During #NFLDraft Process Marcus Mariota “Never Had Any Contact” with Cleveland Browns

Former Oregon quarterback Marcus Mariota told the media that he never visited the Cleveland Browns during the lead-up to the NFL Draft, meaning that all those rumors about the Browns trading up to take MM were just that- rumors.

At an “NFL Play 60” event at the Browns facility on Tuesday, Mariota told the Cleveland Plain Dealer that “I never had any contact with the Browns.”

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Truth be told Mariota could say that about a lot of teams, but the admission that Cleveland never looked like a serious potential landing-place seems rather odd. Browns QB coach Kevin Gennell not only ran Oregon’s pro day this spring, but also took time to prepare Mariota for the draft in the months leading up to April 30, when the Tennessee Titans selected him 2nd overall.

There is another scenario here that Mariota and others are perhaps missing. By having Gennell so involved with Mariota in the months before the draft, I can see the Browns trying to throw people off the scent by not having any other meetings. The Browns had two picks in the first round, and by showing marked enthusiasm for MM the price for trading up would have rocketed skyward.

Mariota: “I never had any contact with the Browns.”

So the question for me becomes where did those pre-draft rumors saying that this was a serious discussion come from? Was it just because of Gennell’s involvement with pro day and Mariota’s other draft preparations? If I’m any team, not just the Cleveland Browns, and I’m asked confidentially before the draft if I’m interested in trading up to draft the Heisman Trophy winner, I’m going to say “Of course!” All 32 NFL teams would have taken Mariota if the price was right, even seemingly QB-stable franchises like the Green Bay Packers and the Seattle Seahawks. For Cleveland to deny their interest would have been silly.

It certainly seems that because trade talk is fun and the phenomenal mess the Cleveland organization has become, the Mariota-to-the-Browns story gathered a lot of interest. But like most extravagant trade rumors, that’s all it was. The trade didn’t happen, Mariota got drafted by Tennessee, and now he can admit he was confused by Browns management.

Aren’t we all.