The Bears Trubisky pick is still making headlines across the NFL with a full week having transpired since it was made. Needless to say the opinions have varied. Some experts panned the move, citing it reckless and way too expensive. Others admire the aggressiveness of GM Ryan Pace to finally try solving a position that has haunted Chicago for decades. Regardless of stance, the choice caused a stir.
What people couldn’t be sure of is whether or not the trade by Pace to go from #3 to #2 overall was worth it. Most claimed they basically bid against themselves. Gave up valuable picks for a player who would’ve been available had they stayed put. Details over the past few days though seem to argue against that stance. Not only did the Titans and Jaguars stop receiving trade calls from teams after the Trubisky pick, word is it completely ruined the weekend for one team in particular.
Bears Trubisky pick shattered a promise to Browns owner
Former Bears quarterback Jim Miller, now an analyst for CSN Chicago, heard from his sources on draft day that Cleveland Browns owner Jimmy Haslam was furious his team wasn’t able to get back up the board to land Trubisky. He explained on the Bears Talk podcast why Pace made the right move.
“No I’m not because I was told specifically on draft day that the owner of the Cleveland Browns was very upset, Jimmy Haslam, that they didn’t get Mitchell Trubisky. He was promised that they were going to get him. It didn’t happen. Even Hue Jackson came out today and said he thought Patrick Mahomes had the most upside of any quarterback.
Well, they failed from that aspect too with Cleveland because Kansas City leapfrogged them going from I think #25 (#27) to #10 to go to the Buffalo Bills spot. So not only did Cleveland miss on Trubisky, then they missed on Mahomes who their head coach wanted.”
This explanation falls right in line with the information coming out of Cleveland before the draft. Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com among others stated Trubisky was in serious consideration for the #1 pick. Some in the organization were nervous they could miss getting him if they chose to go the expected route of taking Myles Garrett.
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Failed to pay the price
The infatuation of Haslam with Trubisky made perfect sense. Trubisky is an Ohio native who grew up not too far from Cleveland proper. The Browns were his favorite team. It’s a movie script that basically writes itself. A hometown boy grows up to take over at quarterback of his childhood team. The stuff dreams can be made. Also something that city seems to thrive on, having seen Bernie Kosar and LeBron James reach similar success.
It’s understandable the Browns felt confident they could move back up for Trubisky. They had more than enough draft capital to do so. Unfortunately it seems they weren’t able to meet the price demanded by 49ers GM John Lynch. They also failed to recognize the Bears were interested until it was far too late. A testament to the deception plan hatched by Pace and his staff. Often the biggest key to battlefield success is the element of surprise.
Suffice to say the Browns were stunned when Chicago jumped to #2 to ruin their promise. Lying to somebody like Haslam has not proven to be a good thing these days. After all the man has replaced the head coach and GM positions three times since he bought the franchise back in 2012. He expects results. Thus far they haven’t gotten many.
