Cleveland Browns trade chatter: Texans LB Zach Cunningham obvious target

Texans LB Zach Cunningham should become a trade target for Cleveland Browns

Nothing is going according to plan for the Houston Texans, and that may benefit the Cleveland Browns, who should target linebacker Zach Cunningham ahead of the NFL’s trade deadline.

The Texans, who are 1-4, may end up selling off lots of pieces, according to CBS Sports’ Jason La Canfora. He wrote that general mangers and personnel executives have pointed toward Cunningham, pass rusher, Whitney Mercilus, former Buckeye corner Bradley Roby, former Browns TE  Darren Fells and WRs Brandin Cooks and maybe Will Fuller as potential trade targets.

La Canfora didn’t directly link the Browns to Cunningham, however he did write rival teams have been scouting and assessing Houston’s situation ahead of the deadline.

"“…League sources indicated a number of teams are preparing to engage in trade talks with Houston in hopes of fortifying their rosters for a playoff push,” La Canfora wrote."

The connection between the Browns and a player such as Cunningham is obvious. The Browns continue to be weak at linebacker, even with the return of Mack Wilson, who has mostly eased back into the rotation after suffering a bad injury during training camp.

Cunningham has had a down season by PFF standards, registering a grade in the 40s entering Week 6. That said, the analytically oriented site praised the Texans for signing him to an extension before the start of the season.

In 2019, Cunningham graded out as PFF’s fourth-most valuable off-the-ball linebacker, having made 142 tackles while earning his first Pro Bowl berth during his age 24 season.

If there’s a turn off for the Browns, it may end up being the price tag. Cleveland has plenty of cap space, but will eventually have to consider what it will do concerning long-term contracts for players such as Baker Mayfield, Denzel Ward and Nick Chubb.

Cunningham’s extension is worth $58 million with $23.5 million in full guarantees and $32.5 million in injury guarantees. The total extension is worth $58 million over four new years, and the contract contains $23.5 million in full guarantees and $32.5 million in injury guarantees, per Aaron Wilson.

There is a potential out after the 2022 season, in which Cunningham’s dead cap figure shrinks from $18 million in 2021 to around $7 million in 2022.

Again, Cunningham seems like an obvious trade target, but the fixing the linebacker spot was a glaring weakness back during free agency and the draft–and the Browns didn’t do much beside sign veteran B.J. Goodson and draft LSU’s Jacob Phillips in the fifth-round of the draft.

With the offense humming along, defense may be what keeps this version of the Browns from doing serious damage. Adding Cunningham would start to change that narrative, as the 25-year-old would bring instant credibility to the unit.

The Browns play the Steelers in Week 6, where hopefully, the linebacking corps won’t be exposed.