3 Trade targets in 2021 offseason with ties to Cleveland Browns staff

The Cleveland Browns aren’t afraid to make moves to improve their roster and here we look at 3 possible targets with ties to their staff

Since taking over as general manager of the Cleveland Browns, Andrew Berry has shown that he utilizes a balanced approach to building his team. He proved he understood how to make moves in free agency with the addition of Jack Conklin and Austin Hooper but also how to get the most out of his draft picks.

He also showed he will pull the trigger on a trade if he believes it’s right for his team. The two best examples of this were when he landed starting fullback Andy Janovich from the Denver Broncos and safety Rodney Harrison from Jacksonville without surrendering much at all in return.

These trades might have been more modest but following an 11-win campaign, Berry might be more willing to make a splash as he aims to put his team over the top. Here we look at three players he could look to add — all with ties to the current staff.

3. Rodney McLeod Safety

First up is safety Rodney McLeod who was with the Philadelphia Eagles during Andrew Berry’s one-season stint with the club. That’s not his only tie to Berry, however, as the Browns were one of the teams pursuing McLeod in 2016 and Berry was on the staff then as the vice president of player personnel.

Of course, McLeod is a bit older now as he will turn 31 this offseason but he still proved in 2020 that he can be a productive player. He does have a cap hit of over $5 million but it’s a one-year investment as he enters the final season of his five-year, $35 million contract that he agreed to in 2016.

In Cleveland, he would be an upgrade over Andrew Sendejo and Karl Joseph while still giving them a veteran leader to work alongside Ronnie Harrison and Grant Delpit — who could also be slow out of the gates due to the fact that he missed his entire rookie season with a torn Achilles.