The mystery of the missing email has been solved in the Browns' failed trade attempt for Cincinnati Bengals backup quarterback AJ McCarron.
The Bengals were able to locate an emailed trade agreement from the Browns for backup quarterback AJ McCarron that Cleveland sent Cincinnati shortly before Tuesday's NFL trade deadline, a Bengals spokeswoman said Wednesday morning.
The email was sent by a member of the Browns' front office who works closely with head of football operations Sashi Brown. The Bengals were unfamiliar with the person who sent the email, and while it was sent at about 3:54 p.m., they were busy filing their trade paperwork to the league office, so the email was missed.
The Bengals on Tuesday contended they never received the email from the Browns, but they were mistaken.
None of this changes the fact that the trade the two AFC North teams agreed upon could not be finalized because the NFL never received a signed agreement from the Browns before the 4 p.m. deadline.
Bengals coach Marvin Lewis said Wednesday during a news conference he doesn't know if he's "ever really heard of" a trade being derailed because paperwork wasn't filed on time.
"All you have to do is notify the league office you're making a deal, and that's an easy thing," Lewis said. "We spoke to a person in (the league office) that (said) our (paperwork was) there."
The Bengals reportedly would have received a second-round selection and a third-round pick in next year's draft for McCarron, who played for Browns coach Hue Jackson when he was Cincinnati's offensive coordinator from 2014-15 and is 2-2 as an NFL starter, including 0-1 in the playoffs.
"It's not a good situation," Lewis said. "AJ's a very valuable member of this team, and I told him that yesterday afterward. Frankly, I was relieved (we didn't trade him). He's a great kid. He's a true team player. He's a leader on this football team, and that's why we felt like he's such a valuable asset."
