Browns trade Billy Winn to Colts for conditional draft pick

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Sep 3, 2015; Chicago, IL, USA; Chicago Bears running back Jeremy Langford (36) rushes the ball against Cleveland Browns defensive end Billy Winn (90) during the second quarter at Soldier Field. Mandatory Credit: Mike DiNovo-USA TODAY Sports

The Cleveland Browns traded defensive lineman Billy Winn to the Indianapolis Colts on Friday for a conditional draft pick in the 2017 NFL Draft.

The team announced the move on its website.

It was the second roster move in as many days as interim general manager Bill Kuharich is keeping busy during general manager Ray Farmer‘s four-week suspension.

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We’re sad to see Winn go as he was a player who always gave maximum effort while on the field. But with the addition of defensive lineman Randy Starks in free agency, and defensive linemen Danny Shelton and Xavier Cooper in the draft, it was going to be difficult for Winn to get on the field this fall. (He was listed on the latest depth chart behind both Starks and John Hughes.)

It is also probably telling that the Browns were only able to get a conditional pick out of the Colts for Winn, even though Indianapolis is in need of defensive line help after losing Art Jones to a season-ending injury. As Zak Keefer points out in The Indy Star, the Colts’ defensive line is currently made up of:

"Six defensive linemen on the Colts’ current roster, five of whom have never played a down for this team, four of whom have never played a down in the NFL, three of whom went undrafted."

"There’s a second-year player with zero starts to his name (Zach Kerr); a rookie third-round pick (Henry Anderson); a rookie fifth-round pick (David Parry); a free agent signed two days ago after being cut (T.Y. McGill); and a rookie who last played for a team called the Brooklyn Bolts in the Fall Experimental Football League (Earl Okine)."

So while Winn was a nice player, let’s be careful not to make him out to be more than he is.

Winn appeared in 40 games, making 18 starts, for the Browns after being selected in the sixth-round of the 2012 NFL Draft out of Boise State. He posted 87 tackles, three sacks, two forced fumbles and five passes defensed.

The Browns will reportedly fill Winn’s roster spot by promoting running back Shaun Draughn off of the practice squad.

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