While his record as a drafter is still a bit up in the air, the general manager of the Cleveland Browns, Andrew Berry, has been the king of acquiring talent on the trade market for cheap. And as the Denver Broncos have started the season 0-3 with head coach Sean Payton potentially wanting his own guys, could Berry and the Browns look to bargain bin shop in the graveyard of another team’s misery? Could players like offensive tackle Garett Bolles and wide receiver (who the Browns have previously had interest in) find their way to the trade block?
For a team without a first round pick once again in the 2024 NFL Draft, Berry will have to get creative in adding talent to the roster. He has done so by stealing away players like wide receivers Amari Cooper and Elijah Moore, and defensive end Za’Darius Smith, and they will not be the last.
Buy Browns TicketsWho could Berry and the Browns target on the putrid roster of the Broncos should they choose to blow it up after a horrid start to their season?
All financial figures used in this article are courtesy of Over the Cap.
OT Garett Bolles
Let’s call it like it is. Even I, the one who held out hope the longest for Jedrick Wills, am ready to throw in the towel on the former first rounder. So why not try to go out and get another former first rounder who has played well in Denver?
Bolles has already discussed his displeasure with the current situation in the Mile High City and could be on the move soon as Payton looks for a clean slate within.
The Browns are looking like Super Bowl contenders if their offense can remain competent. They cannot let their season be derailed by poor left tackle play. Even if he would cost the most of any player on the Broncos’ roster, Bolles might be worth the investment for Berry and the Browns.
The Broncos would eat just $4 million in dead money to move Bolles.
WR Jerry Jeudy
The Browns had significant interest in wideout Jerry Jeudy in the offseason, and the price has only gone down since then. They instead acquired Elijah Moore for basically free as they overhauled their wide receiver room this offseason.
However, there is still a ton of uncertainty in the Cleveland wide receiver room beyond 2023, and if they were to pick up the fifth-year option of Jeudy, he would give them an elite separator for another two years beyond this year.
Amari Cooper’s contract becomes nearly insurmountable after this year, and Donovan Peoples-Jones and Marquise Goodwin are set for free agency. The wide receiver room in Cleveland has the potential to look much different in 2024.
Why not add another player who would be here beyond one season to the room to help circumvent that? Especially if the price (was rumored to be a second round pick this offseason) has dropped.
It would only be a sunk cost of just over $2 million for Denver to offload Jeudy.
DT D.J. Jones
Similar to the wide receiver room, the defensive tackle room could once again look a good deal different. The only defensive tackles under contract beyond 2023 for the Browns? Dalvin Tomlinson and Siaki Ika.
And while we all want the likes of Shelby Harris and Maurice Hurst to return, they could turn productive seasons (like they are off to) in Cleveland into a contract offer the Browns simply cannot match.
D.J. Jones was a hot name on the market in free agency in 2022, when he signed a three-year deal with the Broncos for $10 million annually. This would give the Browns another sturdy defensive tackle to their stable through 2024 as they look to add new bodies to the room this offseason.
The dead cap number to move Jones sits at just under $3 million for the Broncos to eat.
TE Greg Dulcich
The only name on the roster in the tight end room after this season is David Njoku. Both Harrison Bryant and Jordan Akins are playing through the 2023 season and then hitting the open market. Second-year player Greg Dulcich, however, has two years on his contract beyond this year.
While he is currently sidelined for “weeks” with a hamstring injury, Dulcich was known as the best receiving tight end of the 2022 draft class. He was a third rounder a year ago, drafted between Alex Wright and David Bell on the board.
The Browns would love a flex piece that can split out as a mismatch and exploit the seam of opposing defenses, and Dulcich has proven capable of doing that both at UCLA and in the NFL. As a rookie a year ago, Dulcich racked up 411 yards and two touchdowns on 33 catches in just 10 games for the Broncos.
Given his status as late day-two pick, the dead money is extremely minimal for the Broncos to move Dulcich.
