Bengals Agree To AJ McCarron Trade With Browns, Who Don’t Tell NFL In Time

The Cleveland Browns made a cringe-worthy mistake this week.

AJ MCcarron Trade News

On Tuesday, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported that the Browns and Cincinnati agreed to a trade for backup Bengals quarterback AJ McCarron just before the NFL trade deadline.

However, the swap was not officially completed because, per Schefter, Cleveland failed to notify the NFL before the 4 pm EST deadline. The Bengals (3-4) did report the trade.

Schefter added that the Browns attempted to dispute the swap, but the league denied their request.

McCarron — the Bengals’ fifth-round pick out of Alabama in 2014 — has played in nine regular-season games, during which he’s thrown six touchdowns and two picks for a 97.1 passer rating, and one playoff game, during which he threw one touchdown and one pick for a 68.3 passer rating.

According to Jim Owczarski of the Cincinnati Enquirer, the Browns (0-8) were offering a second-round and third-round pick.

Most people in the NFL world seem to agree that this type of blunder is unsurprising for a hopeless team like the Browns. Another trade was also completed just minutes before Tuesday’s deadline (around 3:57 pm EST, reportedly): the Carolina Panthers sent wide receiver Kelvin Benjamin to the Buffalo Bills in exchange for draft picks. However, there were no issued with that swap.

Cincinnati could thus likely turn to either rookie  DeShone Kizer, who has already been benched twice, Cody Kessler, or Kevin Hogan. The Browns also passed on taking top players in the past two drafts, like Carson Wentz and Deshaun Watson. 

The Browns have a bye this week and then visit the Detroit Lions on Nov. 12. The Bengals next visit Jacksonville on Sunday.

BALTIMORE, MD – NOVEMBER 27: Quarterback AJ McCarron #5 of the Cincinnati Bengals warms up prior to a game against the Baltimore Ravens at M&T Bank Stadium on November 27, 2016 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images)