The Cleveland Browns have a connection with the Minnesota Vikings and could see if they’re able to land one of these 3 players in a trade
Kwesi Adofo-Mensah is now the general manager of the Minnesota Vikings after they poached him from the Cleveland Browns front office. It appears to be a great hire for the Vikings as Adofo-Mensah is a Princeton product who has experience in the analytical approach to team-building.
He also still has a ton of respect for Cleveland general manager Andrew Berry and the rest of the front office as he returned to Berea after being hired by the Vikings to express his gratitude to everyone who helped him along the way.
That relationship could help the Browns who might be one of the first teams Minnesota thinks of when they do start to re-tool their roster and have some veterans who need new homes. Perhaps the relationship between the two will help get some deals done, and if so, these three players are ones the Browns should ask about.
Cleveland Browns trade target No. 3: K.J. Osborn, WR
This past season, K.J. Osborn really broke out for the Vikings. The second-year pro had 50 receptions for 655 yards and seven touchdowns — after not seeing a single pass come his way the year prior.
A fifth-round pick in 2020, Osborn spent his rookie season as a special teams player who returned both kickoffs and punts but then found a role as the No. 3 wide receiver this season.
Minnesota might not be in a hurry to move on from him but with a new general manager and head coach (Kevin O’Connell should be on the way after the Super Bowl), they could be interested in listening to offers on anyone — and now would be the time to sell high on Osborn.
For Cleveland, they need to remake their entire receiving corps and this would be a welcome addition for them.
Cleveland Browns trade target No. 2: Harrison Smith, S
Harrison Smith has been an excellent safety for the Minnesota Vikings for 10 seasons now. He was selected 29th overall in the 2012 NFL Draft out of Notre Dame and since then has recorded 861 tackles. 29 interceptions, 16.5 sacks, eight forced fumbles, and has four career defensive touchdowns.
Smith is also a six-time Pro Bowler who is arguably one of the top safeties in the entire NFL. The problem is, he’s going to be 33 this coming season and set to count $13.4 million against the salary cap in 2022.
For what he brings to the table, that’s not too much money but for a franchise that could be looking at reshaping their entire roster, it could be too much for them. If that’s the case, Cleveland could see what deals they could make with their former front office exec.
Of course, they might want to re-work his deal, but Andrew Berry has already proven he can navigate a salary cap with no problem.
As for Smith’s fit with the team, they currently have John Johnson III and Grant Delpit which means one of them will move to the No. 3 safety role. However, in Joe Woods’ scheme, this is still a de-facto starter — as seen by how often Ronnie Harrison was on the field.
Smith would essentially replace Harrison, which would be a huge win for the Browns.
Cleveland Browns trade target No. 1: Kirk Cousins, QB
This is the one that makes the most sense for the Cleveland Browns. In 2021, Baker Mayfield was a major problem for them as he struggled throughout the year. There are those who shrug off his rough campaign by saying he was injured but that’s a bit short-sighted.
Mayfield was in his fourth season and he has been up-and-down since entering the NFL. He was good in 2018 as a rookie but completely fell off the map in 2019. Everyone blamed that on Freddie Kitchens, then felt justified when Mayfield was good in the second half of 2020.
However, that’s somehow been the year fans cling to as they shrug off a bad 2019 and 2021 campaign. But the truth is, Mayfield has been a roller-coaster whereas Kirk Cousins has actually been a consistently solid quarterback. In fact, his worst statistical season dwarfs Mayfield’s best yet there’s still this giant faction in Cleveland that thinks the two players are similar.
Let’s squash that now. Mayfield has the talent to be better than Cousins but so far, he hasn’t been close. Cousins has thrown for more than 4,000-yards six times and Mayfield has never done so. He has also thrown for more than 30 touchdowns in three of the past four seasons, and Mayfield has never done so.
The only advantage Mayfield has is youth, but the Browns are good enough that they can win now with a mid-30s quarterback while they look for the next guy.
Cousins would be an upgrade and the Browns should definitely call about his availability.