DawgTalkers.net Forums DawgTalk Pure Football Forum Browns expected to be active traders .....

Some regurgitation of previoius stuff ...... but the fact that the Browns are actively involved in trade talks with more than 1 team about a QB is somewhat new.

The bit about Quinn could mean much heartache for Quinn fans if true. The further along we get the more I get the feelng that we will go into next seaon with both guys from a year ago gone.

http://www.cleveland.com/browns/index.ssf/2010/03/cleveland_browns_expected_to_b.html

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The Browns are involved in trade talks with more than one team that could bring a new quarterback -- or two -- to town.

According to a league source with knowledge of the situation, the Browns are discussing quarterbacks "on different levels." It appears the Browns have concluded they are more apt to upgrade the quarterback position through trade rather than free agency.

Trades and free agent signings can occur beginning at 12:01 Friday morning. The class of quarterbacks available in free agency is not great. But the new order of life in the NFL without a salary cap could result in teams willing to trade big names, and big contracts, without financial penalties.

Since President Mike Holmgren and General Manager Tom Heckert joined forces to take over Browns operations, they have talked of improving the offense in general and the quarterback position in particular. They naturally have been linked to passers on their former teams -- Matt Hasselbeck of Seattle, and Donovan McNabb or Kevin Kolb of Philadelphia.

The Browns are expected to soon part ways with Derek Anderson, who is owed a $2 million roster bonus on March 19. There is also the possibility that Brady Quinn could garner some interest in a trade.

As a prelude to what may be a busy weekend, the Browns released center Hank Fraley on Wednesday.

The team also will announce its contract tenders on Thursday to their restricted free agents. In a mild surprise, a source said the Browns will not use the first-round tender on any of them.

That would further agitate linebacker D'Qwell Jackson, who said last week he expected to receive the first-round tender of $2.521 million. He may, in fact, be tendered as low as $1.176 million, which would preserve a second-round pick (Jackson's original draft round) if a team signed him.

On Wednesday, Brian Mackler, Jackson's agent told The Plain Dealer that he and Jackson were upset the Browns failed to fulfill a promise by the previous regime for a long-term contract.

Jackson tweeted on his Twitter account, "Do what's best for both parties. It's simple. Either pay me or let me go somewhere else!"

Other restricted free agents expected to receive tenders by the Browns are running back Jerome Harrison, fullback Lawrence Vickers, linebacker Matt Roth, safety Abram Elam and safety Brodney Pool. The source said none may receive first-round tenders.

The Browns also will not immediately offer new deals to their own unrestricted free agents. Included in this category are receiver Mike Furrey, guard Rex Hadnot and cornerback Hank Poteat.

Fraley told The Plain Dealer that he was surprised by his release.

"I didn't see it coming," Fraley said. "I've loved my four years with the Browns and I was looking forward to the 2010 season."

Fraley started 52 of 63 games over the last four years. He bailed out the team in 2006 after the LeCharles Bentley injury on the first day of training camp and also rescued them last year, filling in at guard and even tight end after losing his starting job to rookie Alex Mack.

Fraley was also the team's union player representative.

Thanks.


Like i said in another thread, i would tender Jackson low as well. You can still match the offer.

That way you let some other team set his market. It makes it easier heading in to talks about a long term contract....if you opt to do that.

I wouldn't mind if we just took the 2nd rounder for the guy.

I asked a question and missed the answer. Maybe somebody knows....if we let him go, when would we get the draft choice??


Next year, or would it be this year??


I assume it would be next year.

99.999% it would be next year as I've seen the draft order set.

That's a good call about having another team set the market. That could help or hurt us though as it might be a false market. All teams will be wary of an RFA because they know they can make a play at a player, be the highest bidder and still lose the player....kinda like negotiating with yourself. So, it might not be too good of a value gauge. I don't think DJ is the greatest player ever but I think for the risk we have of busting on a number two pick (Robiskie is too easy of an example), he has more value as a proven player than the upside and risk of a drafted player. On the other hand, he isn't this regime's pick and maybe they feel they can replace or improve his production in the 2nd round or later.

On thing is for certain...we aren't overpaying for anyone. Cahones for not putting 1st round tender on him and Harrison.

I think it is a bit premature to say Robiskie is a bust....and I don't really like the guy.

We'll know more this year.

I think we knew we were going to have to play a rook at wideout because i think we knew we were trading Edwards at some point....so we drafted two of them and let the best man win.....that doesn't mean Robiskie isn't going to be good....Mo just won that battle.

The Browns have said that they are not putting the 1st round tender on anyone except Harrison.

They have not stated which of the tenders they are using on which players.

The draft pick(s) compensation would be in the upcoming draft. Teams without a 1st round pick, for example, could not sign a player requiring a 1st round pick as compensation without first acquiring a 1st round pick. (As has happened in the past. I can't remember the team, but they made a trade to gain a pick specifically to sign a restricted free agent)

1 other thing to remember is that the "Final 8" teams (In the playoffs) cannot sign a player without 1st losing a player. Then the money must add up. In other words, they cannot lose their backup punter t free agency, and then go sign a starting QB. Because of this, our potential rivals for any player are reduced to 23 teams.

The only thing that a team doesn't want to do is tender a guy too low, (assuming that they can match anyway) and then have a team do a contract with a poison pill. A team, legally, can create a contract for a curent Brown (for example) that would require a $10 million bonus if that player plays more than 5 regular season games in the state of Ohio. Similarly, they could create a deal where a player will be the highest paid player on the team if he plays more than 3 games/year in a particular stadium .... etc.


There are also likely to be a great number of "currently over-priced" players hit the market who would not otherwise have done so because of salary cap consequences. There is no such thing as a "cap hit" this year ..... so if you have a veteran making $10 million who would have cost you twice that in cap room to cut ...... now he can be cut just to save the money.

The players are really going to get hosed in this "uncapped" year. They would be wise to get a deal ASAP ... because with no salary "floor" .... limited fre agency ..... and a great number of veterans about to ose some sizable contracts ..... they really have a lot to lose.

IMO a lot of teams will be offering low tenders this year, not just the Browns.
There will be some players released the next few days. Get ready.

As for trading for a QB, that is what I have been saying all along as a possibility. The next several days is going to be interesting

Jackson should look over his shoulder cautiously. Can't be too outspoken if you didn't finish the season. Roth and company looked good. It is decent money; we can still match up (I think), and this is that ugly biz side of the NFL where agents are never happy. Does send a crucial message about how not impressed the new regime is with vets in place if none got the one tier. JMHO

On Wednesday, Brian Mackler, Jackson's agent told The Plain Dealer that he and Jackson were upset the Browns failed to fulfill a promise by the previous regime for a long-term contract.

Jackson tweeted on his Twitter account, "Do what's best for both parties. It's simple. Either pay me or let me go somewhere else!"


Hmmm ,we always hear this remark..the new regime didn't make any promise..they don't owe you anything..and just maybe they aren't as impressed with you as you think they should be..

Take it easy Hank you are a class guy...

and by this time tomorrow, there could be several new players on the squad.

i will laugh really hard if we in fact trade for campbell. not because i don't want him but because i can't imagine what toad would say and how long he'll say it, if we do.

You would laugh and I would cry. We would be trading for more crap that isn't any better than what we currently have.

well we disagree there. at least campbell has proven he can make all the throws. for which guy do we have can you say the same?

well let's not threadjack this by focusing on campbell. i only brought him up in joking. regardless of who we bring in, i'll be fine with it because i know he has holmgren's stamp of approval.

further, even if campbell has the exact same tendencies as quinn (i assume you were referring to quinn since DA rarely checked down), at least he was over 60% for seasons in a row. quinn is now what? 52% even if it's tortuous, it's still better than what we saw. if we can win 4 games in a row in spite of the qb not making any throws, a 60+% passer should make a difference for us.

i'll resist. if you want to see further debate you can always look up the gameday campbell threads between me and Toad. we are definitely on opposite sides of this particular fence.

Which QB"s could we be interested in? Kolb, McNabb, Campbell...anyone else? I just hope we don't have to trade our 1st pick for a QB.

Redskins issue first-round tenders to Campbell, Rogers
NFL.com Wire Reports


The Washington Redskins have issued a first-round tender to restricted free agent quarterback Jason Campbell, a league source told NFL Network insider Jason La Canfora.

The tender is worth about $3.1 million, a person familiar with the decision told The Associated Press, speaking on the condition of anonymity because the move hasn't been announced by the team.


NFL ShopMore Washington Redskins Gear >

The move means other teams would have to give up a first-round pick to sign Campbell.

New Redskins coach Mike Shanahan had said he would tender Campbell but hasn't committed to him as his starter.

Campbell has started 52 games in his five seasons with the Redskins. He had his best statistical season last year, but the team struggled and finished 4-12.

While the Redskins are expected to announce their full slate of tender offers Thursday, La Canfora reports cornerback Carlos Rogers said he received his first-round tender in the mail Wednesday. The former first-round pick is seeking a change of scenery and would welcome a trade.

The team didn't issue a tender to running back Quinton Ganther, reports La Canfora, making him a free agent.

my guess is hasselbeck, bulger, boller, or delhomme. maybe drew stanton, john beck, seneca wallace, or chad pennington also. it's going to be someone that's cheap.

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no logo - thanks, i apprecate it haha. i'm don't really have a pref, i just think it'll be funny.

That was pretty much expected by the Redskins. However, it really changes nothing as we could still trade a 2nd or two 3rds for him even tho he's tendered. We did it two years ago with Corey Williams when he was franchise we traded a 2nd for him.

Seneca Wallace, really?

seneca wallace is a higher end backup, potential low starter. the article said one or two qbs. i don't see how we wouldn't consider bring in wallace, if available, which he might be given that carroll is the new boss.

Holmgren tried to move him to WR.

I'm glad that there is confirmation (somewhat) that the Browns are looking to make some moves, especially at QB.

Guys I'm interested in are McNabb, Kolb, Campbell and Matt Moore.

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Like i said in another thread, i would tender Jackson low as well. You can still match the offer.

That way you let some other team set his market. It makes it easier heading in to talks about a long term contract....if you opt to do that.

I wouldn't mind if we just took the 2nd rounder for the guy.

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I don't understand that line of thinking Peen.. DQ has been a pretty darn productive player on a fairly sad defense over the last few years. I am not really willing to gamble that on a second round pick.... would it be possible for us to get an upgrade with a second round pick? Sure, it's possible. Is it more likely that we would do worse? Yea, I think it is.

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I am not really willing to gamble that on a second round pick

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It's not a gamble at all,, If someone wants him, let them make him an offer.. if we think it's a fair number, the market value is set so you match it.. we retain him... if not, we take the second round pick and move along.

Not much of a gamble really.

He did, but it is possible they'd be willing to trade him. I really don't know if he's on the market at all though.

He did WELL in limited action last season, that's for sure.

I know, I know . . .

He just feels wrong, whereas a McNabb feels right and I don't know why. It's all mental.

I guess for a backup and spot starter, if we offered a 5 or something I'd be ok with it. Coming from a guy who has watched him in just about every game he's been a Seahawk (I've been a season ticket holder fro 7 seasons), he's solely serviceable, but not a full time starter. He's short (5'10" or 5'11", cant recall), with an average arm and average accuracy, and gets sacked and fumbles too much for my liking. That being said, he always puts out effort and has pretty good speed.

Heck, Seattle has been trying for years to get him to a WR/wildcat type guy but hasn't been able to because they've had worse 3rd stringers (David Greene, Charlie Frye, Mike Teel). If Seattle would be looking for 4th or higher, I'd move onto something else. Just my opinion.

I know some of you Ohio State guys will jump all over this...

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The Baltimore Ravens assigned the low tender to restricted free agent backup quarterback Troy Smith, according to his agent.

The former Heisman Trophy winner from Ohio State was drafted in the fifth round by Baltimore, so the Ravens would receive a fifth-round pick if anyone signed him to an offer sheet and they declined to match.

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National Football Post

Well we do have like 3 5th round picks. Just please get DA and Quinn out of Cleveland. I'd rather have Jimmy pissedofflookingcabbagepatchkid Clausen then those clowns.

I agree with the Line Judge on this one. Done some negotiating (not on the management side) and the one tangible outcome of this whole "uncapped" situation (debacle if you are an affected veteran player) is the ability to cut some overdone contracts, shed some longreaching dollar amounts by releasing some players, like generally wringing out a saturated washcloth. If their claims of struggling financially are true, in part or whole, as a group I suspect that they will be inclined and even encouraged to lowball contracts for fresh players, especially veterans, and especially the top shelf players like some released this past week. They will not show collusion, but they will influence market results. A Yankee spend and play attitude may be there, but would prove unsustainable under a longer haul if caps are re-instituted. On the player side, it will be a limited take it or leave it, tilted to the low end in many cases, and if you want to be payed, sign sooner than the next guy at your position. Curiosity killed the cat; so can playing too long in the "what am I worth in the FA window?" this year. Get the best deal and get out of the market. Even clubs matching can indirectly hedge their betssomewhat if all bidders lean to the conservative side. Gonna be a FASCINATING 48 hours after midnight. I have high hopes for us in this environment where picks might trade like gold BEFORE draft day.

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The Browns have said that they are not putting the 1st round tender on anyone except Harrison.

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For real? I hadn't seen this, didn't think anyone was going to get the 1st rnd tender. Hope it plays out that way for JH.