The Cleveland Browns have officially submitted a rule proposal that would allow NFL teams to trade draft picks five years into the future instead of the current three-year limit.

Let me translate that for you: The Browns want the league to let them make even bigger mistakes than they already have.

This is the same franchise that traded three first-round picks plus additional assets for Deshaun Watson, then gave him a fully guaranteed $230 million contract right before sexual assault allegations became public. That worked out great, didn't it?

Now they want permission to mortgage picks from 2031. Think about that. They want to trade away picks for players who are currently in middle school. They want to handcuff future general managers who haven't even been hired yet. They want more rope, and we all know what happens when you give someone more rope.

The Browns' justification is that it would "create more creative trade structures that better mirror the valuations of both draft selections and players." Translation: "We want to go all-in on win-now moves without having to deal with the immediate consequences."

Here's the problem with that logic - the Browns have proven, time and time again, that they cannot properly evaluate talent. They cannot build a sustainable winner. They make desperate, franchise-crippling moves and then wonder why they're stuck in mediocrity.

Imagine if this rule had existed during previous Browns regimes. Imagine the damage that could have been done. We'd be looking at a franchise that wouldn't have a first-round pick until 2035.

Every other NFL front office is looking at this proposal and thinking one of two things: either "Dear God, please don't let this pass" or "Actually, maybe we should let Cleveland do this to themselves."

Look, I understand the appeal of trading future picks for present talent. When you're one piece away from a championship, you make the move. But that's the key phrase: one piece away from a championship. The Browns aren't one piece away. They're multiple pieces away, possibly a new quarterback away, and definitely a competent front office away.