As the QB turns: Cleveland edition … After a wild and woolly first few hours of free agency yesterday, things around the NFL have kind of quieted down this morning. In particular, QB Brock Osweiller is still in Cleveland at this hour after having been acquired from Houston yesterday in a deal that appeared designed mostly to clear cap space for the Texans, ostensibly to pursue Dallas QB Tony Romo. In fact, it is still possible that the Browns actually end up keeping Osweiller, although the buzz around the league is that the Browns still would like to acquire Jimmy Garoppolo from New England. However, the Browns and Patriots now looked to be locked in the NFL’s version of a game of chicken that could conceivably go right down to the draft on April 27th. according to league sources, Cleveland is prepared to offer the Patriots, the 12th pick overall in this year’s draft, as well as one of their three second rounders from the 2018 draft. However, the Patriots reportedly are currently asking for the #1 pick overall this year, plus a second first rounder next year. The Browns, though, have made it pretty clear that this year’s #1 pick is off the table. Ironically, the Browns also now have the option of using Osweiller as a safety blanket they could waive at the Patriots and say ‘we have options.’ The Garoppolo story took an odd turn last night when someone hacked into his Instagram account and posted a message saying he was leaving Boston. Whoever ends up taking snaps for the Browns got a bit of a gift yesterday when Cleveland signed free agent interior offensive linemen Kevin Zeitler (Cincinnati) and J.C. Tretter (Green Bay) and resigned incumbent RT Joel Bitonio.
