After Sunday’s loss, the Browns sit at 1-5 on the year. The team has already authorized two notable trades, sending Greg Newsome to the Jaguars in a swap for fellow cornerback Tyson Campbell after Joe Flacco was dealt to the Bengals. 
It would come as no surprise if other trades were to take place ahead of next month’s deadline. Provided the Browns continue to sell, a number of veterans will presumably draw trade interest. One of those is defensive tackle Shelby Harris.
The Browns will listen to offers on Harris, Mary Kay Cabot of cleveland.com reports. Likewise, ESPN’s Adam Schefter names the 11th-year veteran as one of the league’s top trade candidates. Harris is a pending free agent, so he would be viewed as a rental for an acquiring team. With a base salary of just $2MM, the 34-year-old would also be an affordable target for any number of suitors.
Cleveland invested a second-round pick in defensive tackle Mike Hall last year. The Ohio State product has yet to play this season, but Cabot notes he is nearing a return to full health. When that takes place, Hall will join Mason Graham – selected fifth overall in April after the Browns traded out of the No. 2 slot – as a tandem along the defensive interior for years to come. With those two in the team’s plans well beyond the current campaign, Harris could be deemed expendable in the near future.
The former seventh-rounder has 135 appearances and 84 starts to his name. Harris was a first-team presence through much of his five-year Broncos run before heading to Seattle as part of the Russell Wilson trade. After a single campaign with the Seahawks, the Illinois State alum signed the first of two contracts with the Browns. In addition to drafting Graham this offseason, though, the team added Maliek Collins in free agency, something which threatened to limit Harris’ playing time.
As a result, Harris was a cut candidate this summer. The Browns elected to keep him in the fold through training camp and into the start of the season, and Harris has handled a 42% snap share so far. He could offer a rotational presence to a contending team for the second half of the campaign, and it will be interesting to see how strong of a market develops on the trade front in this case.
The guy hasn’t started a single game this year, has had maybe 2 impactful seasons ever and is almost 35. Who is giving up anything of value for this guy?
He’s not a starter, but he’s played 41% of the defensive snaps on a good defense and he’s still a good run defender. Plenty of contenders could use a rotational run defender for the price of a late round pick. It beats being the annual team that signs the remains of Linval Joseph.
I feel like I would rather spend more to get more. This is pretty equal to the annual Linval Joseph signing.
You aren’t winning or losing any extra games by bringing this guy in at all.
I mean, he’s definitely better than Joseph at this point. He’s an actual solid run defender. For a team like the Chiefs or Chargers that could just use a rotational role player to bolster their run defense and doesn’t want to trade much draft capital, he makes good sense.
I always opt to try and play a draft pick for a rotational spot before making a move you know? The Chiefs took a DL this year in the draft as did the Chargers. I think you just have to give the chance to the guys who might surprise you into becoming starters.
Sure, good to work in rookies. That doesn’t mean you don’t need veteran role players right now. You can’t expect rookies to all just be good right away, and teams like deploying rotations on the line anyway. Contenders could often use one more guy, especially as injuries creep in. Besides, the defensive tackle the Chiefs drafted, Omarr Norman-Lott didn’t even play very much in college and is more of a gap shooting type than a gap plugging run defender.
The Browns should be willing to trade anybody and anything. What an embarrassment.
The Factory of Sadness lives on.