The Cleveland Browns surprised many around the NFL with an important win over the Dallas Cowboys 49-38 on Sunday. The win makes three in a row for the Browns and marks the first time they have started a season 3-1 since 2001.
The Browns were thought by many to have a good amount of talent on their roster. However, talent alone is not enough to win in the NFL. It takes a combination of talent that fits the team’s identity, coaching that knows how to use that talent effectively, team chemistry, culture, mindset, scheme and still it’s often not enough. So when an organization has the opportunity to compete at the highest level of professional football, it should not be taken lightly.
It is common practice in the NFL for teams to self-scout their own team in search of areas they can improve as the season progresses. One of the best ways teams can improve mid-season is at the trade deadline. This year’s trade deadline is on October 29th, 2020 at 4:00 PM EST.
When looking at what teams will be “sellers” around the deadline, we would look to teams that are out of contention and have salary cap situations.
Here's the bottom 8 teams in 2021 cap room with their current records included pic.twitter.com/B14Gy90g66
— Benjamin Solak (@BenjaminSolak) September 28, 2020
Things can often get precarious for teams looking to “buy” in these scenarios. Hard internal questions will have to be answered. How long is our winning window? Are we really legitimate Super Bowl contenders? Are we ready to sacrifice our future for a piece needed to win right now?
The Browns aren’t in a one-year window, so they have to engage the deadline with some distinction. They have the most cap space of any team in the NFL with over $32 Million according to Overthecap.com. However, much of that is probably earmarked for extensions needed to keep their core players in Cleveland.
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GM Andrew Berry will need to try and improve his team in the secondary and potentially at linebacker. The key will be acquiring players that can not only help in 2020 but also be a part of the solution moving forward. They are not in position to acquire one-year rentals unless they come across a bargain of sorts.
It’s possible that teams on the decline will be looking to move on from younger players approaching the end of their contract and don’t intend to offer an extension. This could present the Browns with an opportunity to bring in a young cornerback or safety that could help now, be worth looking at as part of their future and wouldn’t tie up any future cap space if they decided against investing in said player.
This will be the first chance we get to see how GM Andrew Berry chooses to handle this scenario, so it’s hard to know to what extent he will be willing to go out and help this year’s team. Certainly, the Browns can apply some pressure by continuing to stack up victories.