The 49ers and their quest to trade quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo have gotten bad news on the Cleveland Browns front in consecutive days. First, the Cleveland Plain Dealer’s Mary Kay Cabot reported the Browns don’t have any interest in trading for the 49ers’ QB. Then Thursday they signed journeyman signal caller Josh Rosen.
Rosen joining the Browns isn’t a direct signal that Cleveland doesn’t want Garoppolo. That’s to say they weren’t choosing between those two players. However, the addition of Rosen gives them four QBs on their roster. He’ll join Deshaun Watson, Jacoby Brissett and Josh Dobbs. That group would indicate that in the event of a Watson suspension, Brissett would work as the QB1 while Dobbs and Rosen battled for the QB2 job.
Of course, all of this could change should Watson be suspended for a substantial length of time. Cleveland may be okay with Brissett as their QB1 for six or eight games. Perhaps they’ll feel differently if that number climbs to 10 or beyond.
Their interest could also be piqued if he becomes a free agent where they don’t have to unload draft compensation to acquire him. For now all signs point to the Browns having no interest in trading for Garoppolo, including the addition of Rosen in an already crowded QB room.
