The Cleveland Browns made a couple of surprising trades this week, first by sending former starting quarterback Joe Flacco to the Cincinnati Bengals, and then following that up by sending starting cornerback Greg Newsome to the Jacksonville Jaguars for fellow corner Tyson Campbell.
Both trades were a bit surprising, but the reality is that with the Browns looking at a potential 1-5 record after Sunday, there could be more big-name players on their way out before the November 4th trade deadline.
Adam Schefter wrote an article on ESPN.com highlighting how the trade deadline is more active than it used to be, and he named five Browns who many NFL executives believe could be available on the open market, listing David Njoku, Joel Bitonio, Wyatt Teller, Ethan Pocic, and Shelby Harris as Cleveland’s most likely trade candidates.
Njoku is the most obvious candidate, not only because he is 29 years old and heading into free agency this offseason, but also because of how promising rookie Harold Fannin Jr. has looked at tight end.
It’s already a foregone conclusion that Fannin is the future at the position, and while it’s nice to have both of them, it’s tough to envision a world where this organization commits to Njoku long-term with so many other needs on the roster.
Pocic, Teller, and Bitonio have been anchors for this offensive line for years, and it’s tougher to see any of them being moved in-season, but it’s hard to envision them being significant parts of the future given their age, especially Bitonio, who has flirted with retirement in recent years.
At this point, no trade should shock Browns fans, and even though losing any of these guys would hurt, it would make sense in the long run to ship them out.
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