One team in desperate need of a franchise quarterback and armed with a arsenal of attractive draft picks. Another team with a young quarterback sitting on the bench who could be a franchise quarterback.
Seems like a perfect formula for a trade, at least one former exec thinks so.
Mike Lombardi, a longtime friend of New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick who was General Manager of the Cleveland Browns in 2013, said on FS1 that he thinks a trade between the two teams would make sense for both teams.
“The next quarterback that’ll be the Cleveland Browns’ quarterback perhaps is Jimmy Garoppolo in New England,” Lombardi said, via the Akron Beacon Journal. “I think Cleveland understands, [coach] Hue Jackson specifically understands he needs a quarterback. I think they’ll be very aggressive. I think Jimmy Garoppolo’s on top of their list, and I think they’ll go hard after him.”
Garoppolo is under contract next year at just $820,000 before hitting free agency in 2018.
The Browns have two first-round picks and two second-round picks in the 2017 NFL draft, a draft that many experts believe does not have a franchise quarterback prospect.
