Cleveland Browns: 5 trade targets in the event of a Lions fire sale
By Sam Penix
3. CB Desmond Trufant
Like many on the Detroit defense, Desmond Trufant had a down year in 2020. He spent the first seven years of his career as the top cornerback with the Atlanta Falcons before signing a modest two-year $20 million deal with the Lions. A hamstring injury forced him to miss 10 games and he was never able to get into a rhythm in a new scheme.
A trade would cost Detroit $6 million in dead cap and he would count $9.5 against the cap in Cleveland. The Browns have Denzel Ward at CB1, but have basically nothing behind him. Kevin Johnson and Terrance Mitchell are both free agents, and neither should be starting on a playoff team. Greedy Williams was less than stellar as a rookie and missed the entire 2020 campaign with a nerve issue in his shoulder. His future is more than cloudy, and the Browns shouldn’t be counting on him.
The team will be making significant additions to the secondary, and Trufant could make some sense. A contract restructure could add a year or two to his deal while reducing his cap hit, which is not bad at all considering some of the other contracts around the league. With Ward covering the opponent’s top wide receiver, Trufant would be left to deal with the second option, a role he would likely be able to fill quite well.