The Philadelphia Eagles and Cleveland Browns have been mentioned in trade rumors regarding Johnny Manziel and Sam Bradford this offseason and with both teams interested in Marcus Mariota in the draft, there is a chance that Chip Kelly could try and pull off another trade after acquiring Bradford from the Rams for Nick Foles.
Both the Browns and the Eagles have reportedly been interested in Mariota heading into the draft and this comes after reports that Cleveland also has tried to trade for Sam Bradford. According to Adam Caplan at ESPN.com, the Browns are interested in Bradford and previously offered a first round pick to the rams before the team traded the quarterback to the Eagles.
Heading into the draft there is always chatter about potential trades and this year is no different and now Manziel has slipped into things. SB Nation picked up on a report from Chat Sports writer Mack Ferguson, who wrote that sources reported to him that the Browns and Eagles have spoken about a trade for Sam Bradford that could involve Johnny Manziel and draft picks changing hands.
SB Nation's Browns account spoke with Chat Sports founder and CEO James Yoder and he said that the source the website spoke to was legitimate. While he added that they cannot the guarantee the trade will actually happen, he said the "content we published was factual" based on the reports from the source. The source reportedly is a "close friend" of an agent of one of the players involved.
The Eagles made the move for Bradford and shocked many following the LeSean McCoy trade and that prompted some around the league to speculate about the next moves for the Eagles. Chip Kelly later came out to the media and said that Bradford would not be used as a trade chip and that the team would not "mortgage" the draft for one player. According to ESPN.com, some coaches around the league still think that Kelly will move up to try and snag Mariota in the draft.
While all of this should be taken with a grain of salt, at the same time it does play into some of the news reports and rumors that have been coming out of both teams this offseason. The Eagles reportedly are interested in going for Mariota even after adding Bradford and based on the way Kelly has operated, would a shocking trade be all that surprising anymore? The Browns reportedly have "moved on" from Manziel as a future option and with him having to go to rehab, it wouldn't be a surprise for the team to take him out of their future plans at the position.
The Eagles and the Browns are both reportedly interested in trading up to get Marcus Mariota and there could still be maneuvers ahead even if this trade doesn't go down. Jason Cole at Bleacher Report wrote that the Bears may try and trade Jay Cutler to get Mariota and that could be an option for the Titans. Cole also added that the talk with Manziel and the Eagles is mostly coming from the Cleveland side and that Philly is not looking to pull off a deal yet.
