BEREA, Ohio _ The Browns are struggling with their clock management off the field, too.
They agreed to a trade for Cincinnati Bengals backup quarterback AJ McCarron shortly before the NFL trade deadline at 4 p.m. Tuesday, but chaos and confusion over paperwork prevented the deal between the two AFC North teams from being finalized, a league source said.
ESPN first reported the Browns and Bengals struck a deal at 3:55 p.m. and thought they beat the clock, only to learn they did not.
A league source said the deal came together close to the deadline, and in a scramble, the Browns emailed a signed trade agreement to the Bengals under the impression Cincinnati would sign the same document and send it to the league office.
The Bengals sent a trade agreement in time to the NFL and copied the Browns on the email, but the document only had a signature from Cincinnati on it, the league source said.
The Browns never got a trade agreement with their signature on it to the league before the deadline, the league source said.
The NFL confirmed the trade did not go through because the required paperwork wasn't filed with the league office prior to 4 p.m.
The Browns argued the trade should be allowed, but the NFL rejected the request, a league source said.
The Cincinnati Enquirer reported the Browns were willing to deal a second-round selection and a third-round pick in next year's draft for McCarron. But a disconnect between the coaching staff and player personnel department of the Browns hindered trade talks dating to the spring, according to the report.
The procrastination ultimately backfired for the Browns, who are 0-8 this season and 1-23 under the regime led by head of football operations Sashi Brown, chief strategy officer Paul DePodesta and coach Hue Jackson.
A former Bengals assistant coach, Jackson knows McCarron well because he served as Cincinnati's offensive coordinator from 2014-15. Jackson's interest in McCarron and quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo has been well known in league circles since early in the offseason.
The Browns' botched deal for McCarron comes on the heels of the New England Patriots shipping Garoppolo to the San Francisco 49ers on Monday in exchange for a 2018 second-round pick.
The Browns inquired about Garoppolo during April's draft, a league source said, but they didn't get a deal done despite their surplus of ammunition. They entered the 2017 draft with two picks in each of the first two rounds, and they have 12 selections next year, including two in the first round and three in the second round.
McCarron is scheduled to become a restricted free agent and Garoppolo is set to become an unrestricted free agent in March.
McCarron, 27, is 2-2 as an NFL starter, including 0-1 in the playoffs. A fifth-round pick in 2014 from the University of Alabama, McCarron made all four of his starts in 2015 after starter Andy Dalton suffered a broken thumb and threw a go-ahead touchdown pass late in an 18-16 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers during the AFC wild-card round.
Garoppolo, who turns 26 on Thursday, is 2-0 as an NFL starter, winning both of his starts in 2016 with five-time Super Bowl champion Tom Brady suspended for Deflategate. The 2014 second-round pick from Eastern Illinois completed 71 percent of his passes with four touchdowns and no interceptions before a sprained AC joint in his right shoulder sidelined him during the second quarter of his second start.
The Browns have started 28 quarterbacks since 1999, and rookie second-round pick DeShone Kizer has yet to prove he can be a long-term answer. The attempt to trade for McCarron shows the Browns don't have much faith, if any, in Kizer becoming a franchise quarterback.
Jackson has practically begged the front office to acquire more talent with his public comments in recent days.
"Obviously, just our need to continue to get better at many different positions, and I think we all see it," Jackson said Monday when asked which issues he anticipated addressing during this week's bye with owner Jimmy Haslam and Brown. "I think we know where we're headed. I like our roster a lot, but I think there's some upgrading that we can do and will do. We have to continue to look at the things that we think will make our team better overall from just a positional standpoint, and I think we will have those discussions here soon."
After the Browns lost 33-16 to the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday in London, Jackson basically said his team must play a perfect game to win because it doesn't have enough talent to compensate for mistakes.
"Everything has got to be perfect for us to have a chance to win a football game," Jackson said at Twickenham Stadium. "That's just where we are as a football team. We get it, and our coaching staff gets it and our players get it, and we work that way. We try to do the best we can to get everything right, but we all know that's not how football is played."
Still, the front office led by Brown and DePodesta failed to execute a trade before the deadline.
