The Cleveland Browns should jump on Marvin Jones if he’s available

The Cleveland Browns should be open to trading for Marvin Jones if he’s available.

The Cleveland Browns still need help at receiver, as many, myself included are not sold on the three young receivers the team intends to lean on this year. The Browns aren’t either, giving David Njoku a wild contract. That right is a sign the Browns know they don’t have the weapons they want for this new era of the team. Amari Cooper on his own is an upgrade over anything the Browns had last year, but personally, what the Browns had last year was pathetically bad. So Cooper is a tremendous upgrade, but he’s not the talent his contract claims he is.

The Browns need more than Cooper. Marvin Jones of the Jacksonville Jaguars isn’t a game-breaker, but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t have value. Jones averages 857 yards per season over the course of his eight played (nine total) seasons in the NFL.

He’s not the guy many hoped the Browns would get, but considering what’s available, the Browns could do worse, much worse, than Jones. The Jaguars could save $6 million if they trade him in a few days, after June 1 and if they make that decision, the Browns would be wise to look into Jones.

The Cleveland Browns would need to re-work Marvin Jones’ contract however

To land Jones, the Browns are going to have to defer money past Jones’ contract end date. There’s just no way to make this trade work otherwise. With Baker Mayfield still on the roster, the Browns only have $7 million left in cap space this year.

Jones would be a rental, more or less, and any thought of him signing long-term with the team should be pushed out of your head. The team, as it’s currently constructed, cannot afford him past this year.

The Browns’ salary cap situation for 2023 is already projected to be awful ($-13 million over the cap in contracts for 2023 alone), but with Mayfield still on the roster in 2022, they’re still facing a bit of salary cap hell. The key to making any more moves this offseason is dependent on moving Mayfield now more than ever.

Otherwise, they’re just going to run out of money.