Browns Could Make Big Move At Trade Deadline
The Cleveland Browns are looking at a 1-5 start if they can’t put an end to their 21-game regular-season losing streak in Pittsburgh against the Steelers on Sunday, which would bring their faint playoff hopes to a premature end.
The Browns have already traded a couple of key players this week in Joe Flacco and Greg Newsome, so another loss could only push the team further in the direction of being big sellers at the trade deadline.
Senior NFL reporter Charles Robinson of Yahoo Sports stopped by to speak with Baskin & Phelps on Friday about potential trades, and he threw out another name who could be on the move if the Browns continue to lose.
“I know that there was interest in (David) Njoku at the deadline last year and the Browns were not interested in moving off him. It makes sense that they would pick up the phone this time.”
Njoku is hitting free agency this offseason and rookie tight end Harold Fannin Jr. is already carving out a pivotal role for himself in the offense, so it’s no surprise that Njoku could be on the move at the deadline.
He hasn’t gotten off to his best start, but that’s not an indictment on his abilities, as the offense as a whole had many issues with Joe Flacco under center.
Njoku has been a stellar part of this team since being drafted in the first round in 2017, and with free agency looming, it’s unlikely the Browns are going to find the cash to keep him past 2025.
He had his best game of the season in Dillon Gabriel’s first start last week, catching six passes for 67 yards and a touchdown, and while it would hurt to see such a reliable target be sent away from Gabriel, Fannin’s development is a more crucial aspect of the offense at the moment.
It would be devastating to lose Njoku, but the writing could be on the wall if the Browns don’t start winning some games.
Eagles Aren't Shying Away From Jalen Carter's Upside
PHILADELPHIA − While most focus on one-liners to lob at Jerry Jones and his strange stewardship of the Dallas Cowboys, the Eagles have their eyes on the contract superstar edge rusher Micah Parsons received from Green Bay in the aftermath of the blockbuster trade that sent the Penn State product to Lambeau Field.
Parsons signed a four-year deal worth as much as $188 million, making him the highest-paid non-quarterback in NFL history, with an average annual value of $47 million.
There is some fluff to the first reported numbers, as there always is in the NFL, but any way you slice it, Parsons took things to another level by comfortably beating the previous standard of a $41M AAV signed by Pittsburgh edge rusher TJ Watt a month ago.
There's A New Standard For Defensive Players
You might ask how all of that affects the Eagles, past the obvious elevation of the Packers to legitimate Super Bowl contenders in the NFC. The answer to that is emerging superstar Jalen Carter, who is set to enter his third NFL season on Thursday night against the Cowboys.
If everything goes to plan for the Eagles and Carter ascends even further from the second-team All-Pro status he earned last year, things are going to get every expensive.
Add on a significant run at a second consecutive Lombardi Trophy, and the Georgia product entering the NFL Defensive Player of the Year conversation, and it's not inconceivable that Carter's agent, Drew Rosenhaus, will try to push his client past Parsons when extension talks are permitted after this season.
That's how contracts in the NFL work.
The Eagles, of course, are already preparing for that possibility. and there is no sticker shock at the NovaCare Complex.
That's what this "maintenance offseason" was about, a long-term look, understanding what's coming with Carter and potentially Nolan Smith next offseason, plus Quinyon Mitchell and Cooper DeJean after the 2026 campaign.
"We have a sense in the short term," Eagles assistant general manager Alec Halaby said when asked how a second contract for Carter might look. "... But also, our job is to have a sense of what the long-term outcomes might look like, and what the landscape looks like − not just in March of 2025, but in September of 2026 and ’27 and beyond that. That’s something we do think a lot about, that sort of multiyear planning aspect.
"And following the markets and understanding what the landscape is."
The landscape already changed with Parsons' new deal with the idea of a rising tide lifting all boats.
Even if Carter doesn't reach a Parsons level because the top edge rushers in the NFL still tend to get more than their interior counterparts, Parsons' new deal with elevate all the top defensive front players to a certain extent.
At 24, Carter is already one of the more dominant defenders in the league and he's just touched the surface of what he can be a s a player.
"The good news about Jalen is two-fold," defensive coordinator Vic Fangio said earlier this year. "One, he played very well for us last year, and two, he can still improve a lot."
The Eagles, meanwhile, are not shying away from what they want Carter to become, even if they're aware of the price tag that will accompany that outcome.
"Jalen’s shown how dominating he can be as a player," GM Howie Roseman said. "When you have that guy and when offensive linemen are sliding to that guy, it creates opportunities for the guys playing next to him. You have to account for him. If you're going to block him one-on-one, he's got a great chance to win those matchups.
"I mean, he's that kind of player, and he's a special player."
