Rick Smith: Brock Osweiler Trade Is A “Precedent-Setter”

The Brock Osweiler trade sent shockwaves through the NFL. The Texans were able to shed the albatross of a contract attached to Osweiler, and the Browns got a second round pick for basically using $16 million of their enormous salary cap space.

It was a win-win situation for both teams. Still, it was a strange deal by NFL standards. We have now learned where this strange trade materialized: The Oceanaire Seafood Room in Indianapolis.

Texans GM/Executive Vice President Rick Smith opened up about the move to MMQB’s Peter King over the weekend.

Smith said of the move:

“It’s a precedent-setter,” Smith said. “It’s unique. I don’t know if it means trades are going to be different going forward. It took some imagination, some cooperation. But it fit the concept of a trade that helped both teams.”

Smith and Browns GM Sashi Brown hammered out a framework of the trade while they both were in Indianapolis for the NFL Combine.

“Sashi and I started talking, and he’s an intelligent guy,” Smith said Saturday evening. “He and I have been friends for years. We got to thinking about an out-of-the-box concept. It took some creativity and some courage. We got together a couple times at the combine, then we talked more on the phone after that. You try to find equitable value.”

Smith went on further to talk about why the trade shouldn’t be against the NFL rules that basically state players can’t be traded straight up for money. In Smith’s eyes, both sides of the trade have value even if the Browns were to cut Osweiler.

It was interesting to see Smith talk about the deal, but I can’t help but come back to the fact that Osweiler’s value was so poor that the Texans had to give up a second round pick to get rid of him.

The news of the altercation between Texans head coach Bill O’Brien and Osweiler help shed light on why the team was desperate to be rid of the quarterback.