Browns Pro Bowler is among the players ‘most likely’ to be traded ahead of the NFL trade deadline
The Cleveland Browns picked up their first win in over a month by knocking off the Baltimore Ravens last weekend. Still, the Browns are a 2-6 football team with a tough remaining schedule. When it comes to the direction for the Browns at the trade deadline it should be pretty clear. Move players that aren’t […]
The Cleveland Browns picked up their first win in over a month by knocking off the Baltimore Ravens last weekend. Still, the Browns are a 2-6 football team with a tough remaining schedule.
When it comes to the direction for the Browns at the trade deadline it should be pretty clear. Move players that aren’t in their future plans and are on expiring contracts if you can for draft assets. Getting younger while building for the future should be the goal. The Browns don’t need to blow it up, they have a solid roster. They’ll need to build around a new quarterback.
Ahead of the trade deadline on Nov. 5, ESPN has named Browns defensive end Za’Darius Smith as a player who is ‘most likely’ to be traded.
“Smith is 32 and probably not in Cleveland's long-term plans. So if the Browns can get good enough draft-pick compensation in return from a team looking for a short-term rental at edge rusher, this makes a lot of sense. The Browns are probably looking at a rebuild around a new quarterback next season.” – Dan Graziano, ESPN
Smith is under contract through next year and is having a very nice year in Cleveland with five sacks in eight games. Last year Smith put together a season with 5.5 sacks, so he has taken an obvious step forward in his second year in Cleveland. Still, he is 32 years old and the Browns could stand to allow their younger guys to take over at the position for the future.
Alex Wright has shown really good potential but will miss the rest of the season with an injury. Second-year pass rusher Isaiah McGuire has been an improving player and could see an uptick in snaps during the second half of the season.
The Browns can still compete for a playoff push but the chances and likelihood of that happening are low. If Cleveland can add draft picks for the future, it is the way to go. Andrew Berry has proven that he is not afraid to use future draft assets on trades, so it could mean more of that in the future.
Cleveland hosts the Los Angeles Chargers and Justin Herbert in Week 9 and we will see whether or not that is Smith’s last game in orange and brown.
