Seven years ago today, the Browns swung a trade with the Dallas Cowboys to make Brady Quinn the 22nd overall pick in the 2007 NFL Draft.
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According to the former Notre Dame quarterback, he very nearly became the property of Cleveland's bitter division rival.
"Here's something that a lot of people don't know," Brady told NFL Media's Daniel Jeremiah on Monday's edition of "Path to the Draft." "During that pick, I was on the phone with the Baltimore Ravens the entire time. So, I was talking to (general manager) Ozzie Newsome ... coach (Brian) Billick and coach (Rick) Neuheisel, because I hadn't interviewed with them, hadn't worked out for them or anything."
With the Ravens hoping that Quinn's surprising tumble down the draft board would land him in their lap at No. 29, fate stepped in from the Buckeye State.
"And I hear my name being called, and I'm running out to the stage to grab a jersey -- it really was a childhood dream come true."
None of this was news to Jeremiah, the former Ravens scout who told Quinn: "I was in that (Baltimore) draft room when we were talking to you on the phone and having that discussion about, 'Are we going to take Brady Quinn? We can't believe he's still on the board!'"
Quinn's run with the Browns didn't go as planned, but it's tantalizing to ponder what would have happened had he gone to Baltimore. After missing out on the young quarterback of their choice, the Ravens suffered through an abysmal 5-11 campaign in 2007 with a mixture of Steve McNair, Kyle Boller and Troy Smith under center.
Billick was subsequently fired and replaced by John Harbaugh, who teamed with Newsome the following April to make Joe Flacco their franchise passer of the future. The rest, as they say, is history.
The latest "Around The League Podcast" breaks out the crystal ball and predicts the potential surprises that could shake up the NFL Draft.
