CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The Bengals did locate the email from the Browns about the AJ McCarron trade that was sent just before the trade deadline Tuesday, but they were in the process of filing their paperwork to the NFL and didn't see it until Wednesday morning, a Bengals spokesperson told cleveland.com.

The Bengals originally said they never received an email from the Browns containing their signed trade agreement, but that turned out to be inaccurate.

They did get it, but because it didn't come directly from Browns Executive Vice President of Football Operations Sashi Brown, the Bengals didn't realize until the next that it had been sent.

Regardless, multiple league sources told cleveland.com that the trade would've gone through had the Browns sent their signed trade agreement to the NFL like the Bengals did.

Instead, the NFL received only the Bengals' paperwork and not the Browns, stating they had agreed on a second- and third-round pick in exchange for the 2014 fifth-round pick out of Alabama.

The Browns, according to a source, emailed their signed agreement to the Bengals at 3:54 p.m. -- six minutes before the 4 p.m. deadline -- and expected that they'd sign it too and send it to the NFL. They did not copy the NFL, which probably would've consummated the trade.

But the email came from an unrecognized name, Brown's assistant, Chris Cooper, director of football administration. It sat unopened in the in-box of Bengals' Director of Player of Personnel Duke Tobin's while he quickly prepared and sent his half of the trade agreement to the NFL, at about 3:55 p.m.

After emailing the league and copying the Browns on it, the Bengals made a follow-up call to confirm the league received their signed agreement, and it did.

With the grains of sand slipping through the hourglass, the Browns received the copy of the Bengals' email -- at 3:59 p.m.

But instead of their original document now containing both signatures, the Browns received a copy of the Bengals' agreement containing only their signature.

Brown quickly called the league office to try to rectify the problem, but it was too late. He was told the trade didn't go through. He appealed the decision, but was rejected.

Browns coach Hue Jackson, who had pushed for McCarron since the offseason when it became apparent that the Browns would be unable to land Patriots backup Jimmy Garoppolo, called his former Bengals QB to tell him the trade fell through.

McCarron, who wants a chance to start, was disappointed.

"I'm a big competitor and you want to play and you want your opportunity,'' McCarron told reporters in Cincinnati on Wednesday. "It would've been really exciting, but it didn't happen.''

Multiple NFL sources have told cleveland.com that the Browns only needed to send the league their signed copy of the agreement to consummate the deal, since the Bengals had already sent in theirs.

But a source with knowledge of the Browns' protocol disputes this, insisting that it wouldn't have sufficed, because the two documents contained different language.

Still, at least half a dozen NFL personnel men who have executed such trades tell cleveland.com that all the Browns had to do was get their signed document to the league and it would've been a done deal.

They cite Page 54 - Paragraph 8 of the NFL's 2017 Player Personnel Handbook, which states:

Upon agreeing to a trade, clubs shall exchange written messages of the terms and conditions, after which both clubs are required to notify the Commissioner in writing of such terms and conditions. For any trade to be accepted prior to the deadline of 4:00 p.m., New York time, on each business day, written submissions, including all conditions, must be received by the League office from the involved clubs via the NFL Waivers account, or by FAX, prior to 4:00 p.m., New York time. If the trade involves a player who must sign a contract in order to be traded, a pdf or FAX copy of his contract must be received by the League office prior to 4:00 p.m., New York time. If any of this material is incomplete, incorrect, or not in compliance with League rules or the Collective Bargaining Agreement, the trade will not be accepted, even if received prior to the deadline.

Note: During the Draft, trades will be accepted by telephone communication to the Player Personnel department, provided that written confirmation is transmitted promptly thereafter.

ESPN analyst and Hall of Fame executive Bill Polian ripped the Browns for the failed transaction on Wednesday, insisting that they don't know the rules. He said each side can send in its own copy right away to consummate a trade, and that the two-signature document is "another procedure that's done long after the trade is made to memorialize it'' with three copies, one for each team and one for the NFL. Another source said the teams have 15 days to file the more formal document that the Browns were trying to pull off in minutes.

Polian said the Browns 'are confusing the two, so it's probably understandable that they made the mistake because they don't know the rule, and they violated it.''

Again, the league source close to the Browns said that's the way they execute all of their trades involving players. The source maintains that they tried to get a signed document to the league in time, but their email to the Bengals went unnoticed and time ran out.

Still, almost everyone associated with the execution of such trades on deadline has said that all the Browns needed to do was notify the league in writing of the trade terms by 4 p.m. The other language in the contract could've been worked out later as long the compensation was correct.



There's no disputing that both teams were up against the deadline and things got tense. At 3:15 p.m., they still hadn't agreed to the deal. In fact, the Browns had decided that the price was too steep.

But the Bengals held firm not the second and third, knowing they couldn't just give away a good player to a division rival. In fact, the only reason they were entertaining the first-ever trade between the two clubs in the first place was Jackson's great relationship with the Bengals.

Had he not taken the Browns' job after the 2015 season, he was in line to replace his good friend Lewis as head coach there.

But somewhere between 3:40 and 3:50, the Browns agreed to accept the trade terms, and the wheels were set in motion to consummate the deal. That's where the things got crazy, and the Browns never got a signature -- or a phone call -- to the NFL in time to pull it off.

One NFL source said teams always call the NFL independently before the deadline to make sure it received the paperwork. They received no such call from he Browns until 3:59 -- when it was too late.



One high-level NFL personnel man also said "it would be crazy for the Browns to expect the Bengals to send the Browns' paperwork to the NFL. They know they have to notify the league themselves.''

Another said, "The Browns know how to execute a trade. If they had really wanted to make this deal, they would have.''

Several sources have told cleveland.com that the personnel department -- which values its draft picks very highly -- didn't want to make the trade in the first place, and that's why it wasn't agreed upon until 10 to 20 minutes before the deadline.

The Browns had already lost a quarterback that Jackson coveted all season -- Garoppolo -- to the 49ers on Monday for the bargain basement price of a 2018 second round pick, a slap in the face to the Browns who had far more to give in such a deal.

The Browns had tried to trade for Garoppolo during the NFL draft, but made only a half-hearted attempt, sources say. NFL Network reported that the Browns a second-round pick and change for Garoppolo, when the Patriots were looking for a first-rounder and more at the time.

Sources say Browns owner Jimmy Haslam signed off on the McCarron trade on Tuesday after Garoppolo went to the 49ers, because he knows Jackson is trying to win football games with a lack of talent on offense and a rookie quarterback in DeShone Kizer who's thrown three touchdown passes against 11 interceptions, tied for the league-high.

Sources say Bengals coach Marvin Lewis was miffed about how the trade fell through, specifically with the Browns dropping the ball.



"I don't know that I've ever really heard of one (blowing up like this)," he said in his press conference Wednesday. "All you have to do is notify the league office you're making a deal. And that's an easy thing."

McCarron, who would've likely stepped in and won started some games for the 0-8 Browns this season, appreciated the Bengals being willing to ship him to a division rival.

"I'm not angry. I'm not upset. It feels good to be wanted," McCarron said. "Today I'm going to thank Mr. (Mike) Brown personally. I admire that he was going to give me an opportunity to go start and play somewhere. I really appreciate that of him. He's been an unbelievable owner in my experience here."

The Browns meanwhile, are left reeling from the fiasco, which is just another example of the discord between the coaching staff and front office.

Browns owners Jimmy and Dee Haslam have been demanding some answers over the past few days, and will have some tough decisions to make on a regime that's failing.