The Cleveland Browns denounced a Monday report that Cleveland Browns owner Jimmy Haslam might pursue a "swap" that would give him control of the Tennessee Titans instead of his current franchise.

The original report, from CBSSports.com, said a Titans sale "has long been in the works but has now taken on a greater sense of urgency with the departure of Tommy Smith," who on Friday 'retired' as president of CEO of the franchise.

"It's 100 percent false,'' a Browns spokesman told the Cleveland Plain Dealer. "There is no truth to the careless speculation from the reporter.'"

Haslam (pictured) purchased 70 percent of the Browns in 2012 for $1.05 billion and agreed to purchase the remaining 30 percent in 2016. Prior to that, he had a minority stake in the Pittsburgh Steelers.

According to the CBSSports.com report, league officials discouraged Haslam from waiting for the Titans to become available because other, more desirable potential owners already had been identified. Billionaire Dave Tepper and Fred Smith, the man in charge of FedEx, were named as the most likely candidates to purchase the Titans if the franchise becomes available.

From that report:

If someone other than Tepper ends up with the Titans, several highly-placed sources have suggested there might be backroom talks of a potential franchise swap with the Browns (Tepper is a Pittsburgh guy through and through, and would never want to own their rival in the Browns). It would be, ultimately, probably impossible, but it's a dynamic other owners are watching and many interested parties will be monitoring.

The Browns, though, won't hear of it.

(Photo: Getty Images)