The NFL trade deadline is 4 p.m. ET Tuesday. It’s probably not coincidence that early Tuesday,
Odell Beckham Jr. had one catch for 6 yards in the Browns’ Week 8 loss to the Steelers. He had two catches in the Week 7 win over the Broncos. Beckham is under contract for two more seasons, but the Browns would incur no dead money if they moved on after the season. A Browns-Beckham breakup feels inevitable at this point, but it’s hard to see it happening by Tuesday afternoon.
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Beckham is still owed a little over half of his $15.75 million 2021 salary. He’s clearly playing through a shoulder injury — and probably multiple injuries — so even if some team wanted to trade for Beckham, that team would probably have to do the deal knowing he might not pass a physical. And even if the Browns wanted to do a deal, they’d have to ask if what they’d be getting in return — it wouldn’t be much — would be worth more than trying to get Beckham more involved with an offense that needs a boost. The Browns have lost three of four and just scored 41 total points on a three-game homestand.
As for Beckham’s glaring lack of production and the video, yes, Beckham has been open at times. Yes, Beckham has also dropped some passes. Pro Football Focus has graded Beckham as having two drops on 34 targets; there have been at least a couple more that were thrown to Beckham but weren’t completed. It’s not wholly accurate to say he’s even been a decoy, and though Baker Mayfield missed him on what would have been a sure touchdown in Minnesota,it certainly wouldn’t be accurate to say Beckham has been reliable.
The pass game as a whole has been bad — worse than any 11-minute video could decipher. Eight games in, running back Kareem Hunt and tight end David Njoku share the team lead in receptions with 20; Njoku leads in receiving yards with 323. Mayfield suffered a torn labrum in his left (non-throwing) shoulder in Week 2 but has missed just one game. The usually reliable Jarvis Landry lost a fumble and had two drops as the Browns’ comeback attempt failed last Sunday. The Browns have seven touchdown passes all season, tied for 30th in the league.
With game No. 9 of 17 dead ahead and the Browns at 4-4, it’s hard to know exactly where this season will go.
Monday, the Rams acquired former NFL Defensive Player of the Year Von Miller from the Broncos for two draft picks. Per ESPN, the Broncos are paying $9 million of Miller’s remaining $9.7 million 2021 salary.
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Miller is 32, he’s a free agent after the season and even before he left the game with an injury in Cleveland two weeks ago, he wasn’t the usual, explosive pass-rusher he’s been for most of his career. And he still fetched second- and third-round picks. Every case is different, but at the trade deadline, you generally have desperate teams willing to pay exorbitant costs and then you generally have teams either looking to make a low-cost pickup or fed-up teams just looking to dump a player for a seventh-round pick and move on. And even those trades are difficult to do because potential suitors hesitate to give up anything when they can wait for that player to get cut.
The Browns would likely look to be active if there were more happening in the middle. Also, every team would like to add to its pass rush, and that’s why the cost for players who can help in that area is always going to be high.
Maybe the Browns will make a trade of some sort. It just seems unlikely to be a trade of significance. Given the number of key players either on injured-reserve or playing through injury, the Browns are in no position to give anyone up. They might like some additional help for the defense, but Kevin Stefanski said Monday that he’s hoping Denzel Ward (hamstring) can play this week in Cincinnati. Linebackers Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah (ankle) and Jacob Phillips (pectoral) could be back at some point later this month.
General manager Andrew Berry’s history says the Browns are always willing to do a deal, but not at a crazy price. It’s fair to think the Browns have explored potentially available players at cornerback, defensive end and offensive tackle, but there likely won’t be much of a realistic trade market at those spots.
Maybe the Browns would look to add some pop to their receiving corps, but they should be getting Donovan Peoples-Jones back from a groin injury soon and they just drafted Anthony Schwartz in the third round earlier this year. Schwartz played six offensive snaps vs. the Steelers and was not targeted.
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For all the Browns’ current issues, the short-term fix seems to be much more in players playing better than it would be in bringing in outside help. It’s hard to see Berry giving up more than a late-round pick for anyone or adding a starter.
Around the Browns
• Jack Conklin has a dislocated elbow and will go on injured reserve, but Stefanski said Conklin should be able to return at some point later in the season. Blake Hance becomes the starting right tackle with Conklin out. Safety John Johnson III is “day to day” with a sprained neck, Stefanski said. The Browns are thin at safety and rookie Richard LeCounte III was kept away from the team for disciplinary reasons last week, so that’s an area of concern.
• Let’s go to last week’s fourth quarter. Mayfield runs for a first down, hops up from a big hit and everybody’s pumped up! Well, almost everybody. Have a look at these replays.
BAKER IS FIRED UP.
📺: #PITvsCLEon CBS
📱: NFL app pic.twitter.com/IJThl3WhAm— NFL (@NFL) October 31, 2021
(Photo: Stephen Maturen / Getty Images)
Zac Jackson is a staff writer for The Athletic covering the Cleveland Browns. He is also the host of the "A to Z" podcast alongside Andre Knott. Previously, Zac covered the Browns for Fox Sports Ohio and worked for Pro Football Talk. Follow Zac on Twitter @AkronJackson
