WASHINGTON FIRES GM
Take my quarterback, please! The Texans on Thursday shipped Brock Osweiler and their second-round pick in the 2018 NFL draft to the Browns so that Cleveland could take the QB’s mega contract off Houston’s books, according to an ESPN report.
The reported move opens the door for the Texans to acquire Tony Romo, who is rumored to be traded by the Cowboys.
Osweiler, who signed a four-year, $72-million with the Texans last March, is due to make $16 million this season following a disappointing debut year in Houston.
The Texans cut $10 million off this season’s salary cap with the trade, which includes the acquisition of the Browns’ 2017 fourth-round pick in exchange for their own sixth-round pick, per ESPN.
But the 26-year-old signal caller may not be in Cleveland for long.
Sources told ESPN that the Browns, who started four QBs during their 1-15 season, plan to trade Osweiler after he led the 9-7 Texans past the depleted Raiders in last year’s AFC wild-card game.
Osweiler signed his big contract after winning a Super Bowl ring with the Broncos as Peyton Manning’s postseason backup during the 2015 season. After four years in Denver, he struggled in his first full campaign as a starter, throwing 15 touchdowns and 16 interceptions during the Texans’ regular season.
Osweiler’s Houston tenure ended with a 34-16 loss to the Super Bowl-winning Patriots in the divisional round.
— Jake Becker this very public ouster of GM Scot McCloughan
Washington’s 106.7 The Fan reported that last February the team offered Cousins a three-year deal that averaged $19.5 million per year. The team only offered one million more per year this offseason, per the Washington Post.
Assuming he isn’t traded, Washington has until July 15 to work out a long-term deal with Cousins, otherwise the one-year franchise tag salary will be the only option.
Cousins, a fourth-round pick in 2012, put up a passer rating of 97.2 en route to leading Washington to an 8-7-1 record in 2016. — Seth Walder
Following more than a month of speculation that Washington had quietly parted ways with GM Scot McCloughan, the team finally confirmed the firing Tuesday evening.
Washington’s decision to can McCloughan in the second year of a four-year deal stems from “multiple” alcohol relapses and comes after the team acknowledged he would not be attending any NFL Combine events, according to the Washington Post.
“He showed up in the locker room drunk on multiple occasions... He’s been drunk at work. He’s been drunk at games,” a team official told the Post. “... This has been a disaster for 18 months.”
But multiple players on the team denied those claims and said McCloughan had never been drunk in the locker
—Nicholas Parco room.