Rumor roundup: Browns talking trade?
There's quite a bit floating around out there as we near the start of free agency and the trading period.
The bad news is it's tough to know what's substantive at this point.
The good news is we'll have some concrete answers before long, beginning at 12:01 a.m. Friday.
With that being said, here are the rumors swirling around on this Wednesday night:
* Tony Grossi of the Cleveland Plain Dealer reports that the Browns are involved in trade talks with more that one team that could bring a new quarterback to town. A league source tells Grossi the Browns are discussing quarterbacks "on different levels" (whatever that means) and have concluded that they're better off trading for a QB than signing one or drafting one.
* Speaking of the Browns, they have released center and former Eagle Hank Fraley. The Birds traded Fraley to Cleveland in 2006 for a sixth-round pick. I can't pretend I know how Fraley performed last year or if he'd be a good fill-in for Jamaal Jackson while he rehabs. Signing a veteran is one option the Birds have though. The other options are to draft a guy or to give Nick Cole the job until Jackson's able to get back on the field.
* I saw some buzz on Twitter about the Eagles and Darren Sproles. My guess is it stemmed from a column on SI.com by Don Banks. Banks lists the top 10 free agents and predicts where they will sign and where they should sign. For Sproles, he lists the Eagles as the team he should sign with:
The Eagles are reportedly interested, and if so, Sproles would fill the third-down back/return man role quite nicely. With no Brian Westbrook around to throw the ball to any more, the Eagles would let Sproles inherit the same role he enjoyed his greatest success with in San Diego. The Eagles have LeSean McCoy to carry the rushing load, and Sproles would add yet another electrifying young playmaker in Philly.
For the record, when Banks says the Eagles are "reportedly interested" it's unclear what exactly he means. It could mean he has sources who say the Eagles are interested. Or it could mean he's read a report that says they're interested. I haven't seen another actual report linking the two parties, but if there is one, feel free to e-mail it to me.
* Similar report out there on Titans DE Kyle Vanden Bosch. Jim Wyatt of The Tennessean says that at the combine, he heard a lot of buzz about Vanden Bosch. And the teams mentioned the most to be in the market for his services were the Eagles, Bears and Lions. Again, it's unclear whether Wyatt heard this information from personnel people, players, reporters or what.
Stick with us over the next 48 hours and beyond. The first few days of free agency last year were among the best traffic days of the year for MTC. Sure, there's a shortage of unrestricted free agents in 2010. But I have a feeling there will be plenty to blog about.
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