Sam Darnold Denies He Would Rather Stay in School Than Go to Browns

Sam Darnold won’t stay at USC just to avoid playing in Cleveland.

If, as seems increasingly likely, the Browns have the top pick in this spring’s NFL draft, Sam Darnold won’t stay another year at USC just to avoid going to Cleveland. 

Darnold, a redshirt sophomore, is in the top tier of quarterback prospects but The MMQB’s Albert Breer said in a radio interview earlier this month that Darnold might be more inclined to stay in school if Cleveland had the No. 1 pick. 

That’s not true, Darnold says. 

“I didn’t say anything about the Browns,” Darnold said Monday, according to ESPN. “I’ve never said anything bad about (an NFL) team. They know I would never say anything.”

Darnold and his crosstown rival, UCLA’s Josh Rosen, are the consensus top quarterback prospects eligible for the upcoming draft. Breer currently gives Darnold a slight edge over Rosen on his big board.

Darnold has completed 63.3% of his passes this season for 3,462 yards with 24 touchdowns and 12 interceptions. 

The Browns are currently the only team in the NFL without a win, while the 49ers have just a single win. The Niners appear to have found their quarterback of the future, having traded recently for Jimmy Garoppolo. If the Browns take a quarterback in the upcoming draft, it will be the third consecutive year they’ve drafted a passer. The previous two haven’t worked out all that well, as you probably could have told from the earlier sentence about the Browns being winless.