On Monday, the Cleveland Browns filled a glaring roster need by swinging a trade with the Houston Texans for right tackle Tytus Howard. The price was a fifth-round draft pick and a two-year extension worth $45 million.
On Friday, the Chicago Bears replaced the retiring Drew Dahlman via a trade with the New England Patriots for center Garrett Bradbury.
The price? A fifth-round draft pick (in 2027), but these two deals are not the same.
While fair to question Cleveland’s strategy of swapping draft capital for a veteran player entering his age-30 season, the Bears just handed GM Andrew Berry and the Browns a major assist. Bradbury’s not only older than Howard, but he’s an interior lineman who’s now on his third new team in as many years.
The move always made sense, as it allowed the Browns to fill a need prior to free agency at a reasonable price. It definitely looks better now, though, from a value perspective.
Garrett Bradbury trade highlights the value Cleveland got for Tytus Howard
The Browns were always going to have to be strategic this offseason. They restructured Deshaun Watson’s contract on Friday just to get cap compliant, and the same could be coming for Denzel Ward in the coming days.
They can ill afford to whiff on any of their big decisions this year, especially when those decisions involve parting with immediate draft capital. Thankfully, it’s safe to call Berry’s move for Howard the right value play.
Cleveland held three fifth-round picks for the 2026 draft, and while that shouldn’t matter much in theory, it’s not surprising that they’d look to leverage that surplus with a trade. Bradbury went for a 2027 fifth-rounder, which is closer in value to a 2026 sixth.
Still, a fifth-round pick for Howard now looks like a steal on paper, and he has a chance to back it up on the field thanks to his history with new Browns offensive line coach George Warhop.
The Browns’ trade for Watson under Berry’s watch is a stain on his resume that will never wash off, but to his credit, his most recent deals have helped bolster the franchise for this next era. The Travis Hunter trade keeps looking better by the day, as does swapping Greg Newsome III for Tyson Campbell as a better fit for the defense.
It’s far too early to be calling the Howard trade a win, but it for sure looks that way right now on paper, and that’s a small victory for the Browns entering free agency.