Cleveland Browns: 3 worst trades in the last 5 years
By Greg Newland
The Cleveland Browns made two huge trades to push them into Super Bowl talks for 2022, but let’s look at these 3 trades that weren’t so good.
The Cleveland Browns are just days away from the start of the 2022 training camp. Andrew Berry was finally able to ship away Baker Mayfield, but Deshaun Watson and his camp are still waiting to hear from the NFL about discipline for the 2022 season. The latest rumor mill is like four to six games, with the potential for no suspension. Only time will tell on that.
Other than that, the Browns roster is taking shape. Long-term extensions with Denzel Ward, Watson, and David Njoku this offseason have the core players solidified in Cleveland. At this point, if the Browns wanted out of one of those deals, it would be extremely difficult.
As we get closer to the season let’s take a look back at three of the worst trades by the Browns since the 2017 season. With Watson and Amari Cooper both coming via trade this offseason, expectations are higher than ever for 2022.
Cleveland Browns 3 worst trades in the last 5 years
Cleveland Browns bad trade No. 3 – 2019, Emmanuel Ogbah
With the first pick of the second round in the 2016 draft, the Cleveland Browns took Emmanuel Ogbah from Oklahoma State — a pass rusher who lacked a ton of athleticism but had an NFL frame at 6-foot-4, 275 pounds.
Ogbah started out hot in Cleveland with five and a half sacks as a rookie and starting all 16 games. He then had injuries in back-to-back years and was limited to seven sacks over two seasons. It felt like Ogbah may be a bit of a liability, John Dorsey traded him after the 2018 season to the Kansas City Chiefs for Eric Murray.
After one season in Kansas, Ogbah moved on to the Dolphins where he has had nine sacks each of the last years and has really developed as a tremendous edge rusher. Ogbah puts up the stat line in the sack column but is also a tremendous run stopper as well.
Had the Browns held on for another season, they really could have had a great player. Instead, the Browns got a defensive back who played one season before leaving to go to Houston.