The Cleveland Browns have major decisions to make this offseason about numerous key players, including but not limited to perennial Defensive Player of the Year candidate Myles Garrett.
Thanks to laughable decisions by ownership and the front office, the Browns' 2025 outlook is poor. It'll take multiple years to overcome the disastrous Deshaun Watson contract, and now the organization has to rebuild from the ground up to maintain any sort of competitive window.
Things are bad, though recognizing a sunk cost is valuable. The Browns have an opportunity to recoup some draft value for talented cornerback Greg Newsome, and one new projected trade sees the franchise accepting that Newsome won't be part of the next contender in Cleveland.
Browns Trade CB Greg Newsome in Big New Projected Trade
This projected trade sees the Browns sending Newsome to the Los Angeles Rams for a sixth-round pick in the upcoming 2025 NFL Draft. That might not sound like much, though Cleveland already showed its hand by not signing Newsome to an extension last year.
While they picked up the 2021 first-rounder's club option, it doesn't seem that Newsome is a fixture in the front office's plans moving forward. The tape backs that assessment up, as Newsome graded 177th out of 223 qualified cornerbacks last season at Pro Football Focus.
He surrendered a 112.5 passer rating when targeted in coverage, and it'd be poor decision-making to offer a large extension based on that underwhelming level of play.
Still just 24 years old, Newsome has a future in the league. His timeline doesn't match up with Cleveland's, though, making a trade a logical outcome. The Rams have a poor secondary in need of juice, and Newsome represents the kind of low-cost, high-upside player that Los Angeles typically covets.
Accumulating as much draft capital as possible needs to be the front office's goal. Even if that means saying goodbye to exciting players like Newsome, it's a justifiable means to a worthy end. Accepting that this team isn't competitive is the first step and now, it's time to prepare for the future.
The Browns are in a terrible spot but with a few shrewd moves, Cleveland can challenge for an AFC North title sooner than later.