The Cleveland Browns aren’t in the best of spots as far as contention goes.
They’re in a division with Lamar Jackson and Joe Burrow. The Steelers have a big-time defense and took a big swing on QB Aaron Rodgers, too.
Cleveland very well could be bringing up the rear this season. And sure, that’s not how a team wants to think during training camp, but being realistic is also important.
That picture is why the Browns may very well look to trade one former first-round pick on an expiring contract: Greg Newsome.
ESPN’s Seth Walder thinks it’s a good idea, and he thinks the Las Vegas Raiders would be a good trade partner.
Walder suggests a very tame swap: Newsome and a 2027 seventh-round pick for a 2026 seventh-round pick.
“Newsome is due a fully guaranteed $13.4 million in 2025 on his fifth-year option, and I’d argue it’s an open question whether that makes him a positive or negative asset — hence the near-zero compensation listed here,” Walder writes. “Newsome posted career-worst numbers last season in terms of yards per coverage snap (1.4), EPA allowed (plus-10) and target rate (15%, though this was only a minor uptick). But there was a reason Cleveland picked up his option in April 2024, as he recorded better-than-average yards per coverage snap numbers in both 2022 (0.7) and 2023 (0.9).”
This deal may be complicated just a bit by the injury that Browns cornerback Martin Emerson sustained at practice on Tuesday, but it probably shouldn’t actually be a part of the consideration, because Cleveland needs to be looking toward the future.
“For the Browns, the most important part of this deal would be shedding Newsome’s salary,” writes Walder. “The Browns currently have $17.5 million in 2025 cap space, but they’re already $35.4 million in the red in 2026, per OverTheCap.com. In other words, they need the savings. Considering the team is a noncontender in 2025 and Newsome has just one fully guaranteed year left on his contract, it makes sense for Cleveland to want to move on.”
Walder calls cornerback the Raiders’ “biggest weakness.” By getting Newsome, they take a step toward fixing that.
Especially in this deal that essentially costs Vegas nothing, it’d be a shot worth taking.
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