Acquiring quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo might represent the Browns’ fastest way back to respectability.
Yet I still have reservations about what I’d give up in trade for the New England Patriots’ backup quarterback.
That has nothing to do with the fact that Garoppolo has totaled just under six quarters of starting experience and everything to do with my unwillingness to meet Patriots coach Bill Belichick’s ransom demands.
I realize Garoppolo represents the ultimate case of bad timing. He was selected in the second round in 2014 essentially as an insurance policy for Tom Brady. But in winning his fifth Super Bowl on Sunday at age 39, the greatest quarterback of all time showed he might have a few more great years left in him and said he’s resisting his wife’s pleas to retire.
Turning 26 next November, Garoppolo wants his chance behind center. The Patriots might decide they want to get something for him before his contract expires after next season, especially when they also have Jacoby Brissett.
I get all that. I liked Garoppolo before the draft. A good friend who lives outside Champaign, Ill., saw several of Garoppolo’s games at Eastern Illinois and praised him highly.
I understand the Browns will not climb out of the NFL gutter until they find a franchise quarterback. A 2017 season with Robert Griffin III and Cody Kessler, even if they were teammates of Myles Garrett and Malik Hooker, might show little improvement over 2016.
Yet something is holding me back. I wouldn’t give up more than the 12th overall pick for Garoppolo and at the moment I need convincing on that.
Perhaps it is mistrust of Belichick, who already sent his supposed best defensive player, linebacker Jamie Collins, to the Browns in an October trade. We will see if Collins can be the kind of leader to help turn around the franchise after they gave him a four-year, $50 million contract with $26 million guaranteed last month. (There is precedent for the Patriots to trade a good player with one year left before free agency. Defensive end/outside linebacker Chandler Jones produced 11 sacks last season after being dealt to the Arizona Cardinals in March.)
Not giving up hope
Perhaps it is the fact that as bad as the Browns have been, they’ve held the No. 1 overall pick only twice in the expansion era, in 1999 and 2000. Part of me has not given up on this front office despite what looks like a total flop in the 2016 draft and thinks they won’t be in this position again for some time. (A Griffin-Kessler redux might shoot down that theory.)
I know there’s no guarantee the Browns will stay at No. 1. Sashi Brown, Paul DePodesta and Andrew Berry might decide Clemson’s Deshaun Watson, Notre Dame’s DeShone Kizer and North Carolina’s Mitch Trubisky are all overrated and trade it away for more picks. (Insert Charlie Brown “Aaugh!” scream here.) I’d prefer the Browns give it to the Patriots for Garoppolo than watch them stockpile more selections they can blow.
I know it is illogical for me to wish they would consider Watson for the No. 1 pick and not want to use it on Garoppolo. I’m struggling to comprehend why I feel that way. The Browns’ quarterback position has been a black hole. Arguably they should trade for Garoppolo AND draft a quarterback. I hate coveting No. 1 too much when there is no Andrew Luck coming out of college.
But I think it’s too steep a price when they could take the best defensive player in an outstanding defensive draft.
I might be persuaded to surrender No. 12 for Garoppolo. Then I consider that might be Ohio State safety Hooker, whom Buckeyes defensive coordinator Greg Schiano believes can be the next Ed Reed. (Schiano coached Reed at the University of Miami.) I think of Hooker’s over-the-shoulder interception against Clemson in the College Football Playoff semifinal, all the more impressive when it was revealed last week that Hooker was playing with labrum and hernia injuries that required surgery.
A recent article by Mike Sando on ESPN.com speculated that the price for Garoppolo might be similar to what the Philadelphia Eagles received from the Minnesota Vikings for quarterback Sam Bradford.
That was a first-round pick and a fourth-rounder that would upgrade to a second if Bradford won the Super Bowl. An unnamed agent said in the case of the Browns, the cost might be two second-rounders in 2017 and a conditional third-rounder in 2018.
If that’s all it takes, count me in. It seems even more plausible considering the Browns have two second-round picks in 2017 and 2018 and might be able to give up one of each in the trade.
Bidding war
But there are so many quarterback-needy teams — the 49ers (2), Bears (3), Jets (6) and Bills (10) — before the Browns pick at 12 that I can’t see all of them being able to contain their desperation and not start a bidding war.
If the Browns decide Garoppolo is their man, I won’t argue it was the wrong move. It’s safer than handing the keys to the castle to a quarterback with accuracy issues (Watson), who started only one season (Trubisky) or is coming off a disappointing year (Kizer). And yet I’ll still believe Watson has the “it” factor, the charisma, work ethic and winning record (32-3) to be a star in the NFL.
Wait and see
If they elect not to pay Griffin the $750,000 roster bonus he’s due on March 11, it will be a hint that Garoppolo (or another likely-to-be-released veteran like Colin Kaepernick or Tyrod Taylor) is under the Browns’ consideration.
The Patriots might want to wait until the April 27-29 draft to move Garoppolo. Even that provides a conundrum, for me at least. What if Garoppolo is still a Patriot when the Browns pick at 12 and Watson and Hooker remain undrafted?
If the Browns are interested in Garoppolo, I’d rather they pounce. Try to get it done when the league trading/free agency period opens at 4 p.m. March 9 so they can move on to other needs.
Lord knows there are plenty of those.
Marla Ridenour can be reached at mridenour@thebeaconjournal.com. Read her blog at www.ohio.com/marla. Follow her on Twitter at www.twitter.com/MRidenourABJ.
