NFL Rumors: Browns Looking To Trade Up And Draft Marcus Mariota — Is Johnny Manziel’s Time Over?
Many have thought that Johnny Manziel would never be the franchise quarterback for a team in the NFL. Now, it’s looking as if he may live up to those thoughts, as the Cleveland Browns don’t appear to think so, either. The latest rumors have the Browns joining in on the barrage of teams that will try and trade up to take Marcus Mariota in the 2015 NFL Draft.
Cleveland.com has reported that the Browns are fully prepared to start Josh McCown for the 2015 season, but they’re not done looking elsewhere, either. Mary Kay Cabot writes that the Browns are likely to go after Mariota or even try to trade for Sam Bradford, now of the Eagles.
“I think the Browns are fully prepared to start McCown this year, but they will continue to look for chances to upgrade the position. I think they’ll try to trade up to draft Marcus Mariota, and I also think they could make another run at Sam Bradford on draft day. If they don’t land one of those two, I do think McCown will be their man in 2015.”
According to Cabot, the Browns are so down on Manziel that the team may look at Connor Shaw over him. She isn’t even sure they could get much for him in a trade, but maybe the Dallas Cowboys would be willing to pony up something.
“They are also big on Connor Shaw, who could start games for them this season if necessary. As for Manziel, they’ll see what happens when he gets out of rehab soon. At this point, I don’t think they can get much in a trade. Maybe Jerry Jones is still interested.”
Music City Miracles believes wholeheartedly that the Tennessee Titans are trading away the second overall pick, and that is where Marcus Mariota is expected to go. The overall consensus now is that Jameis Winston will indeed go first to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
That opens the doors for teams such as the Philadelphia Eagles, Washington Redskins, New York Jets, San Diego Chargers, and now the Browns to try and snag Mariota. Peter King said in MMQB that the Browns actually offered the Rams a first-round pick for Bradford before he landed with the Eagles.
Bradford could be a huge bargaining chip now for the Eagles, if Chip Kelly truly wants to make a run at Mariota. The Browns still have plenty enough to offer in a trade, but still, they need a quarterback.
Have a Holly Johnny Christmas, everybody! Go Browns! @JManziel2 @espn pic.twitter.com/dLHQwM1LhW
— Brokaw (@BrokawInc) December 9, 2014
As time gets closer to the 2015 NFL Draft, it is appearing more and more likely that no-one has a clue where Marcus Mariota or Johnny Manziel will be playing in this season. The Cleveland Browns want to have the former and ship the latter elsewhere, but who will take the chance on Johnny Football?
[Image via HNGN]
