Browns Land Compelling Trade Outlook on Former First-Round Pick

The Cleveland Browns don't exactly have a ton of enticing trade assets, but there are a couple of very obvious ones who could be moved between now and the start of the 2025 NFL season.

The most notable name in that department is probably cornerback Greg Newsome II, who has been bandied about in trade speculation for the last year-plus.

Newsome has just one year remaining on his contract, and with the Browns having a rough financial situation as it is, it doesn't seem all that likely that they will re-sign the former first-round pick next offseason.

Bleacher Report's Gary Davenport feels that Newsome is the one player Cleveland should consider moving before Week 1, and he makes a very compelling argument for the Northwestern product.

"The Browns are a dumpster fire of a roster mired in the third circle of salary-cap hell," Davenport wrote. "Newsome and fellow young cornerback Martin Emerson are entering the final year of their contracts. And the cold, hard truth is that the better Newsome plays this year, the less chance the Browns will have of being able to afford him in 2026. Yes, Newsome struggled a season ago. But he’s a young player at a premium position who has shown that he can play at a high level. There should be a market for a player like that."

Of course, you do have to wonder how much any team would be willing to surrender in a trade for a player who had a down year in 2024. Perhaps Cleveland would actually be better off waiting to see if Newsome has a better first half of next season and then try to move him at the trade deadline.

At this point, the Browns would probably get nothing more than a moderate Day 3 pick for Newsome, so biding their time may be the best thing for them to do.