Cleveland Browns Rumors: Sam Bradford A Trade Target As Johnny Manziel’s Position Falls
The Cleveland Browns are rumored to be looking for a new starting quarterback for next year, with the team wary of Johnny Manziel and looking instead at landing Sam Bradford in a trade.
Sources close to the team say the Browns want to be aggressive in looking at quarterbacks, with Bleacher Report‘s Jason Cole saying that Bradford is at the “top of their list.”
The Browns are reportedly offering a second- or third-round pick in return, but may have some competition. The St. Louis Rams have said they want to keep Bradford, with general manager Les Snead telling CBS Sports that he hoped the sides could work out a deal.
“Contract wise, we’ll deal with him and his agents on that. I think it’ll work out,” Snead said.
“We want a healthy Sam Bradford. It’s great to talk about. I like to look at the part where if he’s good for some team he’s good for us.”
Snead also addressed Bradford’s major criticism, that he is injury prone. Snead said the injuries Bradford has suffered in his first five seasons do not necessarily say anything for his future.
“We just need to … insure the position,” Snead said.
“Have options in case we get the worst of the luck. I go back to Phil Simms career. He spent seven years banged up, Year 8 he wins the Super Bowl.”
The trade rumors could signify that the Cleveland Browns are ready to move past Johnny Manziel, or at least want a strong insurance policy. This week, coach Mike Pettine paid a visit to Manziel at his stint in rehab, saying he’s proud of the quarterback for seeking out help but at the same time expressing a bit of regret for not realizing how deep his problems were before drafting him.
“We had the same information everyone else in the league had,” Pettine said.
“It’s easy to look back now and say, ‘What did you miss?’ You can interpret something a little bit differently now and it turns out to be a deeper-rooted thing than you thought.”
Sam Bradford is not the only quarterback the Cleveland Browns are rumored to be targeting. They also appear to be making a move for Oregon Ducks quarterback Marcus Mariota, hiring his quarterback coach Kevin O’Connell to serve as their next quarterback coach, which gives them a loophole to contact the Heisman Trophy winner.
