In what should come as a surprise to no one, the Browns’ latest attempt to land an established quarterback came up short.
Before the Chiefs dealt Alex Smith to the Redskins on Tuesday night, Cleveland was reportedly in the mix, a league source told Cleveland.com.
Smith was traded to Washington after five seasons in Kansas City. The Chiefs, now going all-in on rookie quarterback Patrick Mahomes, will receive cornerback Kendall Fuller and a third-round draft pick in return, insiders confirmed to the Kansas City Star. The transaction itself, however, cannot be completed until March 14 at 3 p.m., the first day of the new league year.
With Smith set to sign a four-year, $94 million deal in the nation’s capital, the 33-year-old veteran can likely breathe a sigh of relief knowing his future won’t be in the Dawg Pound.
“I haven’t even thought about that,” Smith said of being traded to Cleveland on “The Dan Patrick Show” early Tuesday. “They’ve got nowhere to go but up. One-and-31 over the last two years just sounds amazing.”
Smith added he would ideally like to join a contender.
“You would love to go a place that, if that’s the case, if you’re going somewhere, yeah, you want to go somewhere you have a chance to have success,” Smith said. “I feel that [way]. Wouldn’t you?”
This is the Browns’ third strikeout in the quarterback sweepstakes in three months. After internal turmoil helped lead to the missed opportunity to grab Jimmy Garoppolo from the Patriots, the Bengals agreed to send backup quarterback AJ McCarron to the Browns ahead of last fall’s trade deadline. Though Cincinnati submitted its paperwork to the league by 4 p.m., Cleveland stumbled at the finish line.
That ultimately led to the firing of GM Sashi Brown, who was quickly replaced by former Chiefs GM John Dorsey. But the new regime so far has had no more luck than the old one in acquiring a new face of the franchise. The Browns could now turn their attention to luring Kirk Cousins in free agency or drafting a quarterback, as they hold the No. 1 and No. 4 picks in the draft.