Browns reportedly want to move on from Haden, Erving

The Cleveland Browns are reportedly looking to trade Joe Haden and Cameron Erving, but can they find any takers for the pair of former first-round draft picks?

Teams across the NFL are busy going over their rosters this week as they prepare for Saturday’s mandatory cutdown period when all teams must be at 53 players by 4 p.m.

The Cleveland Browns are no different, and they have slowly begun the process this week by releasing offensive lineman Gabe Ikard, defensive lineman Cam Johnson and safety Ed Reynolds.

Those are minor transactions and may just be the tip of the iceberg as the Browns are also reportedly looking to trade offensive lineman Cameron Erving, according to Mary Kay Cabot at cleveland.com, and cornerback Joe Haden, according to CBS Sports.

Well, isn’t that interesting?

Haden was a first-round selection in the 2010 NFL Draft, making him the second-longest tenured player currently on the roster. Haden made a splash his rookie year with six interceptions, despite starting just seven games due to the incompetence of then-head coach Eric Mangini. Haden went on to make the Pro Bowl in 2013 and 2014.

But injuries have started to take their toll on Haden as he has only played 18 total games over the past two seasons. He is reportedly healthy this year, but his play in the preseason has been average.

Haden is not a No. 1 cornerback any more, although he is being paid like one thanks to a contract he signed prior to the 2014 season.

There has been talk each of the past two seasons that the Browns would entertain the idea of trading Haden, but his injuries and salary made that a hard proposition. But now that he is entering the fourth year of his five-year contract, the impact (at least on the Browns) is not as severe, according to Spotrac:

It seems unlikely that the Browns will receive anything of real value in return for Haden, given his injury history and the cap hit his new team would take on. But all it takes is an injury in the next few days to a cornerback and a team may be desperate enough to offer Cleveland something worth talking about.

As for Erving, he has struggled since former general manager Ray Farmer mistakenly drafted him in the first round of the 2015 NFL Draft with the half-baked idea of turning Erving into an NFL center.

More from Dawg Pound Daily

• How the Browns could maximize Nick Chubb in 2023
• Can Deshaun Watson get to Patrick Mahomes level for Cleveland Browns?
• 3 Cleveland Browns who should see an expanded role in 2023 and 1 who should not
• Is Marcus Davenport on the Browns radar in 2023?
• 5 Free agents from Super Bowl LVII Cleveland Browns should target

The first problem was that the Browns already had Alex Mack at center, so Erving didn’t really have much to as a rookie. Once Mack left in free agency and Erving took over as the starting center in 2016, it quickly became clear that Erving is not, under any definition, an NFL-caliber center,

The Browns moved Erving to his natural tackle position for training camp with the idea that he would be good enough to at least be a viable backup. But a calf injury has sidelined Erving for the past two preseason games, providing him with little chance to show the Browns that he is worthy of a roster spot.

It’s unfortunate as Erving is a player who has a good attitude and tries hard. But when he misses on a block – and he misses a lot – he looks about as bad as can be imagined.

The Browns did not make Haden or Erving available for questions at Tuesday’s practice, but head coach Hue Jackson put his trust in the front office, according to clevelandbrowns.com:

"“This is a time of year where everything is happening and things start getting said. We will deal with those things as we move forward. I trust (executive vice president of football operations) Sashi (Brown) and his group to make the right decisions that I think are best for our football team.”"

It seems likely that if the Browns receive an offer that they like, they will have no problem moving on from Haden and Erving. But if a good offer does not materialize, Haden could still be on the roster come Saturday night. It would be ridiculous for the Browns to simply release him, as he can still be a solid member of the cornerback rotation.

Next: Browns offensive line cuts may be difficult

Erving is a different case, however. He has no track record to rely on, and if they don’t receive something in a trade offer the Browns could exorcise another of Farmer’s mistakes and simply release Erving.

Nothing has happened so far, but it sounds more than likely that at least one former first-round draft pick will be out of town by the weekend.