DawgTalkers.net Forums DawgTalk Pure Football Forum Trade deadline

....is after next week's games. With the Browns going nowhere with an old roster, why not get anything back and start the inevitable rebuilding now and get more picks for the next regime.

My suggestion would be Alex Mack to a contender. The Patriots currently have a rookie UDFA playing center for them. Or ask the Colts, always worth a try.
Mack won't stay anyway, so why not look to get a 6th/7th rd pick or some blocked, young WR or RB back and give Irving some valuable playing time. I would ask for the Pats RB James White

Next up, Travis Benjamin. It won't happen, but his value will mever be higher and I wouldn' give him a multi million dollar extension

Would also dangle Whitner, but he probably has negative value with his contract. It's not because I don't like him, but I want to start the I.Campbell era at SS, one of the few Farmer picks I was intrigued by.

Same with Tramon Williams. Browns need to look at their young CBs. Let Desir, Gilbert and Gaines play with Haden and K.Williams or why were they drafted again?

Nobody wants him gone, but Barnidge is 30yo and is playing out of his mind. Ship him to a contender with a TE need. Get what you can and give Bibbs a shot.

Because the Indians' approach has worked so well.....

Think the Colts will give us a 1st rounder for Bowe?

I don't want Ray Farmer making any more personnel moves for the Browns.

In principle, I agree with you. However, only on a selective such as Mack or Whitner. Yes, we need to let the youngsters play and gain experience, but a mass exodus sends the wrong message...

I may be wrong but didn't Alex Mack have some type of no trade clause? I remember we matched an offer from a team but it seems there was language that prevented us from trading him. I agree, if we are sure he will not come back to Cleveland and we can trade him we probably should.

Winner Winner. you are correct in that he can walk away from the Browns at the end of the year but we can not trade him.

I wouldn't trade Benjamin as he is young enough to figure into any rebuilding plans. Also with Gordon a question mark at best, Bowe being nonexistent in our offense, Hartline being just a little better than Bowe we would go into next year with Hawkins and Gabriel as our WRs,that would make for alot of holes to fill.

Mack is the only one that you mention what you would expect to get for him.... and no, I'm not on board with trading a formal pro-bowl center for a 6th round pick or a back-up RB or WR...

But the others.. what do you expect to get? I don't see where we would get anything resembling an upgrade for these players..

Several teams are in need of slot receivers and that is pretty much what we have.

I'm sure Mack would jump at the chance to be traded to a contender.

FWIW, Benji and Barnidge are FA after this season. If the Browns consider them for the future, they should already be in talks with their representatives. If they feel the players want to move on, then so should they. I don't see the point to hold on to players that will leave anyway for 8 games of a lost season. Yes, get what you can...

And yes, at least the Indians field a respectable team with three straight winning seasons. If the Browns would have gone 9-7, 10-6 and 8-8 the past three years with a young, controllable roster, you think the discussion around here would be different? That's the equivalent of the Indians output and their current state. I'm sure the excitement around here would be at an all time high and Pettine's "we're close" phrase would make much more sense, no?

The Browns are the opposite of the Indians right now. Their best "talents" and "playmakers" are older guys and there's no young "core" to speak of thanks to Farmer being a horrible talent evaluator.

This team is going nowhere, the reboot is inevitable if they lose next week and sit at 2-6. Why delay it further? Why fire them in January and the next GM has little time to hire scouts and prepare as needed for the draft. Farmer won't pick next draft, so might as well give the next FO a head start.

Thanks for the correction on Mack, not sure how his no trade clause works? Can he "waive" it? I'm sure he'd be interested in playing out the season for Tom Brady instead of Manziel/A.Davis

I consider every 6th/7th rd pick to have more future value than a bunch meaningless games in a lost season. Get what you can and move on. To hold onto Mack just out of pride is stupid. They have Erving in the wings, that's exactly why he was drafted, everybody knew he'd leave after this season.

Posters on here talk about "sending a message" or "accountability" all the time, but are gunshy every time a move in that direction gets discussed. What is it? Does anyone honestly think we're going anywhere with an aging Whitner or another 8 games of Mack?
Why draft Gilbert, Desir and Gaines and then give T.Williams a 3y deal? Clean up the mistakes, make Randy Starks available too while you're at it. Those guys were brought in to provide more stability, better production and veteran leadership. Do you see any of that? No? Then good riddance. When those fluff leaders get shipped off, THAT sends a message to the young guys having to play for their young careers. They haven't earned a multi million second contract yet and they know they have to man up or be cut when the next regime comes in.

Doesn't Alex Mack have a no trade clause? *edit*, nvm it's been discussed

I would package up Bowe, Justin and JF and see if we could get a cup of hot chocolate outta it. I like Swiss Miss hot coco.

Mack has a NO TRADE clause... Unless he would agree, you can't do anything with him.

Benjamin, I'd rather pay the kid. He's part of the solution, not the problem.

No to trading Williams. Gilbert is going to fail JMO but he's been the most consistent guy.

Barnige is also part of the solution, not the problem.

Stuff like this doesn't work out, ask Philly!

Maybe Gipson?

...and baseball apparently doesn't need a salary cap.

Did you see the teams that were in the playoffs this year? Get real.

I see no problem in trading players that won't be on the team next year. I see no way Mack is on the team next year. He already tried to leave once, we can't tag him, and we drafted his replacement in the first round. It will never happen, but I would do it in a second.

The Colts offensive line is a disaster, one would think they would be willing to give up a pretty good pick for Mack (even if he is a rental). Same goes for the Broncos and Seahawks.

T.Williams will be 33yo next season, Whitner and Barnidge will be 31. They won't be part of any mid-term "contending window" anyway.

I'd be ok with extending both Barnidge and Benji to reasonable deals, but their representatives probably overvalue them at this point, as they should, it's their job to get max value. Our GM should try to get max value too. If that's the case, then a trade makes sense before they leave for nothing (comp value probably isn't that much higher, but could make sense too)

benji 2nd round tender
Barndige I would attempt to extend for no other reason than to show those that perform get rewarded.

There is no such thing as a second round tender for Benjamin. He is not a restricted free agent. Franchise tag or transition tag are the only options.

If Barnidge should get a new contract as a reward for performing, so should Benjamin. Who on the team has progressed more than Benjamin?

I know I'm alone with this, but Benji is NOT a good starting WR. He lacks physicality to be a go to guy and you can't run all routes with him. He can't block worth a damn and is apathetic if he can't catch the ball. He was closer to the ball on that FR TD, he had a better shot than the STL defender on that lose ball, but his mind was off again, just like when he has to battle or come back for a ball in the air, allowing numerous INT because of this. He is a situational player that needs to be put in favorable spots to get him the ball.

It's a sad testament to the state of this WR group that he's considered the go to guy, getting the most looks. He's one hell of a weapon as a returner and situational receiver, but a starting WR he is not.

I know this sounds crazy but I'd trade Joe Thomas to Green Bay, let him go to a SB contender in his home state for the last 4-5 years of his career. He'll be 31 this year and all that he's done for this organization is play his butt off for a different coach and OC every year. Let the guy go and maybe get a 2nd or 3rd rounder out of him from GB so that he can go to a winning organization and have a chance to win a SB.

I'm a huge Joe Thomas fan and supporter and I wanted him to retire as a Brown and go into the HOF as a Cleveland Brown but man, 4-12 or 5-11 almost every year he's been here and all he does is play every snap of every game, let the guy go home and be on a championship team.

Agree 100%, it was his lack of blocking that caused the first fumble and then he just stood there and watched... He didn't even try and block, just pathetic.

We'd have barely anything negative to say about Benji if there were a bona-fide NFL-caliber starting receiver on the field with him.

The Indians traded valuable assets for high quality minor league prospects... not for 6th round picks or future back-ups... (granted, Farmers success rate in the 6th round is probably better than it is for the first two rounds... but you know what I'm saying)

You realize 6th and 7th round picks never amount to jack squat right? You might as well just cute them. It'd have the same long term effect. Draft picks get overrated as hell on this site. Django probably wouldn't have traded for Brandon Marshall.

And where did I say that? I'm here every offseason screaming for more FA signings and it's the homers telling me about that great young 5th rd pick that will come in and save the day. Remember me telling everyone that we need a better RB? I wanted us to go after Forsett as a value signing when he was a 3rd down back bouncing from team to team. It's all well documented on here, go look it up

So yes, this is another thing more picks allow you to do. Take fliers on veterans via trade

You have to treat late round picks like UDFA and take the one's that don't want to come to you. Go for boom/bust there like they did with Armonty Bryant. If you hit on 1 out of 5, it was already worth it. If you cut the other 4? Who cares?
Or pick the best 3 FBs of the class. The Browns have the worst FB situation year after year and it's a major reason they don't have a better run game. You can fix little stuff like that with those picks and draft better depth with the one's you don't go boom/bust with. There are certain position that offer value late, C, OG, RB, FB, SS. There's good depth to be found for those positions every draft.

All of this I consider to be more valuable than to ride out veterans in a lost season that won't be here when this team "might" contend again. What's the point of that again? Care to elaborate? And this time do better than the dismissive teenager one liner

And exactly who do you call to do that job? Your local Avon representative?

I don't think Joe Thomas is interested in playing anywhere besides Cleveland.

http://brownscast.libsyn.com/episode-1-joe-thomas-and-the-plight-of-the-offensive-lineman

Geez, are you that out of it?????????? No - Mary Kay cosmetics. Come on man, you getting old and senile or what?

I thought about Mary Kay. But her credibility is not good on this board as most posters think she's a hack.

How many players in the last 5 years that were drafted in the 6th or 7th round have panned out? I'm actually perfectly fine with UDFAs. I used to be "anti-vets just looking for a paycheck" but then I realized this team has no veteran leadership at all. Who's a leader on this team? I don't want guys that completely suck, but I'm okay with average players that are good for the lockeroom that hold the younger guys accountable on and off the field. I don't want a bunch of Josh Gordon's poisoning our lockeroom.

I used to be cool with filling the team with a bunch of young guys. Then I witnessed this current cluster mess. Guys getting trouble off the field, turning the ball over and committing penalties at an insanely high rate.

I think we both dislike Farmer, but I don't agree with just giving vets away for nothing (provided that they're good for the lockeroom). At least not anymore.

Don't we have quite a few veteran players? This is not a "young" team. Guys like Thomas, Dansby, Whitner, McCown, Kruger, Starks, Hartline, etc. have been around for awhile.

Also, what off the field stuff? The only guys that I can think of that have had any off the field issues are Manziel and Gordon. Are Steeler fans criticizing their lack of old guys for the suspensions of Leveon Bell and Martavis Bryant?

So basically you want to trade any player who is at least decent and go with a bunch of young guys.

I'm speechless

Getting anything less than a first rounder for a hall of fame bound LT, the best in the league, is completely asinine.

Not necessarily speaking of JT but who wouldn't want to play here? That's a joke.

But, any poor to mediocre player could play in Cleveland, make his millions, give a half a**ed effort and be totally content as was evidenced by the smiles, jovial greetings and warmth on the field after last nights drubbing. Win, who cares? They still make their millions.

We - the fans - are the fools. We care and make nothing.

Every player on every team does that.

Dave's comment seems like snarky remark, but I think he is absolutely correct.

Look, many of us will admit that Farmer's drafts have been disappointing, but let's look at some of his FA moves.

He brought in Williams, who Dj mentioned moving, but let a younger Skrine walk.

He brought in Bowe, an older WR for big money.

He brought in an old qb.

He let Sheard walk and replaced him w/an older guy in Starks.

He brought in an older Ben Tate last year.

He thinks Turbin is the answer at RB.

He let guys like Winn and Kitchen go and replaced them w/whom?

He has made comments about finding a qb by taking a late round Spread qb and revolutionizing the position.

I do NOT want this guy making any more significant moves for this team. It's way too dangerous.