Cleveland Browns trade Emmanuel Ogbah to Chiefs for safety Eric Murray
By Randy Gurzi
The Cleveland Browns have been looking to move Emmanuel Ogbah ever since they landed Olivier Vernon and finally sent him to the Kansas City Chiefs for safety Eric Murray
Back on March 13, the Cleveland Browns struck a deal that brought Olivier Vernon in to start at defensive end opposite Myles Garrett. Ever since then, the team was rumored to be shopping Emmanuel Ogbah — what was the starter in 2018.
On April 1, the first day the team was reporting for the offseason program, Cleveland finally did send Ogbah to a new home. It was reported on Twitter by Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network that Ogbah had been traded to the Kansas City Chiefs.
It wasn’t long after that when Rapoport went back to Twitter to say that the Browns were getting safety Eric Murray in return for Ogbah.
The Browns were in need of a safety ever since trading away Jabrill Peppers — who was part of the deal that brought Odell Beckham to town. That need intensified earlier on Monday when it was reported that Cleveland was parting with Derrick Kindred. Before being told of his release, Kindred looked like the best option to start at strong safety.
As for Murray, he’s well known by general manager John Dorsey as he took him in the fourth round back in 2016 while he was with the Chiefs. Murray played cornerback at Minnesota before converting to safety in the NFL.
In three seasons with the Chiefs, Murray has 11 starts in 45 games played. He’s been credited with 88 tackles and has one career pick. While Murray looks ready to slide into the starting spot now for Cleveland, it’s also highly likely they will bring in competition via the draft.
Ogbah was the 32nd overall pick in 2016 and started 40 games in three seasons. He was strong against the run and had 12.5 sacks. The Browns felt good enough about him in 2018 to pass on Bradley Chubb in the draft but have since changed their stance.