NFL Executives: 49ers & Browns’ Asking Prices In Trade Scenarios Was Way Too High

Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports spoke to a number of executives around the league regarding the Browns and 49ers, who were reportedly actively fielding trade offers for a number of players ahead of the recent trade deadline.

According to the executives, the two teams wanted to appear as though they were being active, but their asking price for available players was way too high.

“It was like you would spend all of this time talking about this, and you’d think you were getting close on this price for this player,” one GM said, “and then all of a sudden it was, ‘Oh, no, we meant that.’ It could be a little frustrating because you got the sense some of these teams were more interested in being associated with being active than they really were with making trades.”

Another GM tells La Canora: “These teams were telling you they wanted to move salary and they wanted to listen to anything, but then when it came down to it they were looking to hit a home run and not just move a guy for a late-round pick, which is why I thought we were talking in the first place.”

One personnel executive got the feeling that even if they would have met the Browns or 49ers’ asking price for a player, they may have just asked for more in the end.

“There was no way we were going to meet what Cleveland and San Francisco wanted for some of these players,” the executive said, “but even if we had I don’t think they would have done it anyway. I got the feeling even if you have them what they said they wanted, they’d just ask for more.”

The two teams reportedly had OLBs Paul Kruger and Barkevious Mingo, LT Joe Thomas, LT Joe Staley, and WR Anquan Boldin all available for trade, but the only deal that was made in the days leading up to the deadline was Vernon Davis being shipped off to the Broncos.

It seemed like the Browns and 49ers would want to shed some salary while adding some future late-round picks in the process, but it appears as though they’re comfortable holding onto them for the remainder of the year before re-evaluating things.