In 1956, Cecil B. DeMille produced and directed The Ten Commandments, which told the iconic tale of Moses, played by the imposing Charlton Heston, leading the Hebrews in their exodus from slavery in Egypt, after which he received two stone tablets from God on Mount Sinai, bearing the eponymous commandments.
But the NFL — and, to a lesser extent, the other three of our major sports — has added an 11th Commandment:
"Thou shalt not trade within thine own division."
But the Browns did exactly this two weeks ago when they traded 40-year-old quarterback Joe Flacco to AFC North rival Cincinnati for two late-round draft picks, one in the fifth round and the other in the sixth round. Nine days later, he led the Bengals to a 35-33 upset over the Steelers, the only AFC North team for which he had never played (Flacco played his first 11 seasons with the Ravens) with Flacco completing 31 passes in 47 attempts for 342 yards, 3 touchdowns and no interceptions, for a passer rating of 108.6 (in a battle of quadragenarian quarterbacks, Aaron Rodgers was 23 out of 34 for 249 yards, 4 touchdowns and 2 interceptions, yielding a passer rating of 103.7). Bengal kicker Evan McPherson iced the game by making a 36-yard field goal with seven seconds remaining.
Maybe, due to Flacco's age, Cleveland figured that the trade wouldn't hurt their team for very long?
Judging by how the Bengals played against Pittsburgh with Flacco under center, one would have to say that the game and its outcome will likely have draft-choice implications — or should we say tanking implications — with Arch Manning looming as the top prize therein.
Right now, the 0-7 Jets are on the lead in the Arch Manning Derby, with the Dolphins, Titans, and Saints at 1-6 and the Ravens at 1-5 — and there are a plethora of head-to-head matchups within this sorry segment, as the Jets host the Dolphins in Week 14 and two weeks later travel to New Orleans; the Dolphins host the Saints in Week 13, the week before their visit to MetLife Stadium; and the Titans play the Saints at home in Week 17.
So at least the battle for Arch Manning figures to be won "on the field."
In any event, Manning is a double-redshirted sophomore (!), so if he doesn't want to play for the team that lands the #1 pick, he can stay at Texas for one or even two more years.
So much for the NFL and its hypocritical upholding of "competitive balance."
True, Manning would forfeit one (or even two) years' salary by trying to choose what team to play for — and what if this leaves him playing for an especially unattractive team?
As for the 2-5 Browns, one must suspect that they have one cold eye on Manning, too: their remaining schedule includes games at the Jets and Raiders, and against the Titans at home — and after trading Flacco, they will be desperate for a quarterback in the 2026 draft. Losses in those games could put them in prime position to obtain the top pick.
But the league can stop this speculation anytime they want — and the only way to do it is to implement a draft lottery.
Remember all the hoopla over which NBA team was going to end up with Patrick Ewing 40 years ago?
The NFL can have the same thing if it adopts a lottery.
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