7 Realistic Browns Trade Targets at the Deadline

Week 7 of the 2023 NFL season is here, meaning this year's Oct. 31 trade deadline is right around the corner. One team that football enthusiasts will have an eye on over the coming days is the Cleveland Browns, who are back in the playoff hunt after a win over the San Francisco 49ers improved their record to 3-2.

Cleveland has over $35.6 million in cap space to work with (per Spotrac), meaning the door is open for general manager Andrew Berry to wheel and deal before Halloween. He has plenty of space to bolster the roster and, fortunately, there isn't a shortage of available deals floating around.

Keeping that in mind, here are seven realistic trade targets for the Browns before the NFL trade deadline.

1. Hunter Renfrow

Outside of Amari Cooper, the Browns' wide receiver group has been extremely underwhelming. The WR room needs reinforcements to help turn the passing game around, making Las Vegas Raiders wideout Hunter Renfrow a viable target.

Renfrow is a veteran wideout with over 2,600 receiving yards and 17 touchdowns over 62 career games. However, despite all that he's accomplished, he's seen his role diminished in Josh McDaniels' offense, resulting in the 27-year-old becoming a popular name in trade circles.

With the Browns' lack of productive wideouts, Renfrow could easily find a spot in Cleveland's offense. Sure, his six catches for 59 yards this season aren't exactly impressive, but he's only two years removed from being a 1,000-yard, Pro Bowl receiver.

Joining the Browns would also reunite Renfrow with former Clemson teammate Deshaun Watson.

Renfrow was productive across two seasons with Watson throwing him the ball, hauling in 77 catches for 987 yards and 11 touchdowns. Perhaps the duo could rekindle some college magic to help take Cleveland's passing game to the next level.

2. Courtland Sutton

Sticking with wide receivers, the Denver Broncos' Courtland Sutton is not only someone who can help the Browns immediately but also throughout the next few seasons.

With the Broncos being among the NFL's worst teams this year, Sutton has emerged as one of their top trade pieces. The sixth-year wideout is one of the few bright spots in Denver this season, catching 37 balls for 275 receiving yards while scoring four touchdowns — the same number of TDs he had in the two previous seasons combined.

As mentioned before, Sutton also helps the Browns in the long term. The 28-year-old playmaker is under contract until the end of the 2025 NFL campaign, making between $17.3 and $18.2 million each season.

Considering how David Bell, Cedric Tillman, and Mike Woods are Cleveland's only wideouts under contract beyond 2024, it's a no-brainer that Berry should be thinking about his WR room's future.

If management also finds a way to extend Cooper and bring in Sutton, the Browns would have one of the better WR tandems in the league. With how important a reliable passing attack is to winning championships, I could see Berry giving George Paton a call.

3. Garrett Bolles

A basement-dwelling team like the Broncos has several interesting trade pieces, including offensive tackle Garrett Bolles.

The veteran blocker is someone that I've wanted the Browns to chase for several weeks. Cleveland currently has dead weight at the left tackle spot by the name of Jedrick Wills Jr., who's played to a 50.3 overall Pro Football Focus grade after allowing two sacks with four penalties taken over 377 offensive snaps this season.

With Wills declining in recent years, it's time to replace him with someone like Bolles.

The 31-year-old blocker has been his reliable self despite the Broncos' litany of issues. Bolles has only surrendered one sack with two penalties on 355 offensive snaps, leading to a 72.8 PPF grade. Assuming that continues, he's on pace to finish with a grade of 72.8 or better for the seventh consecutive season.

Bolles carries a $17.8 million cap hit this season before going up to $20 million in 2024, but that isn't an issue. He only carries a $4 million dead cap hit if he's released or traded after the 2023 campaign, freeing up $16 million in space if the Browns aren't happy with him.

Nevertheless, Bolles has made it clear that he's hungry to compete. Joining a scrappy team like the Browns could bring out his best while giving him a path to his first taste of NFL playoff football.

4. Jacoby Brissett

As Deshaun Watson continues to heal from a shoulder injury, it's become increasingly clear that the Browns need a better backup quarterback option.

P.J. Walker and Dorian Thompson-Robinson have looked downright awful in the two games that Watson has missed. The backup gunslingers have only completed 37-of-70 passes (52.9%) for 313 passing yards and five interceptions without a touchdown. Not exactly the type of play that inspires a fanbase.

With Watson's return date up in the air, the Browns should take precautions by reuniting with Jacoby Brissett. The veteran QB is no stranger, having spent the 2022 campaign with Cleveland before joining the Washington Commanders on a one-year, $8.5 million deal in the offseason.

Brissett didn't look out of place in the 11 games he started during Watson's suspension last year. The former 2016 third-rounder's 4-7 record wasn't special, but he still managed to record 2,608 passing yards with 12 TDs to six INTs with an 88.9 passer rating.

That's significant considering that all three of the Browns' QBs this season have a passer rating of 87.8 or worse.

With Sam Howell proving that he's capable of being a starting QB, the Commanders don't need Brissett. The 30-year-old signal-caller is also a free agent in 2024, meaning Washington would be wise to get something for him rather than losing him for nothing in March.

At the end of the day, Brissett knows the Browns' system while being more proven than Walker and DTR. If Cleveland wants better insurance for Watson, the ex-Florida and NC State product is their best — and most realistic — option.

5. Devin White

Things have been quiet between Devin White and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2023, but White had requested a trade last season and while he's said he regrets the move, he is still on the last year of his contract.

If he's not going to be back next season anyway, the Bucs may elect to move him while they can still recoup something — especially if they pick up another loss or two before the deadline.

And why would the Browns be interested?

White would admittedly be something of a luxury addition, but at the right price the fit is very interesting.

Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah has been outstanding at the off-ball linebacker spot so far this season, but he's been the lone standout. Anthony Walker has very much just been "meh" and Sione Takitaki has been one of the few players on the defense who has been outright bad.

Takitaki’s not an every-down player, but he’s played 54% of the Browns’ defensive snaps this season, and replacing him in the lineup entirely while also taking some snaps away from Walker would create a good-sized role for White.

White has racked up 120-plus tackles in three straight seasons, being named to the Pro Bowl in 2021 and a second-team All-Pro in 2020, and having him and JOK flying around behind the league's best defensive line is easy to get excited about.

6. Adoree' Jackson

The Browns' pass-rush has been absolutely incredible this season, and Jim Schwartz is working magic with one of the league's most talented groups. But that's been covering up a bit of an issue on the back end.

Cleveland's secondary has it pretty easy, but Martin Emerson and Denzel Ward have both been pretty shaky this year. In fact, Pro Football Focus has graded them both out below 60.0 on defense

They rank 116th (Ward) and 129th (Emerson) among the 182 cornerbacks that PFF has graded out of the season.

Adoree' Jackson is grading out poorly too, but everyone on the Giants looks bad right now, and Jackson was very good in 2021 and 2022, so I'm not concerned.

The Giants are a total mess, and Jackson’s on the final year of his contract so will likely be on the trade block as the deadline approaches. He carries a huge $19 million cap hit, but considering the Browns' cap moves early this season, that's easy to stomach. All but a couple million of his salary will be off the books by next year, which is what all of those restructures were designed to free up anyway.

Renting Jackson for the remainder of 2023 shouldn't cost much, and could be the perfect move to shore up one of this defense's few weaknesses.

7. Mike Gesicki

The New England Patriots are in free-fall mode and I wouldn't be shocked if they tried moving a player like Mike Gesicki. The veteran tight end joined the Pats on a one-year deal back in March, but the move hasn't exactly worked well for either side.

Gesicki has been nearly invisible in 2023, hauling in 15 receptions for 144 yards without a touchdown. His lack of production mostly has to do with Mac Jones failing to look his way. After all, Gesicki only holds 9.3% of the target share — good for sixth-best on the Patriots.

So why would Gesicki be a good fit for the Browns?

Well, the Browns need some tight end help. David Njoku hasn't been awful, but he's only on pace for 550 yards without a touchdown and might not even be at 100% health due to horrific facial burns. Meanwhile, fellow TEs Harrison Bryant and Jordan Akins have only combined for a 6-25-1 stat line in five contests.

So yeah, the Browns could use Gesicki — someone with two 700-yard performances in two of the three previous seasons. He'd also be a big, reliable target for Watson, proven by his career-high 75.0% catch rate this year.

Trading for Gesicki likely won't cost much, too. He's also due to become a free agent at the end of the year, meaning the Browns can likely snag him out of New England for a low draft pick.

One of the league's better TEs when he's on his game, a motivated Gesicki would bring more respect to Cleveland's offense.

More Cleveland Browns news and analysis: