More Early Browns Speculation

There is more speculation flying around about the Browns interest in QB Kevin Kolb

A few weeks ago I posted about articles I found linking the Browns to the Eagles and their 2 Quarterbacks, Kevin Kolb and Donovan McNabb. Apparently these EARLY rumors have not subsided and in fact have gotten even more intense. Obviously its too early to know what will happen and for anything to actually happen, but I came across some more interesting thoughts on the subject. The National Football Post’s Michael Lombardi wrote yesterday about a hypothetical swap between the two teams given their apparent desire to work together. His proposal seemed a bit shocking to me at first, but the more I think about it the more I see it as a possibility for the Franchise to consider. His idea? Shaun Rogers for Kevin Kolb…

Sounds crazy right? That is exactly what I thought. Rogers is hands downt he best defensive player on our team, and has kept the team relevant the past few seasons in the NFL in terms of Pro Bowl Players (not counting Joshua Cribbs, Ryan Pontbriand and Joe Thomas), but what Lombardi had to say was definitely intriguing. Of course he went on at first about Mike Holmgren’s past successes at finding franchise QB’s, and how he has given up 1st round picks for QB’s who were not first rounders when they were drafted. Brett Favre was a 2nd round pick and as soon as he got to Green Bay Holmgren sent a 1st round pick for him, he was sold on him took a risk and look what happened. Matt Hasselbeck was taken from Green Bay when Holmgren went to Seattle and he was a 6th round pick, and Holmgren traded the Packers a 1st round pick.

So what’s my point? Well you might think he overpayed for those players, but if you think about it, Kevin Kolb appears to be a huge talent at QB, Holmgren and Tom Heckert know this and the Eagles know this. IF the Browns were to attempt to pry the young QB away from the Eagles it would very likely take at least a 1st or 2nd round pick. Given the potential of Kolb and the current mess of the QB situation in Cleveland, it is definitely worth consideration. But why trade a high draft pick when there are so many other needs that are necessary for the team to make any strides forward?

Shaun Rogers is awesome, but might serve the team better if he was traded

This is where the big fella comes in. Shaun Rogers is a hell of a player and I would love to see him stay in Cleveland, but if he could land us our franchise QB I would love him that much more. The Eagles front 7 is bad, except for Trent Cole, and they need a lot of help there to keep up and compete with the Cowboys. Rogers would immediately make that team better and would allow us to see what Ahtyba Rubin has to offer for a full year, as he was very impressive down the stretch last year. If the Browns could move Rogers and his big contract, it would free up space to go after potential big name free agents like Julius Peppers, who the team is still linked to, and it would allow the team to re-structure the contracts of players that they need  to keep, like Joshua Cribbs and Eric Wright. A trade of this magnitude would also make Derek Anderson and or Brady Quinn that much more expendable, and the team would be free to make a pick later in the Draft for a Tony Pike or lower rated QB who could be really good in the NFL and would be a low risk high reward situation. It would also free up some more money for signing all of the draft picks we have, and the team would feel less pressured to trade down because they could afford the high dollar contract that comes with drafting in the top 10.

It is just early rumors and speculation, but it is something that is not completely outside of the realm of possibility. I am not condoning the trade, but it makes sense financially and purely based on need. The “negotiations” between the two teams are something that we will be keeping a very close eye on.