Throwback Thursday: Former Browns GM passes on Carson Wentz
What if the Cleveland Browns would have taken Carson Wentz with the second pick of the 2016 NFL Draft?
Every time you watch Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Carson Wentz play football and you smile, make sure you thank the Cleveland Browns. It’s going to take a very special person to walk into the that organization and change the culture. There’s a ton of work that needs to be done, and anyone who’s paid the slightest bit of attention to the Browns knows that. It appears, however, that culture will need to be changed without the help of Sashi Brown, now the team’s former general manager.
Brown served as the executive vice president of football operations for Cleveland, the same role Howie Roseman serves for the Eagles. Browns tenure wasn’t all bad. He stockpiled draft choices and freed up cap space to help ensure the Browns’ future is bright. They have six additional draft choices in the 2018 NFL Draft. They have almost $100 million in salary cap space for the 2018 season. None of that matters though, because it’s the personnel decisions that always seem to lead to the Browns’ undoing.
In the end, a franchise quarterback was never found.
More from Inside the Iggles
- Eagles LB Nakobe Dean jokingly makes his pitch for an assistant GM role
- Eagles captains earn high praise on roster blending veteran leadership, youth
- How former Eagles star Cre’Von LeBlanc helped Renegades upstage Cowboys
- Eagles 2023 schedule: Every WR duo Darius Slay, James Bradberry will battle
- Imagining better names for Jason Kelce’s Good Guy Award
Once upon a time, a struggling Browns franchise missed on Donovan McNabb. He wound up in Philadelphia. That was a mistake, but mistakes are okay, as long as you learn from them. The Browns didn’t. With the second-overall pick in the 2016 NFL Draft, they were, somehow, convinced to trade that pick away. It went to the Philadelphia Eagles, and with that pick, they took Carson Wentz.
When its all said and done, that may be a decision that Cleveland regrets for a long time. Philly’s in the midst of a playoff push, and Cleveland’s won one game in two years.
Next: 6 Eagles lead NFC in Pro Bowl votes
Eight other people have served as general manager since the team returned to Cleveland in 1999. This is a team that has failed miserably to find their franchise quarterback (more on that in a second). Other front office members are expected to relieved of their duties as well. Now, the question becomes whether or not Joe Douglas becomes one of those names.
If you’re an Eagles fan, you have to hope it doesn’t.