Report: Browns offered a 1st-round pick for Sam Bradford

It appears the Cleveland Browns had their sights set on Sam Bradford as a potential franchise quarterback at some point this offseason.

While it remains unclear whether they pursued a deal before or after Bradford was traded from the St. Louis Rams to the Philadelphia Eagles, the Browns reportedly offered a first-round selection in exchange for his talents, according to Charley Casserly of NFL Media.

Of course, Bradford has not (yet) been traded to the Browns, and Josh McCown and Johnny Manziel are currently slated to compete for the team's starting job under center. 

However, Casserly's report - confirmed by Adam Caplan of ESPN - indicated that Eagles coach Chip Kelly may not have been stretching the truth when he told reporters he was offered a first-rounder for Bradford just one day after acquiring him from the Rams.

Trades are rare enough in the NFL, but a team flipping a quarterback for a second time before even getting him on the field is unheard of. At the same time, an extra first-round pick would likely give the Eagles the assets they need to move up in the first round of April's draft.

Whether Kelly and his staff truly plan to build around Bradford or not, possible scenarios for the Eagles swinging a deal to land Oregon quarterback Marcus Mariota certainly won't be going away anytime soon.

As much as the team can and will continue to deny intentions of pursuing such a trade, Mariota somehow ending up in an Eagles uniform on draft day would not be surprising in the least.