NFL insider reveals how likely it is that the Cleveland Browns trade the player fans want to see go before the deadline
The trade deadline is just a couple of weeks away.
We are a few weeks away from the NFL trade deadline on Nov. 4, and the Cleveland Browns are a team that’s already been active and will be one to watch until that date passes.
Cleveland traded Joe Flacco to the Cincinnati Bengals after Week 4 and dealt Greg Newsome II to the Jacksonville Jaguars for Tyson Campbell a couple of weeks ago. Neither of those moves signaled the Browns waving the white flag; instead, they were sensible decisions for both the present and the future. The Browns still have several players to decide on, and the most obvious one is a former Andrew Berry draft pick.
Jeremy Fowler weighs in on how likely the Browns are to trade RB Jerome Ford
Since Week 2, rookie running back Quinshon Judkins has been the Browns’ best offensive player — and it hasn’t been close. Judkins has rushed for 467 yards in six starts with five touchdowns so far. Since the Browns got their second-round pick rolling in Week 2, he’s clearly been their go-to guy. According to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, there’s about a 35 percent chance the Browns will move on from Ford, who is in the final year of his rookie contract and not part of the team’s long-term plans.
“The Browns are open to dealing Ford, who has 1,463 career rushing yards and 12 scrimmage touchdowns,” Fowler wrote on Wednesday. “The tailback market hasn’t intensified, though. Teams with needs at the position haven’t been overly active — at least not yet.”
Ford is in the fourth and final year of his rookie deal, and his time in Cleveland appears to be winding down. A former fifth-round pick out of Cincinnati, Ford has had a solid run with the team and has mainly been relied on this season as a trusted pass blocker on third downs. Through seven games, he has 73 rushing yards and 77 receiving yards.
Cleveland’s decision to draft two running backs in April signaled that an overhaul of the backfield was coming after the team let Nick Chubb walk in free agency. Dylan Sampson, a fourth-round pick, has seen the field this season as a versatile weapon the Browns like to get involved in the passing game and out of the backfield. Sampson isn’t yet a trusted pass blocker, but Judkins is capable in that area — and that’s likely where Cleveland will continue to lean.
If the Browns can get a late-round draft pick swap for a player likely to sign elsewhere in free agency, it’s a move that makes sense. Fowler mentioned the Los Angeles Chargers, New England Patriots, and Houston Texans as potential suitors. With Mike Vrabel — who was in Cleveland last season — now the head coach in New England, he may have enough familiarity with Ford to make the move if it fits the Patriots’ wants.
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