The Browns on Thursday "got imaginative and found a way to purchase a second-round pick" from the Texans while also acquiring QB Brock Osweiler despite the NFL "barring teams from trading cash for draft picks," according to Charles Robinson of YAHOO SPORTS. As part of the trade, the Browns received Osweiler, a '18 second-round pick and a '17 sixth-round pick from the Texans. The Browns also absorb $16M of Osweiler's guaranteed salary on the '17 cap. Meanwhile, the Texans get a '17 fourth-round pick from the Browns while "immediately" clearing $10M in cap space and $16M in cash. Nobody has "seen a team in the salary-cap era trade a fourth-round pick for a second- and sixth-round pick, and a low-level" starting QB. The trade "didn't sit well with some other teams." Two league execs declined to comment on the trade, other than to "ask if the NFL had officially approved it" (SPORTS.YAHOO.com, 3/9). ESPN's Adam Schefter said the trade "sent shockwaves through the league," as people were "calling up saying that they never expected this, they never thought of it” (“NFL Insiders,” NFL Network, 3/9).
IS TRADE EVEN LEGAL? ESPN's Chris Mortensen reports people within the NFL are "monitoring the situation because they're not sure this is following ... the spirit of the CBA rules." They also are "not sure if the players association is upset about it." Even if the Browns "get away with" the trade, there likely "will be some type of correction going forward." Mortensen: "There used to be a trade for future considerations in the NFL. They finally figured out that was a little bit of a salary dump when there was no consideration” (“Mike & Mike,” ESPN Radio, 3/10). ESPN.com's Bill Barnwell noted the NFL "doesn't allow teams to trade players for cash, defining it as conduct detrimental to the league and subject to disciplinary action." However, this trade "falls into a gray area." Precedent "suggests that NFL teams are allowed to make trades that are lopsided on their face by virtue of the discount many teams place on future selections." It is "no accident" that the Browns picked up a '18 second-rounder as part of this deal instead of a '17 selection. That gives them "ammunition in justifying the trade to the league as a reasonable trade for assets." The NFL is unlikely to "prevent this deal from going through," but it would not be a surprise if league officials "suggested to the Browns and the rest of the NFL that future deals in this vein are likely to be vetoed" (ESPN.com, 3/9).
TRUST THE PROCESS, 2.0: THE RINGER's Kevin Clark referred to the former 76ers GM in writing that the Browns "appear to be going full Sam Hinkie" with the trade. The team knows that Osweiler "is not their future at quarterback," but it also knows it has $100M in cap room to "burn this year." Taking on a "huge cap number in order to acquire a valuable draft asset is genius, and it leaves the Browns with 11 picks in each of the next two drafts, including 10 picks in the first five rounds this year and eight picks in the first five rounds next year" (THERINGER.com, 3/9). THE MMQB's Albert Breer wrote the Browns "didn't acquire" a QB, but instead "created more opportunity for themselves" -- this time in '18 (MMQB.SI.com, 3/9). ESPN.com's Pat McManamon wrote the trade was a "smart way to use the salary cap space, a smart way to get a second-round pick and a good way to stockpile more picks to build a roster that needs as many players as it can find" (ESPN.com, 3/9). BLEACHER REPORT's Mike Freeman wrote the view from around the NFL was split, but some "think what the Browns did was smart" (BLEACHERREPORT.com, 3/9). However, ESPN's Suzy Kolber provided caution for the Browns' way of thinking, noting there could be a "total regime change if this doesn't go well" ("NFL Insiders," ESPN, 3/9).
PAGING BRAD PITT: In Cleveland, Mary Kay Cabot writes the move is "essentially" a pick-for-cash trade that "benefits both teams." But it is also the "essence of Moneyball" (Cleveland PLAIN DEALER, 3/10). CBSSPORTS.com's Will Brinson wrote the Browns "went out and did exactly what their reputation said they’d do: play Moneyball" (CBSSPORTS.com, 3/9). In Cleveland, Bud Shaw writes the deal has been "called a NBA-style trade, but it's more Moneyball." The Texans had to "make it worth the Browns' while to take Osweiler's guaranteed money" (Cleveland PLAIN DEALER, 3/10). In addition to the Osweiler trade, the Browns on Thursday signed G Joel Bitonio to a contract extension and signed free agent G Kevin Zeitler, C J.C. Tretter and WR Kenny Britt. NFL Network's Mike Garafolo said that signings were not a "matter in their minds of going out and just spending money just to spend it." Garafolo: "They found guys that fit what they were trying to do here. ... All these moves that they are making, they are comfortable with where they are" ("NFL Free Agency Frenzy," NFL Network, 3/9).
BYE BYE, BROCK: In Houston, John McClain writes the trade for the Texans clears salary-cap space and wipes "away all signs of one of the team's biggest free-agent misses." As "poorly as Osweiler performed on the field, this move was as much about money and draft picks" (HOUSTON CHRONICLE, 3/10). ESPN’s Mike Greenberg said the "biggest mistake you can make in life is failing to admit a mistake." The Texans in this case "made one, they acknowledged it, they found a way to get out from under it." ESPN’s Herm Edwards called it a "savvy move in the fact that you didn't compound a mistake” (“Mike & Mike,” ESPN Radio, 3/10). In Houston, Brian Smith writes the Texans "literally shocked the H-E double hockey sticks out of the NFL by getting the Browns to take on the Osweiler albatross." Smith: "Only the God-forsaken Browns could bail the Texans out of this mess. Only the Texans could screw this up so badly and still find a way out of their own disaster" (HOUSTON CHRONICLE, 3/10).
