A.J. McCarron was nearly traded to the Cleveland Browns at the trade deadline, but the deal fell through when the paperwork wasn't sent to the league office in time.

McCarron was excited at the possibility, figuring he could try and win games as a starter in Cleveland instead of standing on the sideline with the Cincinnati Bengals.

"As a competitor, I wanted that opportunity, just to be able to showcase and help a team win ball games," McCarron said on WNSP. "I think I would have had some success playing for Hue [Jackson]. I would have loved the opportunity to go up there and get them a win, more than one win. As a competitor, that's all you can ask for."

The Browns reportedly didn't submit the trade through the official league channels in time.

"It was an odd deal," McCarron said. "I got a text from my agent at 3:34 saying 'hey, there's a possible trade going down. Stay by your phone. I'll let you know.' I got another call from him right at 4 saying 'from what I know, it's a done deal. I'll call you back in a minute and let you know.' The next call I got was at 4:03 and he's 'hey, the trade didn't go through. They didn't get the paperwork in on time.' Everybody has a story. I'm sure Cleveland has their own story, Cincy has their own story. But it's just one of those things, when you think you've seen everything, you're shown a little bit more. I think the only people who truly know what happened were the ones leading the whole situation on both sides."