CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The Cleveland Browns are at Cincinnati on Sunday for a game with a couple of subplots.

The first is the "almost" deal for A.J. McCarron. To this day, only one word explains why the Browns suddenly were willing to part with second- and third-round picks in 2018 -- DESPERATION.

McCarron has not taken a regular-season snap since 2015. He was never considered a prime quarterback prospect. Had the Browns been willing to part with those picks at any point before the final day of the NFL trading deadline, McCarron would be in an orange helmet right now.

The trade talks only became serious in the final hours before the trading deadline. Suddenly, the Browns wanted a quarterback who could work with Hue Jackson and knew the coach's system. It fell through. Lots of conspiracy theories revolve around why that happened. But the bottom line was the Browns waited far too long to get moving on the trade.

Why wait so long?

Because it was a lousy deal, and the front office knew it. They were haggling with the Bengals about which of their three 2018 second-round picks to put in the trade. They finally settled on the pick from the Houston Texans acquired in the Brock Osweiler deal. That was part of the reason for the delay.

But the real question was why the pursuit at all?

The front office and ownership knew turnover-prone quarterback play was sinking the Browns, who have 20 interceptions in 10 games. The next highest is Denver with 14.

I've considered McCarron to be sort of a better model of Cody Kessler, the game-manager quarterback.

Someone was trying to appease Jackson. Maybe McCarron would have helped the Browns win a game or two. But that still would have made it a bad deal, especially because he's a restricted free agent at the end of the season. The players union is trying to get his status changed to unrestricted.

The Browns need far more than McCarron. If he becomes unrestricted, they can try to sign him.

But I'd rather have that second- and third-round pick heading into the 2018 draft than basically a McCarron rental.

JACKSON AND CINCINNATI

The story comes up every few weeks -- Jackson replacing Marvin Lewis as the Bengals coach in 2018. Jackson was Cincinnati's offensive coordinator before coming to Cleveland. The 59-year-old Lewis is in his 15th year as head coach. His record is 122-109, including 0-7 in the playoffs.

Bengals owner Mike Brown has not extended Lewis' contract, which ends after the season. It's doubtful he'll be back.

Jackson not only is close to Lewis, but also to Brown. When Jackson was in Cincinnati, there was speculation he would be promoted when Lewis decided to retire. But the Browns came calling in 2016. Jackson was 51. He knew he better grab the job while it was available.

Jackson sometimes acts as if he had no idea the Browns were embarking on this massive building project with lots of losses to come. The plan was explained to him. He signed up, probably never dreaming it would be this hard. He also was longing for a head coaching job ... somewhere.

He is under contract for next season. Would the Browns let him go to take over the Bengals in 2018? Would the Bengals actually hire Jackson after all the turmoil in Cleveland?

I don't know the answer. I bet Jackson would be very open to the idea. The Bengals' old-style front office would fit his personality. He clearly is not buying into the approach of the current front office. His comments show he wants to separate himself from those who run the draft.

The idea of firing the front office, and then hiring another front office to work with Jackson is a very poor plan.

I have no clue what Browns owner Jimmy Haslam -- or Cincinnati's Mike Brown -- will do about their coaches. But the Bengals/Jackson connection is interesting.

ABOUT DESHONE KIZER

How did Kizer go from playing his best game of the season to his worst in seven days?

1. When Kizer was 21-of-37 for 232 yards, he played on the indoor carpet of Ford Field. The Detroit Lions have the 24th-ranked defense.

2. The Browns lost to the Lions, 38-24. Kizer suffered bruised ribs in the second half and missed three series. He did return in the fourth quarter. I wonder if he was still hurting a bit last Sunday.

3. A week later, the Browns faced Jacksonville -- the NFL's best defense. It was a cold, windy, wet day on the shores of Lake Erie, the opposite of ideal quarterback conditions.

4. Kizer threw two interceptions and lost two fumbles in the 19-7 loss. Notice the Jags didn't light up the scoreboard, either. The day belonged to defense.

5. So part of Kizer's decline was due to the opposition and the weather. Then came the same problems he's had all season -- turnovers. Those have happened in almost any weather condition. In nine starts, Kizer has 14 interceptions compared to five TD passes. He's also lost four fumbles.

6. Profootballfocus reports Eli Manning leads all quarterbacks when it comes to having his passes dropped -- 30. Who's next? Kizer with 25. So this documents the receivers' failures, which fans know already.

7. A bad stat for Kizer is his 52.7 QB rating when he's not being blitzed. When he faces a normal rush, he has the lowest rating among starters in the NFL. Part of it could be the inability of receivers to get open. But Kizer also has real problems dealing with most defenses, leading to poor decisions.

8. I'm still for playing Kizer this season. I also favor drafting a quarterback high in 2018, even if Kizer plays well. I want depth at the position. Kizer is only 21 and is physically gifted. It would be ridiculous to write him off after one nightmare rookie season. But that doesn't give him a free pass to start in 2018.

ABOUT BROCK OSWEILER

After starting the last three games for the Denver Broncos, Osweiler has dropped to No. 3 on the depth chart.

Denver's quarterback situation sounds similar to the Browns. There are several quarterbacks ... and no real quarterback.

They are starting Paxton Lynch this week. He is the Broncos' third starter this season. They are on a six-game losing streak, and have fired offensive coordinator Mike McCoy.

Denver is giving up the same 26 points a game as the Browns this season.

Since Peyton Manning retired, Denver team president John Elway doesn't seem to have the magic touch with quarterbacks. He thought Osweiler could replace Manning. Then came Osweiler's long journey from Denver to Houston to Cleveland and back to Denver -- all in less than two years.

In Osweiler's three starts, he completed only 53 percent of his passes, with three TDs and four interceptions.

Denver's defense was shredded for 111 points in those three losses. Osweiler didn't play well, as is true for most of the 3-7 Broncos this season.

Osweiler turned 27 on Wednesday. Two years ago, Houston liked him enough to give him a four-year, $72 million deal. The Browns are paying nearly all of his $16 million salary this season.

Osweiler is a free agent after the season.