Cleveland Browns Are 5 Games From Making Rare Bit of History
By Erik Lambert
The Cleveland Browns have been making the wrong sort of history lately and it’s reached a level of suffering that few can comprehend.
With five games remaining the team is in danger of having just one win in two seasons. That would be the worst stretch that didn’t involve an expansion team in NFL history. If it persists the Browns would also secure another elusive piece of history. Being winless Cleveland is currently the obvious front runner to secure the #1 overall pick in the 2018 NFL draft.
This would mark the second-straight year they’d hold the top pick. Only three other times in NFL history since the draft was implemented in 1939 has that happened. The Chicago Cardinals held it the first two years of its existence in ’39 and 40. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers did it not once but twice in decade 1976-77 and 1986-87. Last but not least the expansion Browns did it in 1999 and 2000.
So this Browns team would be the fourth to accomplish the feat and the organization would be only the second to do it twice.
Another house cleaning could be on the way
The thing is the current regime running the show may not be around to make that second-straight pick. Hue Jackson is under fire for not getting more from what many believe is a fairly talented young roster. GM Sashi Brown meanwhile has made his fair share of gaffes that have handcuffed the team, particularly at the quarterback position. The ineptitude that has persisted over such a long stretch can’t be a coincidence.
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One must wonder if the Browns ownership is playing a big role in this. The Haslam family certainly has developed a reputation for meddling in the teams’ key decisions from the draft to free agency and beyond. That’s their prerogative as owners but more often than not it does more harm than good in the long run. This latest string of sadness is the perfect example.