After a disappointing 3-14 season, the Browns enter 2025 determined to turn things around.
One major challenge remains finding stability at quarterback following what many consider the worst trade in NFL history involving Deshaun Watson.
Cleveland’s current depth chart isn’t set in stone. The team that opens the season in September may look quite different from today’s lineup.
Recently, Bleacher Report’s Alec Ballentine highlighted three Browns players who could be trade candidates.
“Top Trade Assets: CB Martin Emerson, CB Greg Newsome II, RB Jerome Ford,” Ballentine wrote.
Ballentine painted a complicated picture of the Browns’ offseason. Locking in Myles Garrett with a $160 million extension sends a win-now message.
He suggested that one doesn’t pay a dominant pass rusher through 2030 unless you believe your window remains wide open.
Both Newsome and Emerson are entering the final years of their respective deals.
With fellow corner Denzel Ward already under contract through 2027, carrying cap hits of $24.6 million, $30.5 million and $27 million, it seems unlikely the Browns will keep both young defensive backs.
Then comes the quarterback situation, and the math changes. A four-man battle featuring Joe Flacco, Kenny Pickett, Dillon Gabriel, and Shedeur Sanders doesn’t exactly scream playoff-ready.
Ballentine’s assessment cuts to the heart of Cleveland’s dilemma. The Browns are banking on last year’s elite defense returning to form while hoping the offense finds life despite lacking firepower beyond David Njoku and Jerry Jeudy.
It creates a strange balance between urgency on one end and uncertainty on the other.
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