While Mingo is an athletic freak, it hasn’t translated to the football field. Kruger’s production isn’t matching his salary. Neither is Haden’s, for that matter.
Mack not only has that opt-out clause, but also a no-trade clause. Thomas is 30, meaning that his best days may be behind him. And Manziel is Manziel – he couldn’t play Sunday until the game was out of reach, even though McCown was severely banged up. Plus, the NFL is investigating him for his domestic violence incident and he could face league discipline.
If anyone thinks that NFL teams are going to give up first- and second-round picks for any of those guys, I think they are in for a rude awakening. Maybe for Thomas and potentially Mack, but that’s about it.
They definitely aren’t going to get someone to pull a Colts and give up a first-rounder for a former first rounder in Mingo or Manziel, not at this point.
So, the question is, is it worth it to make that kind of purge? Sure, it sends a message to the rest of the team that anyone is expendable – even a respected veteran captain and future Hall of Famer in Thomas – but is that the message you want to send? And, other than Manziel, none of the other guys have been distractions or supposed “cancers” in the locker room.
The Browns aren’t exactly in any salary cap trouble – while there have been a few high-priced contracts, they are still way below the cap. So it’s not like Jimmy Haslam is worried about the future – he’s barely spending any money at the moment anyway.
In the end, I think it’s nothing more than lip service at the moment. Would I do it? Sure, why not? However, I highly doubt anyone of any significance gets traded. But the seat continues to get hotter for Farmer and coach Mike Pettine with every loss, regardless if they trade anyone or not.
Until next time, remember that Cleveland rocks!
Mohammed
November 2, 2015 at 9:14 pm
Poorly written article, but you made some good points. You took shots at Manziel every chance you had, when he’s been treated terrible my a terrible coach. Pettine wanted McCown all along to start, there was no competition and sat Manziel in the final two preseason games so he would drive a rift in his plan.