The Cleveland Browns are not messing around.
Over a day of furious trading Friday, new Browns general manager John Dorsey made a trio of win-now deals, picking up cornerback Damarious Randall, receiver Jarvis Landry and, most notably, quarterback Tyrod Taylor.
In Taylor, the Browns add a veteran quarterback who last year led the once-moribund Buffalo Bills to the playoffs, at the price of only a third-round pick. The deal gives Cleveland a capable signal-caller to (theoretically) keep the team respectable while the franchise grooms the young quarterback it will likely draft in April.
Cleveland traded a third-round pick firnQB Tyrod Taylor, per source.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) March 9, 2018
And unlike previous Browns quarterbacks, Taylor could actually have some offensive weapons around him. Landry, who reportedly cost only a late-round pick, caught 112 passes for 987 yards in 2017. And Cleveland might very well select explosive Penn State running back Saquon Barkley with either the first or fourth pick in the upcoming draft. No matter what they do in the draft and free agency, the Browns won’t suddenly become the 2007 Patriots or something, but they seem to be building at least a competent offense, which is better than they’ve had in recent years.
Add the Taylor and Landry moves with the deal for Russell (which seems to have cost them quarterback DeShone Kizer) and it becomes clear that after winning one game in two seasons, the Browns want to rise from embarrassment and be respectable in 2018. At the very least, they seem unlikely to go winless again.
