Cleveland Browns: 5 best trades of all-time
By Thomas Moore
Nov 5, 2015; Cincinnati, OH, USA; Cleveland Browns punter Andy Lee (8) against the Cincinnati Bengals at Paul Brown Stadium. The Bengals won 31-10. Mandatory Credit: Aaron Doster-USA TODAY Sports
The Cleveland Browns have been on the wrong end of numerous trades, but sometimes they have gotten it right as these five best trades of all-time illustrate.
As the Cleveland Browns continue to see the 2015 NFL season circle the drain, one of the few bright spots has been punter Andy Lee.
Acquired in the off-season by general manager Ray Farmer (reportedly a horrible judge of talent) for just a seventh-round draft pick, Lee has consistently shown why he was a three-time Pro Bowl selection while punting for the San Francisco 49ers.
Lee is fifth in the NFL with 49 punts (not a surprise for an offensive that loves nothing more than a three-and-out, especially with Johnny Manziel at quarterback), is sixth in both average and net average, and is tied for fifth in punts inside the 20 (only two off the leaders).
A few weeks back we had a discussion with Seth Neale (@Marbles7th) on Twitter, who posited that the trade for Lee was the best trade in franchise history. That got us thinking about the trades that the Browns have made over the years.
Generally it is often the bad ones that most fans remember – trading Bobby Mitchell for the right to draft Ernie Davis, trading Paul Warfield for the right to draft Mike Phipps, trading Chip Banks for the right to draft Mike Junkin – but there had to be some moves the worked out for the Browns, right?
So here are the five best trades of all-time for the Cleveland Browns.
Next: No. 5: A Key Kardiac Kid