Terrelle Pryor

Terrelle Pryor hopes to be wrapped up to a long-term deal soon.

(John Kuntz, cleveland.com)

INDIANAPOLIS -- The Browns have landed at the NFL Scouting Combine with a boatload of cap space for the start of free agency next week and 11 draft picks, including Nos. 1 and 12.

Browns Executive Vice President of Football Operations Sashi Brown will take the combine podium at noon on Wednesday to address a number of topics, including the status of pending free agent Terrelle Pryor, his mindset heading into free agency, plans for Robert Griffin III, thoughts about the No. 1 pick and more.

Coach Hue Jackson will follow on Thursday morning, and will discuss finding a franchise quarterback and the state of his team.

Here's some of the buzz as the Browns head into the combine, which runs Wednesday through Monday.



1. Jimmy Garoppolo

ESPN's Adam Schefter reported Wednesday that the Patriots are not expected to trade their backup quarterback, and the Browns should know by the end of the Combine if that's true or not. Could it be posturing to drive up the price?

With agents, coaches and personnel executives here, plenty of NFL business will take place, especially with free agency and the trading window opening March 9. The combine has been pushed back a week, which puts even more emphasis on those moves. The Browns could have some preliminary discussions about trading for Garoppolo. They'll have to talk to Garoppolo's agents about a long-term deal, which the trade would be contingent upon.

With Kirk Cousins receiving the exclusive franchise tag from the Redskins, a trade to San Francisco seems less likely, meaning the 49ers would probably be interested in Garoppolo. The Bears will be too, so the price could be high. The Patriots, who would be in jeopardy of losing Garoppolo to free agency after next season, can let the market build until draft day if they truly want to move him. I still believe it will take at least the Browns' No. 12 pick.

2. Terrelle Pryor's contract

Pryor's agents, Drew and Jason Rosenhaus, are set to meet with the Browns here in Indy, a league source tells cleveland.com. Now that they've made one of their other clients, Pittsburgh's Antonio Brown, the NFL's highest-paid receiver at an average of $17 million a year, they can focus on Pryor. A 1,000-yard receiver, he's the hottest wideout set to hit the market. There are also very few available, meaning he'd hit the jackpot.

The Browns have no plans to franchise Pryor by Wednesday's 4 p.m. deadline (about $15.8 million for 2017), a source said, and have every intention of wrapping him up to a long-term deal. If it's not done by March 7, teams can make preliminary offers and set the price. The Browns can then match or exceed. The good news for Cleveland is that Pryor wants to be here. The vibe on this one is good, and it should get done before long.

3. Robert Griffin III's bonus

The Browns must decide if they'll pay Griffin's $750,000 roster bonus, due March 11. If they trade for a veteran QB or sign one before then, they'll likely let Griffin go. But they can't leave themselves shorthanded.

Griffin is essentially in a holding pattern until the Browns see if they can land Garoppolo, Tyrod Taylor or another veteran such as Mike Glennon from Tampa Bay or an A.J. McCarron from Cincinnati (although the Bengals won't want to trade him within the division). The Browns aren't expected to have much interest in Tony Romo.

4. Mitch Trubisky and Deshaun Watson

The Browns will get an up-close look at the top QB prospects. They'll likely spend two of their 60 combine interviews on North Carolina's Trubisky, the Mentor, Ohio, native, and Clemson's Watson. With Trubisky, they'll grill him on his 13 college starts and why he believes he's ready to start in the NFL. With Watson, they'll undoubtedly ask about his comments asking the Cowboys to trade up to draft him last week at the Davey O'Brien Trophy ceremony. At this point, several personnel execs I've talked to think Trubisky is a better thrower than Watson, with more upside than Carson Wentz last year.

NFL Network's Mike Mayock doesn't think the Browns should hold the Cowboys thing against Watson or Myles Garrett, who also jokingly begged Dallas to draft him.

"I don't see any lack of respect for Cleveland,'' Mayock said on a conference call Monday. "I see a little bit of immaturity on behalf of the kids. Some kids grow up in a certain area or are attracted to a certain team and they're a little bit too bubbly and infectious about it. I understand that.

"I don't think the fans or the people in the building in Cleveland should worry about it at all. Work the kids out, interview them, trust me, if Cleveland drafts either of those kids, they're going to come in ready to play."

5. Jonathan Allen and Myles Garrett

If the Browns decide to go defense at No. 1, they must decide if Allen or Garrett is their man. Although most draft experts have the Browns taking Garrett at No. 1, that's not a foregone conclusion. Like a lot of teams, they'll try to discover why he appeared to take some plays off. Gregg Williams has a large say in drafting defensive players this year, and must fall in love with one of them.

"Myles Garrett has the most upside of any pass rusher in this draft,'' Mayock said. "He's got outside edge ability. He's got ability to come up and underneath. He can set a physical edge in the run game. But most importantly he can affect quarterbacks. That's what this league is about.

"He makes a ton of sense at No. 1. The reason Jonathan Allen has to be considered also is in addition to affecting the game, he affects it a little bit differently 'cause you can move him around, he can play just about any place on Gregg Williams' front four, inside, outside and he can do it at a high level.

"I also think he's a little bit safer and at No. 1 you need a difference-maker. They're both difference-makers. There's a higher ceiling for the Texas A&M kid, but that Alabama kid will be a great defensive player for the next 10 years, and he's just a little bit safer than Garrett because he stays healthy and he just seems like he plays every single week. But I love them both."