Cleveland Browns fans haven't had a lot to cheer about recently.
Last year's dual first-round draft picks, quarterback Johnny Manziel and cornerback Justin Gilbert, were abject failures as rookies and now face questions of maturity and overall skill level. A surprisingly positive start to the year thanks to the efforts of perennially unwanted journeyman Brian Hoyer dissolved into a mess of a season, culminating in Manziel being forced into the lineup, reportedly against the wishes of the coaching staff, and immediately looking wholly over-matched as an NFL quarterback.
Then the offseason came and things got exponentially worse. There's really no need to list out the seemingly unending river of crap that has flowed Browns fans way, but suffice it to say Manziel is now in rehab and owner Jimmy Haslam has been accused of fostering a "toxic culture" around the team.
Good stuff all around.
Now, comes word that the Browns, facing the prospect of losing mercurial star receiver Josh Gordon for the entirety of the 2015-16 season thanks to another alcohol/drug related suspension, attempted to trade for consummate professional and future Hall of Famer, Larry Fitzgerald.
"#Browns tried to trade for Cardinals' WR Larry Fitzgerald before his contract was redone last month, lg source tells https://cleveland.com," tweeted Mary Kay Cabot of the Cleveland Plain-Dealer.
That's both good and bad news for the Browns.
The good news is that GM Ray Farmer is being proactive about improving the team and fixing the sagging culture and overall negative personality of the team. Fitzgerald is a strong veteran presence that would immediately upgrade the talent level at the same time as he would provide the perfect example to younger Browns players like Manziel, Gordon and Gilbert for how to prepare and operate as a professional NFL player.
Of course, whoever ends up under center for Cleveland next season would also much rather be throwing to a player like Fitzgerald - who, despite having a down year by his standards, still posted 63 receptions for 784 yards - than Andrew Hawkins, the recently added Brian Hartline and, if everything goes according to plan, Dwayne Bowe.
The bad news is that the franchise again swung and missed on an attempt at bringing a major piece into the fold - the fact that your team "tried" to acquire a player means nothing if the pursuit was a fruitless one.
I "try" to go to the gym a lot. It rarely happens and I still end up falling asleep on my bed in a sea of pizza crumbs and empty beer bottles.
As Yoda once said; "Do. Or do not. There is no try. Especially in reference to Cleveland."
