Browns Trade Rumors: Latest News, Reports and Speculation

With the 2015 NFL draft commencing Thursday, teams are frantically trying to get whatever deals they have in the works finalized. One team to watch heading into Thursday will be the Cleveland Browns.

Continue for updates.

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Rapoport: Browns Reportedly Open to Trading Back

Thursday, April 30

NFL Network's Ian Rapoport reported, "While the Browns have had talks about moving up for Marcus Mariota, they’ve also talked with teams about moving back from 19. Options open."

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Browns Reportedly Believe They Have Good Chance to Trade for Sam Bradford

Thursday, April 30

Though the Browns are reportedly interested in trading for Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Sam Bradford, Bleacher Report's Jason Cole noted one potential issue:

Peter King of Sports Illustrated reported that the Browns believe they have a chance at acquiring Bradford:

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But there is this X factor, not to complicate this too much: One NFL source in Chicago late Wednesday night told me Cleveland believes it has a good chance before the draft to deal for Bradford. So there’s that. If we’ve learned nothing about the draft over the years, we’ve learned to expect the unexpected. Such as, there’s a real chance Mariota could end up on a team other than the Titans by nightfall today.

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Nate Ulrich of the Akron Beacon Journal broke down the details of a potential deal:

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The Browns own two first-round picks (Nos. 12 and 19 overall) in the draft, which will begin at 8 p.m. Thursday and run through Saturday in Chicago.

If the Eagles were to trade Bradford to the Browns, they would receive one of those first-round selections in return. Then Eagles coach Chip Kelly would flip the pick acquired from the Browns as part of a package for the second overall choice owned by the Tennessee Titans. The Eagles, who have the 20th pick, would be jumping through all of those hoops to land Marcus Mariota, the reigning Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback whom Kelly recruited to the University of Oregon when he coached the Ducks.

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Browns Considering Trade with Redskins

Monday, April 27

According to Rapoport, the team has been discussing a potential deal with the Washington Redskins:

The first thought in most fans' minds is that Cleveland wants to move up in order to select Oregon quarterback Marcus Mariota. Bleacher Report's Matt Miller believes that would be the general aim:

Sure enough, that's just what Rapoport reported on NFL Total Access, according to Dan Hanzus of NFL.com: "Rapoport said on NFL Total Access that he's been told the Browns 'covet' Oregon quarterback Marcus Mariota, who may or may not still be on the board."

The question is whether Mariota will slip past the Tennessee Titans at No. 2. Should the Titans take the reigning Heisman Trophy winner, the Browns wouldn't really gain much by trading up. The caliber of player Cleveland could get at No. 5 is roughly equal to what it could get at No. 12.

ESPN Cleveland's Tony Grossi hypothesized that any sort of deal would be contingent on Mariota getting past No. 2:

Of course, there's also the discussion of what Cleveland plans to do with quarterback Johnny Manziel. Manziel's off-field baggage is well-known, and the 2014 first-rounder voluntarily left a treatment facility earlier in the month.

He wasn't great during his rookie season, but it seems too early to abandon the idea that he could be a starting quarterback for the Browns.

Perhaps Manziel would become trade bait in the event Cleveland selects Mariota. Somebody would likely be willing to gamble that the Manziel experiment could work.

No matter who gets the job to start the 2015 season, Browns fans will simply hope that the search for a franchise quarterback is over. Few teams have been more starved of a talented QB over the years.