It was no secret the Cleveland Browns were going to be busy this off-season after becoming only the second team in NFL history to finish a year 0-16, but no one could’ve anticipated what we saw Friday.
The team made a handful of high-profile trades that set the football world ablaze and kickstart what is sure to be a fascinating franchise rebuild to monitor.
First, the team acquired perennial Pro Bowl wide receiver Jarvis Landry from the Miami Dolphins and it only cost them a 2018 fourth-round draft pick and a 2019 seventh-rounder. Considering the Browns have never had a receiver register 100 catches in a season and Landry has averaged 100 receptions per season throughout his four-year NFL career –
he had a league-high 112 in 2017 — we can call that a win for Cleveland.
Not long after that deal they sent a third-round pick (the 65th-overall selection in 2018) to the Buffalo Bills for quarterback Tyrod Taylor, who very well could be the team’s starter in 2018.
Then they sent QB DeShone Kizer, who went 0-15 as a starter in his rookie campaign, to the Green Bay Packers for starting defensive back Damarious Randall. The Browns and Packers also swapped their 2018 fourth- and fifth-round picks as part of the deal as well, according to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport.
The Browns hired former Kansas City Chiefs general manager John Dorsey in December to be their new GM and while he pulled off some impactful deals with his former team —
like acquiring Alex Smith — he was never this aggressive.
In addition to acquiring three quality starters without giving up much, Cleveland currently holds the first- and fourth-overall picks in April’s draft plus three second-rounders.
Landry reacted to his trade by tweeting out: “Y’all better understand [expletive] about to get SERIOUS… ON MY MAMA.”
Here’s a look at some more of the best reaction to the trades from around the World Wide Web.
— Cleveland Browns (@Browns) March 9, 2018
.@Browns are en fuego!! Here’s to John Dorsey tonight!!
— Joe Thomas (@joethomas73) March 10, 2018
Browns’ potential offense to start the season?
QB: Tyrod Taylor
RB: Saquon Barkley
WR: Jarvis Landry
WR: Josh Gordon
WR: Corey Coleman
TE: David Njoku
Good O-Line— Sports Nation Ohio (@SN_Ohio) March 9, 2018
[relatedlinks]