The Cleveland Browns did not make any blockbuster trades before the trade deadline.
There were two routes that the Cleveland Browns could have gone down at the trade deadline. They could have made a few trades in an attempt to win now or they could have stood pat and realize they are not quite there yet. Luckily they did the latter as the Browns did not make any last second trades.
The Browns could have made big moves on both sides of the ball. The offense is going to miss Odell Beckham Jr. that is a fact. Unfortunately there is no replacing Beckham. Some were going head over heels for Adam Thielen, but he wouldn’t necessarily be a good fit. The Browns already have Jarvis Landry and any attempt to add the passing offense would need to be a deep threat.
Defensively they are an absolute dumpster fire outside of Myles Garrett and Denzel Ward. Cleveland could acquire three defensive players and that side of the ball would still be a massive liability. The back seven outside Ward is completely unreliable and will need to be addressed in the offseason. Free agency and the draft will be how the team attempts to fix these issues.
While not popular with the fanbase, this was the right call. It is about realizing where the team is at this point in time and where they would be after making trades. The reality is that the Browns are an average team and making a couple of moves doesn’t change that. There is too big of a gap between where Cleveland is and where the legitimate contenders are, adding a couple of players does not change that all that much. If they make the playoffs, the addition of players changes things from a lopsided first round loss to slightly less lopsided first round loss. It is all about the big picture and not being shortsighted.
Like it or not, the Cleveland Browns made the right decision.
