Genard Avery traded by Cleveland Browns, is Rashard Higgins next?

The Cleveland Browns traded Genard Avery to the Philadelphia Eagles on Monday. Could Rashard Higgins be the next member of the team to be dealt?

There’s been speculation for the majority of the season that Genard Avery could be on the move. A surprise player for the Cleveland Browns last season, Avery recorded 40 tackles and 4.5 sacks during his rookie campaign. That production gave fans hope that he could turn into a solid depth piece going forward.

However, the former fifth-round pick from Memphis never got a chance to make much of an impact this season. In his second year, Avery was active for just two games as it seemed he simply wasn’t a fit in the scheme of new defensive coordinator Steve Wilks.

That led to the unsurprising, yet still disappointing announcement that he was traded on Monday as Avery is now a member of the Philadelphia Eagles.

The terms of the deal have yet to be announced but it’s likely a late-round pick that Philly surrendered for Avery — which is honestly a steal. And with the trade deadline just around the corner, there’s a chance the Browns might not be done.

There’s still some hope they could land an offensive tackle, but the most likely scenario would be them trading more players for future assets. Sitting at 2-5, general manager John Dorsey probably sees this as a time to be sellers as they stockpile talent around players such as Baker Mayfield, Odell Beckham, Myles Garrett, and Jarvis Landry.

Looking over their roster, the most likely trade piece that could go next would be wide receiver Rashard Higgins. Like Avery, Higgins had a good season in 2018 but has played in just two games this year.

Higgins did miss time due to an injury early on but has also been on the sideline for the majority of the time since coming back — although he did finally get some action this past Sunday against New England.

A fan-favorite, Higgins has just three receptions for 48 yards on the year, which is surprising considering he had 39 catches for 572 yards and four touchdowns a season ago and has proven to have a great rapport with Mayfield.

He may not bring much back in a trade but with Higgins set for free agency in the offseason, Dorsey might prefer to get a pick now rather than wait and hope for a compensatory pick down the road.