Upon taking over the football operations of the St. Louis Rams last offseason, coach Jeff Fisher and general manager Les Snead wasted no time in declaring that Sam Bradfordwould not be traded in a move to draft Robert Griffin III with the No. 2 pick.
While Bradford remained highly regarded as a former No. 1 pick with intriguing arm talent, it seemed at the time that the Rams cavalierly were disregarding a chance to draft a quarterback with the potential to carve out an exciting, successful new era.
Whether salary-cap implications played a major role, Fisher simply believed that it was Bradford -- not Griffin -- who had the potential to become the best quarterback in football.
With the chance to land a windfall of Redskins' draft picks for the right to grab Griffin, Fisher put his money where his mouth was last offseason. Fisher acknowledged spurning multiple teams inquiring about the possibility of a Bradford trade.
How high were teams willing to go? Sports Illustrated's Peter King tells NBC Sports Network's Erik Kuselius that the Rams would have received a "high first-round pick" in return had they opted to deal Bradford.
The implication is that the Browns, holding the No. 4 pick and Bradford's former play-caller in Pat Shurmur, were the team hot on his trail. Had the Rams been more open-minded on Griffin, they might have changed the course of the franchises in Cleveland and Washington as well as their own. As it is now, Fisher's future is tied to Bradford's performance after passing up a chance to draft the 2012 Offensive Rookie of the Year.
Follow Chris Wesseling on Twitter @ChrisWesseling.
