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Browns GM and coach not attending Mitchell Trubisky's pro day, didn't attend Deshaun Watson's either

Frank Schwab
NFL writer

It’s a normal Tuesday in March, a little more than five weeks before the NFL draft. Whatever the top decision makers for the Cleveland Browns are doing this Tuesday is apparently more important than attending North Carolina quarterback Mitchell Trubisky’s pro-day workout.

Browns coach Hue Jackson and general manager Sashi Brown won’t attend Trubisky’s workout, according to the Cleveland Plain Dealer. The duo didn’t attend Clemson quarterback Deshaun Watson’s pro day last week either, sending vice president of player personnel Andrew Berry instead while they worked out another top prospect, the Plain Dealer said. The Browns have many picks in this draft, including the first and 12th picks.

Hue Jackson (center) and Sashi Brown (right, joined by Browns owner Jimmy Haslam), won’t be attending Mitchell Trubisky’s pro day. (AP)
Hue Jackson (center) and Sashi Brown (right, joined by Browns owner Jimmy Haslam), won’t be attending Mitchell Trubisky’s pro day. (AP)

There could be tremendous reasons for the Browns’ two top decision makers skipping pro days when they’re clearly in the market for a quarterback. Pro days are very scripted, and you won’t get a true read on a player there. Individual workouts are presumably better, and the Browns will hold workouts with Watson, Trubisky and all the top quarterbacks and players, the Plain Dealer said. Maybe they just don’t want to tip their hand to their draft preferences in any way.

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But even if the Browns believe pro days are dog and pony shows, what value is there in Jackson and Brown not attending? There has to be something they could gain by seeing Trubisky or Watson work out (Notre Dame, which has quarterback prospect DeShone Kizer, has its pro day on Thursday). Maybe not even from the workout itself, but perhaps from seeing how Trubisky interacts with teammates, how he handles the media attention afterward, anything.

The quarterback decision the Browns make – whether it’s drafting one this year, waiting to draft one next year, or signing/trading for a veteran – will be the most important one this regime makes. Having as much exposure as possible to each of the top prospects doesn’t seem like a bad thing.

Maybe the Browns are right, and the coach and general manager will be more productive on Tuesday not attending Trubisky’s pro day. And it’s not like the Browns aren’t going to be in attendance at all. Still, you’d figure the Browns would want to gather as much information as possible for their quarterback decision, so they can get it right.

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Frank Schwab is the editor of Shutdown Corner on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at shutdown.corner@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!

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