The Cleveland Browns are one of the lucky NFL teams with three solid cornerbacks: Denzel Ward, Martin Emerson Jr, and Greg Newsome.
A lot of other NFL teams can’t even say they have a single one, and ESPN Analyst Mina Kimes tweeted on February 20th that she was going through teams’ depth charts and assessing team needs and saw that 20/32 teams needed cornerbacks as a primary need.
I’ve got 20/32 teams with CB as a primary need 😬😬😬😬
— Mina Kimes (@minakimes) February 20, 2024
Cleveland Browns Could Move Newsome Soon
During Thursday’s Ultimate Cleveland Sports show on YouTube, they discussed how Greg Newsome could be moved this offseason due to the lack of solid cornerbacks on other teams.
Newsome has been rumored to be traded. The Cleveland Browns are pretty deep at cornerback and could use him to trade up in the NFL Draft since they don’t have a first-round pick this year.
The former 2021 first-round pick had a solid rookie season and then, in year two, had his struggles and started to get moved inside to the slot since rookie Martin Emerson came in and took hold of the number two cornerback spot.
Cleveland Browns Have A Decision To Be Made
The Browns have to decide on Newsome’s fifth-year contract by May. Even though he is only going into his fourth season, the fifth-year option has to be picked up before the player’s fourth season.
Since not many teams have solid corners, the Browns could get a little more than they thought for a guy like Newsome.
The Browns have many other holes at other positions, and one is a wide receiver. If the Browns could trade Newsome for a veteran wide receiver or a higher pick in the draft to get a receiver, that could be a good move for the team, but there is an issue the Browns will run into if they do indeed trade Newsome.
Cornerbacks are like shooters in basketball. You can never have enough of them, and with the way teams throw the ball, now you need to have three to five cornerbacks at all times. The Browns, including Denzel Ward, also have injury issues at the corner position. When Ward is playing, he is one of the best in the sport, but he has never played an entire season in his first six years in the NFL due to injury, so history shows he will most likely miss time in the next few seasons.
Depth is significant, and the Browns will have to decide whether having depth is worth it or if they can get away with trading a deep position to create a move and improve a weakness.