CLEVELAND

Clock management hurt the Browns again.

And this time, it cost them a quarterback.

Failing to get the necessary paperwork to the NFL offices by Tuesday’s 4 p.m. trade deadline, Cleveland’s proposed deal to get Cincinnati quarterback AJ McCarron fell apart in the final minutes, the latest misstep for a team unable to solve its quarterback riddle.

The teams had an agreement in place, sending McCarron to Cleveland for draft picks, but the required documentation — paperwork signed by both clubs — arrived in New York too late, said league spokesman Brian McCarthy. He did not provide any further detail about why the transaction wasn’t finalized.

The Browns have spent much of the past two decades in a failed search to find their franchise quarterback. McCarron might not have been that answer either, but the 27-year-old could have provided leadership and another option while the team develops rookie DeShone Kizer, who has had an uneven first seven starts.

The administrative glitch comes one day after the New England Patriots traded Jimmy Garoppolo — a quarterback on Cleveland’s radar for months — to the San Francisco 49ers for a 2018 second-round pick.

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