Browns general manager Ray Farmer on Thursday shot down at least one of the flurry of rumors surrounding Cleveland's up-and-down offseason.
Asked to respond to gossip that the team tried to trade passer Johnny Manziel to the Philadelphia Eagles, Farmer told reporters: "No, that's not true."
At the same time, Farmer made it clear that Cleveland is open to drafting another quarterback.
"Sure, why not?" Farmer said -- echoing coach Mike Pettine -- when asked if the team might be willing to package their No. 12 and No. 19 picks for the chance to land Oregon's Marcus Mariota.
"From the scouting side, there's things to like about (Mariota) and those things that you like are the reasons why he's being talked about in the draft," Farmer said, adding: "We think we know who he is, we think we know what he's capable of, we think we know where he would fit for us assuming that he was with us. No reason to take that any further."
If the Browns do land Mariota, the team would drag a crowded house at quarterback into training camp. With so few clubs fielding three passers on the active roster, it's fair to wonder if Manziel might head into the summer fighting for his job behind McCown and Mariota. Farmer refused to shed much light on Johnny's place in the pecking order.
"Right exactly where we were before," Farmer said of Manziel's status. "We support the young man, that he took steps that he needed to take. And at the end of the day, we realize that he's a part of our organization and we're moving forward. He said it best, you know, he's going to do his best to show and not talk about it. I'm probably in that camp as well. Let's just see what happens."
The Browns haven't even invited Mariota for a private workout, but they might have a deeper read on the passer than anyone in the league with Kevin O'Connell -- Mariota's one-time private coach -- now serving as Cleveland's quarterbacks assistant. That placement only fuels speculation that the Browns might have something up their sleeve next Thursday night.
"It's constantly reported that we're just starved and we're gonna do whatever we gotta do to get there and we're gonna trade everything we have to get one person," Farmer said. "I don't know why that is, but it seems to make for good media because people like it."
So if there's nothing to all the whispers, do the Browns already have their starting quarterback on the roster?
"Very well may be. Might not be," Farmer said, saying nothing.
The latest Around The NFL Podcast conducts a redraft of the 2014 NFL Draft before chatting about this year's event with Daniel Jeremiah. Find more Around The NFL content on NFL NOW.
