Cleveland Browns Make Two Moves Today

Mike Holmgren certainly isn’t being shy in his first season with the Browns, nor is he shy about what his plans are for the franchise. Rebuild.

The Browns made it known that Brady Quinn was available for trade a few days ago, and the Denver Broncos swooped in and grabbed the young quarterback for fullback Peyton Hillis, a 2011 6th round pick and a late round pick in 2012.

Brady Quinn should be expected to push Kyle Orton for the starting job in Denver with the Broncos not as comfortable with Orton as they were before the 6-0 to 8-8 debacle.

This move benefits both teams as the Browns rid themselves of a quarterback that they didn’t want, and frankly did not want to be in Cleveland himself. Meanwhile, Denver gets a solid back-up quarterback who may be able to start for them for next to nothing.

It’s the next move that may leave you scratching your head a little bit.

The Oakland Raiders were able to get the 2006 first round pick (13th overall) of Cleveland Kamerion Wimbley for only a third round pick.

He led the Browns in sacks in 2009 with 6.5 which doesn’t say much. Not to mention, Wimbley is coming from a 3-4 scheme whereas the Raiders run the 4-3.

However, the Browns have noticeable depth at outside linebacker who they could be looking to move into Wimbley’s place opposite of Matt Roth. They have Marcus Benard who had 3.5 sacks in 2009, Jason Trusnik, athletically gifted Alex Hall, or their 2009 second round pick in David Veikune to turn to.

For the Raiders, Wimbley should be in prime position to take over at defensive end in place of Greg Ellis. Wimbley, who played defensive end at Florida State, is undersized by about 15-20 pounds, but the Raiders have had success in moving a 3-4 player to the 4-3. See: Richard Seymour.

All in all, the Browns are looking to rebuild, and the first rule of rebuilding is to clean house. They haven’t done that completely, but have freed themselves of dead weight primarily at quarterback, and have piled up a few picks. If Brady Quinn can perform well in Denver, those late round picks are conditional and could turn into mid-round picks.