The Cleveland Browns wanted A.J. McCarron. In fact, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter, they tried to trade for him.
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In true Cleveland fashion that was a trade that didn't go through, per Schefter. He reports that the Bengals and Browns worked out a trade that would have sent McCarron to Cleveland, but because the Browns notified the NFL shortly after 4:00 p.m. ET — which was shortly after the trade deadline — the league ended up denying the trade.
Per Schefter, the Browns would have sent a 2018 second- and third-round draft pick back to Cincinnati in exchange for a player who they seemed to believe could finally be their franchise quarterback.
They never ended up getting McCarron, though, and the quarterback woes in Cleveland roll on and on and on and on....
McCarron wasn't the first quarterback Cleveland tried to snag at the deadline. There were reports coming out of Browns' base camp that suggested the coaching staff was high on Jimmy Garappolo, who ended up being traded from New England to San Francisco — apparently much to the chagrin of the Browns' coaching staff.
In a league driven by quarterback play the fact that Cleveland hasn't been able to find "the guy" since Bernie Kosar in the late 1980's and early 1990's is really indicative of why the Browns have been so bad. Since Kosar, who at the very least symbolized some sort of consistency at quarterback for Cleveland, the Browns have seen 32 quarterbacks take snaps under center — a list that features names such as Tim Couch, Ty Detmer, Kelly Holcolm, Jeff Garcia, Trent Dilfer, Charlie Frye, Brady Quinn, Colt McCoy, Brandon Weeden, Jason Campbell, Johnny Manziel and Robert Griffin III.
Since 1950, the year the Browns' joined the NFL, 55 different quarterbacks have started at least one game for Cleveland.
Seemingly no quarterback, whether drafted or brought on as a free agent, has worked out in Cleveland, and that includes players who did some nice things elsewhere or seemed to excel at the college level. Remember, Manziel and Griffin III are former Heisman Trophy Winners.
The Browns have been a joke when drafting quarterbacks, and that seems to be the case yet again with DeShone Kizer, who Cleveland took with the 52nd overall pick of the 2017 NFL Draft. Cleveland obviously felt he could be "the guy", but so far this season he's thrown three touchdowns compared to 11 interceptions, so at this point, he seems to be among the list of quarterbacks who just can't work out for the Browns.
Perhaps there's a curse — if you believe in that sort of thing — or more realistically it's time for ownership in Cleveland to go find somebody who really, really knows how to scout professional quarterbacks.
Even when they seem to find one, though, as was the case with McCarron or Garappolo, Cleveland just can't seem to find a way to put it all together.
Ultimately it's incompetence, and unfortunately, that's what Cleveland football has become known for.
The Browns are still searching for a franchise quarterback. And the search goes on and on and on and on...
