NewsBite

Reports: Cleveland looking to offload $95 million disaster Brock Osweiler before he even plays a game

HE SIGNED a $95m contract last year, but Brock Osweiler suffered the ultimate insult on Friday. Today, that humiliation only grew.

Nunzio Ingrassia and FOXSports.com
2 min read
March 11, 2017 - 3:52PM
Brock Osweiler trade 'never before seen in Football'

THE NFL’s Houston Texans had enough of Brock Osweiler as their quarterback.

A year after signing him to a four-year, $95 million contract, the Texans dealt the 26-year-old and a second-round pick in 2018 to the Cleveland Browns for a fourth-round pick, according to multiple reports.

That’s right, in order to get the NFL’s worst team to assume the remainder of Osweiler’s deal, the Texans had to give up a second-round draft pick.

Many have praised the Texans for getting rid of the 26-year-old, and now he faces even greater humiliation with reports suggesting he will soon be offloaded by the very team that picked him up without giving him a single game.

NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reported the Browns are looking to palm him off, happy enough as it is with their second-round pick, which is what they were really after in the deal with Houston.

Mike Florio of NBC Sports wrote: “The Browns clearly don’t plan to keep him. The options are to trade him or to cut him.” ESPN was also reporting Cleveland was likely to trade or release Osweiler before the 2017 season got underway.

If Cleveland does push Osweiler out immediately after gaining his services, that will be another quarterback out the door after the team released the injury-plagued Robert Griffin III on Saturday (AEDT).

He played just the one season at Cleveland and saw minimal game time, fracturing his shoulder in week one and not returning until week 13. Griffin played in the franchise’s only win of the season in late December but didn’t do enough to convince his bosses he was worth keeping.

Osweiler had a rocky season in his first year as a starter, completing 59 per cent of his passes while throwing 15 touchdowns and 16 interceptions.

He was benched late in the season and regained his starting spot when backup QB Tom Savage suffered an injury.

Osweiler didn’t take advantage of the opportunity when he was reinserted as starter, completing 57 per cent of his attempts while throwing two touchdowns to three interceptions.

Osweiler spent his first four seasons with the Broncos after Denver drafted him in the second round in 2012. He was mainly the backup until 2015, when he started seven games for an injured Peyton Manning, leading the Broncos to a 5-2 mark while throwing 10 touchdowns to six interceptions in that span.

Manning retired shortly after the Broncos won the Super Bowl, paving the way for Osweiler to take over. But the Texans rolled the dice and gave Osweiler that four-year deal that included $37 million guaranteed.

Social media had some fun with the news, predicting Osweiler would last as long in Cleveland as Australian NBA player Andrew Bogut, who broke his leg less than a minute into his debut with the Cavaliers.

“We are committed to bringing a championship to the city of Houston,” Texans general manager Rick Smith said in a statement. “We are exhaustive in our efforts and the resources provided by the McNair family allow us to operate in that way. We continuously evaluate our decision and processes to ensure the results match our goals and objectives. The decision to trade Brock was made because it was in the best interest of the team. It frees up both cash and salary cap room to continue to improve our football team. We appreciate Brock’s effort and leadership while he was with us and we wish him and his family well.”

NFL players were shocked by the move.

— with Nunzio Ingrassia, FOXSports.com

Originally published as Reports: Cleveland looking to offload $95 million disaster Brock Osweiler before he even plays a game

More related stories

Original URL: https://www.goldcoastbulletin.com.au/sport/american-sports/texans-trade-95-million-disaster-brock-osweiler-for-nothing/news-story/5171f33136b0cbe88396e07736b95836