 pick altogether in order to acquire more picks and get better value for their first round pick, then that remains a logical option, too.

Either way, Mangini and new GM George Kokinis are doing a fantastic job not revealing their hands.

Update: ESPN’s Michael Smith also says that the Browns won’t take a receiver at No. 5 and his information is usually pretty solid.

Have you heard the latest draft rumors on Mark Sanchez? Apparently only the Lions, Rams, Seahawks, Browns, Jaguars, 49ers, Jets, Redskins and Broncos are either in love, smitten or downright want to get in bed with the USC quarterback.

Is that all?

It seems every day rumors of a new team being interested in Sanchez emerge and while it’s easy to get caught up in all the pre-draft speculation, it would obviously be wise not to believe everything you hear. That said, with the draft quickly approaching, I’ve thoroughly convinced myself that Mark Sanchez will in fact be a Cleveland Brown.

Where there’s smoke, there’s usually fire and there’s a ton of smoke coming out of Cleveland that new head coach Eric Mangini isn’t a big Brady Quinn fan. Along with daily Sanchez-is-going-here speculation, there have been just as many Quinn-will-be-traded-here rumors. Maybe Mangini and new GM George Kokinis are just throwing up smokescreens to keep other teams guessing at what their draft day plans are. Or maybe (and this seems more logical by the day) Mangini and Kokinis want to blow up the entire roster and start over and that’s why Kellen Winslow was traded to the Bucs, Braylon Edwards will soon be dealt to the Giants and Quinn will be jettisoned to parts unknown.

Read between the lines and you get the impression that Mangini would rather hold onto Derek Anderson than Brady Quinn. Anderson might not have as much upside as Quinn, but he has more starting experience and is just two years removed from a Pro Bowl season. He’s also only 25 years old and has the strong arm Mangini apparently covets to run his team’s offense. (Don’t forget in New York, Mangini eventually banished noodle-armed Chad Pennington last year in favor of big-armed Brett Favre.)

One would have to believe that the Browns want to replenish their pick stock after former GM Phil Savage went gonzo and traded away multiple draft selections last offseason. Getting a first round pick for Quinn would be ideal, but if Mangini truly wants to rid himself of the former Notre Dame alum, then who knows what Cleveland will be willing to accept in compensation. But the bottom line is that Quinn will be traded by draft day in order for the Browns to acquire more picks and to make room for Sanchez.

Getting back to Sanchez, the Browns will make him the No. 5 pick. Who else are they going to take? Brian Orkapo or Everette Brown? Maybe, the Browns do need another outside linebacker. Michael Crabtree? Maybe, the Browns will need a receiver with Donte Stallworth likely heading to prison and if Edwards is traded. Rey Maualuga? Maybe, but doubtful considering he’s an inside linebacker and Cleveland signed free agent Eric Barton this offseason, who played for Mangini in New York. B.J. Raji? Maybe, the Browns could use him in a rotation with fellow defensive tackle Shaun Rogers or use him at one of the end spots in a 3-4, although he’s a better fit inside.

All of the prospects mentioned above are possibilities, but you can make a strong argument that none of them are worthy of the top 5 pick. Sanchez might not be either, but if the Browns see a franchise-caliber quarterback in him down the road, then you better believe they’ll have no regrets taking him that high. So they trade Quinn, draft Sanchez at No. 5 and have him sit for a year or two behind Anderson until he’s ready to play.

This is all just speculation on my part of course, but the more I think about it, the more this scenario makes sense. Cleveland is essentially stuck in a tough spot with no clear-cut choice at No. 5 and again, they would love to acquire more draft picks. And if Mangini isn’t big on Quinn and doesn’t see Anderson as the long-term answer, than Sanchez makes a ton of sense for them in the first round. Plus, if they can acquire more selections, then they can still fill their defensive and wideout needs later in the draft. Hell, if they can convince a team like the Redskins (who clearly aren’t sold on Jason Campbell) to give them their first round pick for Quinn, then a guy like Brown might fall to them at No. 13. Would the ‘Skins be willing to give up their first round pick for Quinn? I don’t know, but anything is a possibility at this point.

According to a report by the National Football Post, the Browns have received offers for quarterback Brady Quinn and wideout Braylon Edwards and are likely to eventually move both players.

The Cleveland Browns have been engaging in talks to trade quarterback Brady Quinn and wide receiver Braylon Edwards, according to our own Michael Lombardi of the National Football Post.
Lombardi reports he is hearing from multiple league sources that the Browns have a first round pick on the table for Quinn, but may be looking for more. Two teams are currently interested in Quinn’s services.

In addition, Lombardi is hearing that the Browns have a first round pick on the table for wide receiver Braylon Edwards and will most likely trade him before the start of next season.

One other note: Lombardi is hearing the Browns are very interested in Texas Tech wide receiver Michael Crabtree.

What’s interesting about the speculation surrounding Cleveland trading Quinn and Edwards is that it isn’t dying down. Even though these are still only rumors, at this point you have to kind of buy into the notion that new head coach Eric Mangini and GM George Kokinis want to blow up the roster and start fresh. They want their own players and that means guys like Quinn, Edwards and Kellen Winslow (who was already dealt this offseason to the Bucs) will eventually be sold to the highest bidder. The Browns are going to be one of the most interesting teams to follow leading up to the draft.

For what it’s worth, I had the Browns taking Crabtree with their first round pick in my second mock, assuming that Edwards would be dealt on or around draft day. But they could also be looking at USC quarterback Mark Sanchez at No. 5 so he could groom under Derek Anderson for a year or two.