The Browns have swung two trades in October, dealing quarterback Joe Flacco to the Bengals as part of a Day 3 pick swap in 2026 and trading contract-year cornerback Greg Newsome II to the Jaguars for fellow cornerback Tyson Campbell (that deal also included a 2026 Day 3 pick swap). Zac Jackson of The Athletic (subscription required) unsurprisingly believes Cleveland, which is currently sitting at 2-5, will continue to operate as a seller as we approach the November 4 trade deadline.
Jackson does not expect a full fire sale, however. Instead, he anticipates one or two more trades as the Browns attempt to extract some value for their older players while looking ahead to 2026 and beyond. As Jackson observes in a separate subscribers-only piece, Cleveland already has 10 picks in next year’s draft, which is probably too many to be useful, even for a rebuilding club. That is presumably one of the reasons why he does not expect a flurry of trade activity.
As for who could be on the move, Jackson identifies running back Jerome Ford, whose name has already cropped up in trade rumors, as a clear trade candidate. Tight end David Njoku has also been rumored as a player who could be dealt, and Jackson confirms the longtime Brown may be in the final stretch of his Cleveland tenure (though he also leaves open the possibility that player and team could work out another contract extension).
Both Njoku and Ford have seen rookies (Harold Fannin and Quinshon Judkins, respectively) eat into their playing time, and as both veterans are on expiring deals, their status as potential trade bait is apparent. Offensive linemen Wyatt Teller, Ethan Pocic, Joel Bitonio, and Jack Conklin are also impending free agents whom Jackson names as potential targets for OL-needy clubs. Jackson views a Bitonio trade as improbable since the front office would need to negotiate with an interested team as well as the 12th-year Brown – who is considered likely to retire at season’s end – and his family.
Other contract-year veterans with varying degrees of trade-worthiness include DE Alex Wright – whom Jackson views as a player who will generate some interest given his position and the fact that he profiles as an inexpensive rental – DT Shelby Harris, LB Jerome Baker, S Rayshawn Jenkins, and P Corey Bojorquez. And, while Jackson acknowledges a trade of WR Jerry Jeudy or DE Myles Garrett is unlikely, he does include them on his list of trade candidates.
Despite an offseason trade request and a report that he was not open to a new deal with the Browns, Garrett and Cleveland came together on a record-setting contract in early March. Cleveland did not really consider moving Garrett even after his trade demand, and given that the ink is barely dry on his mega-deal, the dead money cost of a trade within the next couple of weeks could be prohibitive. That said, if a team were to pony up three first-round picks, that could change Cleveland’s calculus.
After a Pro Bowl performance in 2024, in which the former first-round pick of the Broncos finally lived up to his considerable potential, Jeudy has been a disappointment in 2025, largely as a result of his struggles with dropped passes and penalties. Cleveland would be selling low on the Alabama product, whom they signed to a three-year, $52.5MM deal ($41MM guaranteed) last March. Jackson therefore thinks a trade probably will not come together, but if a team thinking Jeudy just needs another change of scenery came calling, Jackson suggests GM Andrew Berry would listen.
Given Cleveland’s glut of 2026 draft picks, Jackson says Berry could target players under club control at least through next year — rather than more draft capital — as he navigates the trade season. That is what happened when he traded Newsome for Campbell, who is signed through 2028.
As Chris Easterling of the Akron Beacon Journal writes, Campbell was shocked by the deal, perhaps because he signed a lucrative extension with the Jaguars in July 2024. Clearly, the playoff-hopeful Jags believed Newsome offered an immediate upgrade to aid in their postseason push, while Cleveland will hope to provide Campbell something of a longer runway to find the form that earned him a big-money deal just last year.
