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Could Trent Williams still be in play for the Cleveland Browns

By Greg Newland

ST. LOUIS, MO - OCTOBER 2: Trent Williams #71 and Rex Grossman #8 of the Washington Redskins celebrate in the fourth quarter of the game against the St. Louis Rams October 2, 2011 at the Edward Jones Dome in St. Louis, Missouri. The Redskins defeated the Rams 17-10. (Photo by Whitney Curtis/Getty Images)
ST. LOUIS, MO - OCTOBER 2: Trent Williams #71 and Rex Grossman #8 of the Washington Redskins celebrate in the fourth quarter of the game against the St. Louis Rams October 2, 2011 at the Edward Jones Dome in St. Louis, Missouri. The Redskins defeated the Rams 17-10. (Photo by Whitney Curtis/Getty Images) /
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ST. LOUIS, MO – OCTOBER 2: Trent Williams #71 and Rex Grossman #8 of the Washington Redskins celebrate in the fourth quarter of the game against the St. Louis Rams on October 2, 2011, at the Edward Jones Dome in St. Louis, Missouri. The Redskins defeated the Rams 17-10. (Photo by Whitney Curtis/Getty Images)
ST. LOUIS, MO – OCTOBER 2: Trent Williams #71 and Rex Grossman #8 of the Washington Redskins celebrate in the fourth quarter of the game against the St. Louis Rams on October 2, 2011, at the Edward Jones Dome in St. Louis, Missouri. The Redskins defeated the Rams 17-10. (Photo by Whitney Curtis/Getty Images) /

Andrew Berry has been busy re-building the Cleveland Browns offense and defense in free agency the last week.  Is the all-pro tackle Trent Williams still in play?

The Trent Williams speculation has been around for over a year in Cleveland after John Dorsey was in hot pursuit last season for the left tackle. Now that the Cleveland Browns have signed Jack Conklin and Austin Hooper on offense, could Andrew Berry consider trading for and extending Trent Williams?

It seems highly unlikely the Browns would want to trade a high draft pick or sign Williams to a $20 million per year extension, but every day that passes Williams and the Washington Redskins lose leverage on the situation.

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Previous rumors were the Redskins wanted a first-round pick and Williams wanted a $20 million per year extension. Obviously, every team in the NFL thought that was outrageous and Williams remains in Washington unhappy.

Let me throw a crazy scenario out here, that may hit the cap hard for a year or two but keeps the Browns flexible in the future and in a “win now” mentality. Could the Browns trade a third-round pick for Trent Williams and sign him to a two-year $30-35 million contract? With Conklin on the right and Williams on the left, your offensive line would be concrete.  The Williams contract would be heavily front-loaded like Conklin and allow the Browns and out after one year.

In this scenario an offensive tackle at No. 10 in the draft becomes unnecessary and you can go all-in for Isaiah Simmons. The safety/linebacker hybrid from the University of Clemson looks to be an instant force in the NFL. Quarterbacks are highly coveted in the NFL, but many experts say Chase Young and Simmons are by far the top two talents in the draft. The downside to this, it would likely take your first and second-round pick from 2020 and a second or third-round pick from 2021 to make sure you get Simmons.

The Browns would need quarterbacks to go early and often in the draft for this plan to work.  There is a chance the Lions would take Simmons at number three and moving up from ten to three would be too costly. However, if the Lions go with Jeff Okuda, a defensive back from Ohio State, the path could open for the Browns to only have to trade up to number seven or eight to get Simmons.

Bengals, Dolphins, and Chargers are all expected to go quarterback before the Browns with the Giants and Cardinals likely in the offensive tackle market. Another helpful scenario would be if a quarterback hungry team can intrigue the Lions to trade back, the Browns could have enough pieces to move up and snag the future star.

If either of these scenarios plays out, I think the Browns would be aggressive for defensive end Everson Griffen and then draft heavy at linebacker hoping they can find a piece that can play early like Mack Wilson in 2019.

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This would be an aggressive strategy by Andrew Berry, but once again allows you to try and win now with Baker Mayfield and Myles Garrett in friendly rookie deals.

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