Alec Scheiner reportedly meddling in Browns trade rumors

By Will Gibson

The trade rumors surrounding the Cleveland Browns, it seems, are real. Joe Thomas, Alex Mack, Paul Kruger, and Barkevious Mingo have allreportedly been placed on the trading block, and reports are starting to surface about the Browns’ asking prices.

ESPN Cleveland’s Tony Grossi says that the Browns and Denver Broncos had discussed a trade for Thomas earlier in the season, after Denver’s left tackle Ryan Clady went down with a torn ACL. It is unclear exactly when this discussion took place. Clady suffered his injury in late May during organized team activities.

Other reports and rumblings seem to confirm that the Browns are asking for a first-round pick and then some for Thomas.

Mack, meanwhile, has an unusual, player-friendly contract that features a no-trade clause as well as an opt-out after this season. He said in a statement that he would not waive the no-trade clause, which is a somewhat tepid endorsement considering that he could leave as a free agent after eight more games.

Aside from Ian Rapoport’s tweet above, there isn’t as much to say about potential deals for either Barkevious Mingo or Paul Kruger. Mingo’s agentspoke up earlier this season to say that his client wasn’t getting enough playing time. Kruger said that he wasn’t surprised by his inclusion in trade rumors, in part because of how he has been used on the field.

Per Tony Grossi, the Browns are looking to trade players for draft picks. Team president Alec Scheiner — who is in charge of business operations, not football ops — has reportedly been a leading voice in this strategy.

This is not the first time that Scheiner has been reported to have pull with Haslam. A story by CBS Sports’ Jason La Canfora — from February of this year — portrays Scheiner as getting increasingly involved with the football side of things. Haslam is compared unfavorably to Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, and Browns headquarters are painted as a disorganized mess.

After that story broke in February, Scheiner denied that he was seeking more involvement in the Browns’ football operations. Haslam echoed those sentiments, saying that Scheiner ran the business side and that the team’s on- and off-field branches were getting along in perfect harmony.

From Nate Ulrich’s story for the Akron Beacon Journal:

Some nine months after La Canfora’s report of Scheiner being a divisive figure in Berea, it seems that little has changed. There may exist a universe in which the Browns brass actually do get along. There may exist a universe in which the Browns invest in the right draft picks. There may exist a universe in which the Browns spend their cap room wisely and make smart decisions. I’m just not sure it’s this one.

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