Two Reasons Why Browns Proposed Rule Change To Trade Five Years Worth of Draft Picks

The Cleveland Browns have submitted a pretty significant rule change to the NFL.

Each offseason, NFL clubs are allowed to suggest different rule changes. Then, these suggestions are voted on by all 32 teams. For example, last season’s hot button rule change was the controversial “tush push” play.

This year, the Browns submitted a change to be allowed to trade draft picks five years into the future. Here’s how the official submission reads:

“By Cleveland, to allow draft selections to be traded up to five (5) seasons in the future.”

So, why would the Browns submit a rule like this? There are two big reasons that immediately come to mind.

The march for Arch Manning

The worst kept secret to any discourse surrounding the Browns is their lack of any real answer or plan to land a franchise quarterback.

In the 2025 NFL Draft, the Browns didn’t love the quarterback class, but they wound up with both Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders. They traded back from No. 2 overall to add the Jacksonville Jaguars’ first-round draft choice – a piece the Browns thought could be used to trade up for a franchise quarterback in 2026.

That plan didn’t materialize and neither Sanders nor Gabriel popped off of the page, leaving Browns general manager Andrew Berry contemplating selecting another rookie in the 2026 class.

There’s an overarching conspiracy theory that Browns owner Jimmy Haslam loves Arch Manning. The Haslam ownership group has a very solid relationship with the Manning family. In fact, Haslam was the first individual to suggest that Manning wouldn’t be entering the 2026 NFL Draft.

The Browns might be too good in 2026 to land Manning. Cleveland’s top-ranked defense and improved offensive line should help them win more than four or five games, which would put their draft positioning too far back to land Manning.

But what if the Browns could trade up?

And maybe it’s not exactly trading five first-round picks to land Manning.

The Browns are still paying the price of being without a first-round pick for three straight years following the Deshaun Watson trade disaster. It’s unlikely that they’re looking to make that same mistake all over again.

But what if the Browns traded up to No. 1 overall in 2027 by trading three first-rounders for a can’t miss quarterback like Manning by parting with future selections into 2030. For example, the Browns could trade their own first-round selection with a 2028 first-rounder, and an additional first-round pick in 2032.

It would create a way for savvy front offices to gamble big on a can’t miss player while betting that their own first-round pick won’t be in the top of the first-round years down the road.

Saying goodbye to a franchise legend

There were rumors around the NFL trade deadline that teams were calling Berry about trading Myles Garrett.

Of course, last offseason, Garrett signed a new four-year extension with the Browns that included a no-trade clause. But the 30-year-old defensive end has made it clear that he wants to contend for a Super Bowl.

Berry had made it abundantly clear that the Browns never intended to trade Garrett, even during his public trade request. Even as painful as Cleveland’s five-win season felt, the Browns didn’t seem remotely interested in trading Garrett.

Garrett made NFL history by breaking the single-season sack record last season on a Browns team that won five games. If the Browns fall short for a third consecutive season, could they see what they could land for Garrett?