The Cleveland Browns have withdrawn their rule proposal to allow NFL teams to trade draft picks five years into the future instead of three, according to NFL Network.
The proposal would have been considered by owners this week at the NFL annual league meeting in Phoenix. At least 24 of the 32 teams would have needed to vote in favor for the proposal to have been approved.
Current NFL rules allow teams to trade draft picks up to three years into the future, compared to a seven-year window in the NBA.
Before the Browns withdrew the proposal, Los Angeles Rams coach Sean McVay said Monday that he didn’t support the proposal.
“There’s zero chance it gets through. It doesn’t have any support, it doesn’t have enough support for it to really get through other than being a fun thing that people talk about,” McVay said. “I think [Browns general manager] Andrew Berry is as smart as it gets, and his ability to articulate the thought process behind it is very sound, but just the general feeling that I get from being here, even on the [competition] committee, I would be shocked if there was anything other than a question about it and nothing comes of it.”
Later Monday, Dallas Cowboys CEO Stephen Jones was asked if he expected the proposal to return in the future.
“I couldn’t speculate. I mean … It wouldn’t come from the Cowboys, if you’re asking me that,” he said.
A new crop of general managers has led to more trades in recent years, and this rule change would make that easier in the future. There have already been six first-round picks from this year’s draft that have been traded with the latest coming when the Denver Broncos sent their first-rounder to the Miami Dolphins for receiver Jaylen Waddle.
The Browns had argued that the change would lead to a more active trade market and greater roster flexibility.
ESPN’s Kalyn Kahler and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
