Andrew Berry and the Browns had no interest in trading cornerback Greg Newsome II during the NFL draft. Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com reported the Browns will be picking up the former first-round pick’s fifth-year option.
Newsome was a popular trade candidate for fans and other off-season speculators heading into the draft. The Browns have three great cornerbacks, but Newsome is cast as the odd man out. Newsome is an outside cornerback forced to play the slot role. He lacks the physicality when fitting the run to be an elite cornerback in that role. Newsome is a premiere coverage corner and his potential will never be reached in the slot role. Naturally, people thought the Browns would part ways with the cornerback and recoup draft capital lost in other trades.
It became clear the Browns would not trade Newsome after the Chiefs failed to get more than a third-round pick for their talented cornerback L’Jarius Sneed. The league was not interested in the cornerback trade market this season. This was primarily due to a deep cornerback draft class.
The Browns were never going to trade Newsome on a discount. The team knows he’s an extremely valuable cornerback and they need him. Newsome is a talented cornerback who has top-notch production. Finding a replacement at Newsome’s level would not be easy for the team. His stats aren’t as impressive as Denzel Ward and M.J. Emerson but he can hold his own against most receivers. To avoid Ward and Emerson teams will always target the slot position on the defense. However, most cornerbacks cannot hold their own as Newsome can. After all, the Browns had the best defense in NFL history last season.
The Browns will eventually have to pay the bill for Newsome and Emerson, but the team is in no rush to break up the trio of cornerbacks.