The Cleveland Browns tried to trade Josh Gordon in a 2013 trade that would have brought them Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Nick Foles.
Josh Gordon is suspended for the 2015 season after drug suspensions limited him to five games in 2014 after a Pro Bowl season in 2013 and the Cleveland Browns are likely stuck with their problem receiver.
However, they tried in vain to rid themselves of the talented, yet troubled receiver before the 2013 season in a move they hoped would net them a franchise quarterback they have long needed.
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According to Phil Sheridan of ESPN.com, the Browns proposes a deal with the Philadelphia Eagles for then-backup quarterback, Nick Foles.
At the time, Gordon was facing a two-game suspension for violating the NFL’s substance abuse policy and Michael Vick was slated to open the season as the Eagles starting quarterback.
Former Eagles president Joe Banner was with the team when they drafted Foles in the third round out of Arizona and was now running the Browns who had Jason Campbell and Brandon Weeden vying for the quarterback job in Cleveland.
Naturally, the Eagles didn’t want to give up on a young quarterback first-year head coach Chip Kelly was so high on and saw up close in Pac-12 play when he was the head coach at Oregon and of course they were concerned about the suspension Gordon was facing.
Hindsight is 20/20, but the Eagles look prophetic for rejecting that trade.
Gordon would go on to lead the NFL in receiving yards that year and make the Pro Bowl, but in the time since has been his biggest enemy and is wasting his prime years due to substance abuse.
Foles would also come off the bench after Vick was injured and make the Pro Bowl too after throwing 27 touchdowns to only two interceptions. Foles missed the second half of the 2014 season after breaking his collarbone, but is expected to be the starter in 2015, something that can’t be said for Gordon.
It does make for a fun series of hypothetical questions though.
Would Foles have had the same success in the Browns system as he did in Kelly’s?
Would the Browns have been in the market for a QB in the 2014 draft when they drafted Johnny Manziel?
Would the Eagles have drafted Jordan Matthews in the second round of the 2014 draft and what would it have meant for Jeremy Maclin who was one of the best receivers last year?
But the biggest what-if question is if the deal went through, would the Eagles be in position to draft Kelly’s former quarterback at Oregon, Marcus Mariota in the 2015 draft?
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