On the weekend of February 27th to March 2nd of 2025 NFL executives and front office personnel will descend upon Indianapolis Indiana for the 2025 NFL Scouting Combine. Mostly of what gets covered by the NFL Network is NFL draft prospects 40-yard dash times and bench press repetitions, that along with the players weight, measurements, and athletic drills. But this weekend has other deals being made prior to the new league year starting on March 12th ,2025. Trades and contract offers to free agents become agreed upon in principle on this weekend. And the Cleveland Browns are rumored to be trading for a Super Bowl winning quarterback.

Last week the NFL rumor mill has been reporting that Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford is on the trading block. The main reason for this trade is that Stafford wants a significant increase in his salary. The Rams are not willing to give it to him. Stafford is currently on a 4 year $40 million dollars a year contract with the Rams. He believes he is worth $50 million dollars a year. A trade for the 37-year-old quarterback would have to involve an extension with a raise. This is why I don’t see it happening with the Cleveland Browns.

Before we even get to the contract Stafford would command, what would the Rams want for him in return on a trade? I have seen speculation that the Browns would send Los Angeles the 2025 33rd overall pick in the draft. That seems to be too much for a 37-year-old quarterback.  And that includes a $50 million dollar a year contract the Browns would have to pay him. Also, the Deshaun Watson contract is still on the books and salary cap for the Browns. It doesn’t make sense to give up a top 40 pick and have over 90 million dollars of our salary cap tied to one position on the team. And that position would be held by a quarterback in his late 30’s. Don’t misunderstand me, Matt Stafford by just a football standpoint would be a great addition to any team including the Cleveland Browns. The economics of the Cleveland Browns situation make it almost impossible to add him to the roster. But it is that time of the year when rumors and speculation run rampant. All I can do is look at the numbers and present them to you.  And everyone else can speculate all they want to.