Cleveland Browns: 3 trade targets on Patriots as they open firesale
By Cory Kinnan
1. EDGE John Simon
The Browns need to get pressure on the quarterback from someone other than Myles Garrett, plain and simple. Teams are now rerouting running backs and tight ends to throw chips at Garrett before heading into a pass pattern, and teams are double-teaming Garrett with frequency. They can afford to do this as Olivier Vernon, Porter Gustin, and Adrian Clayborn are struggling to win off the edge opposite Garrett.
Bringing a former Ohio State Buckeye back to the Buckeye state, the Browns could take a look at the over-achieving John Simon. He is not the biggest, strongest, or fastest of edge rushers, and was just a fourth round pick back in 2013, but he is steady who wins with staying disciplined to his assignments. He has racked up a sack, three tackles for loss, and three additional hits on the quarterback thus far in the 2020 season for the Patriots.
While Simon is set to become a free agent after this season, he would not be an expensive piece to re-sign on a short-term one or two year extension either. He is currently playing out a two-year, $4.15 million contract with the Patriots for reference. He will not be expensive to acquire either, as a day-three pick or even a depth player swap would do the trick.