- The Washington Times - Wednesday, November 1, 2017

The Cleveland Browns have made a lot of errors over the years in embarrassing fashion, but this one might top them all.

According to multiple reports, the Browns failed to notify the NFL on a last-minute trade Tuesday with the Cincinnati Bengals for quarterback AJ McCarron. The NFL trade deadline passed — and the Browns were reportedly too busy celebrating to notify the league in time. 

As it turns out, the Browns simply forgot to tag the NFL on an email that would have completed the trade.

From the Cleveland Plain Dealer: 

The Bengals quickly sent the necessary documents to the NFL — and copied the Browns — but the Browns only sent their to the Bengals and not to the NFL.

A source with knowledge of the Browns’ sequence of events told cleveland.com that they sent their signed document to the Bengals with the expectation that the Bengals would also sign it and forward it on to the league.

A source also told cleveland.com that if the Browns had simply copied the NFL on the document they sent to the Bengals, the trade would have gone through.

The Browns reportedly agreed to send the Bengals a second- and third-round pick in exchange for McCarron, who has backed up starter Andy Dalton in Cincinnati.

McCarron, a 2014 fifth-round pick out of Alabama, appeared in seven games as a rookie for the Bengals, throwing for six touchdowns and two interceptions. 

• Matthew Paras can be reached at mparas@washingtontimes.com.

Copyright © 2024 The Washington Times, LLC. Click here for reprint permission.

Please read our comment policy before commenting.

Click to Read More and View Comments

Click to Hide