The Browns have acquired 31-year old cornerback Sheldon Brown and 26-year old outside linebacker Chris Gocong for 24-year old OLB Alex Hall, a 4th and a 5th round pick in this year’s NFL Draft.  Sheldon Brown will step right in and start opposite Eric Wright for the Browns in 2010 giving them a very solid tandem.  Brown played in all 16 games for the Eagles last season and he made 51 tackles, had 2 tackles for a loss, he forced 1 fumble, defensed 17 passes and he had 5 interceptions (152 yards in returns) including one that he returned for a TD.  Brown has now played in 128 games in his 8-year NFL career and he has made 431 tackles, defensed 109 passes, he has 7 sacks, 7 forced fumbles and 19 interceptions (3 Pick Sixes).  Gocong will also likely slide right into the starting lineup for the Browns.  Gocong played in 15 games for the Eagles last season and he made 44 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss, he had 1 sack, forced 1 fumble and he defensed 2 passes.  Gocong has now played in 47 games in his three years in the NFL and he has made 169 tackles, defensed 8 passes, he has 4 sacks and he has forced 2 fumbles.

Alex Hall just didn’t seem to fit into Rob Ryan’s defense for the Browns last season.  He played in 14 games making 10 tackles.  In his two years with the Browns, Hall played in 30 games in which he made 38 tackles, forced 2 fumbles and he had 3 sacks.  The Browns still have 10 picks in the NFL Draft later this month so they won’t be hurt too bad by this trade.  The Browns didn’t pay much of a price to add two pretty good defensive football players.  I love this trade for the Browns. 

The Cleveland Browns trade 26-year old OLB/DE Kamerion Wimbley to the Raiders for a third round pick in the 2010 NFL Draft.  Wimbley played in 16 games for the Browns last season in which he made 69 tackles, 2 tackles for a loss, he had 6.5 sacks, forced 1 fumble and he defensed 1 pass.  Wimbley played in 63 games in his 4 years with the Browns in which he made 248 tackles, had 26.5 sacks, defensed 4 passes, forced 7 fumbles and he had 1 interception.  The Browns might have a hard time replacing Wimbley as he was the teams’ best pass rusher in his time in Cleveland. 

The Cleveland Browns have traded 25-year old QB Brady Quinn to the Broncos for 24-year old FB/RB Peyton Hillis, a 6th round pick in 2011 and a conditional late round pick in the 2012 season.  Quinn played in 10 games for the Browns last season in which he completed 136 of 256 passes (53.1%) for 1,339 yards with 8 TD passes and 7 INTs (67.2 QB Rating).  Quinn also carrried the ball 20 times for 98 yards (4.9 ypc) with 1 TD run last season for the Browns.  Quinn played in 14 games in his career with the Browns in which he completed 184 of 353 passes (52.1%) for 1,902 yards with 10 TD passes and 9 INTs (66.8 QB Rating).  Quinn also carried the ball 25 times for 119 yards (4.8 ypc) with 1 TD run.  Quinn will likely be the Broncos’ 2nd string QB in 2010 as Coach Josh McDaniels has liked him for a while.  But, with the signing of Jake Delhomme and the trade for Seneca Wallace, Quinn was no longer needed.

24-year old FB/RB Peyton Hillis is the perfect type of fullback for the West Coast Offense but he will be hard pressed to beat out starter Lawrence Vickers who is a mauler as a run blocker.  Hillis can also carry the ball as a tailback as he was the Broncos’ leading rusher in 2009.  Hillis played in 14 games for the Broncos last season in which he carried the ball 13 times for 54 yards (4.2 ypc) with 1 TD run.  He also caught 4 passes for 19 yards (4.8 avg) and he returned 6 kickoffs for 134 yards (22.3 avg) last season for the Broncos.  Hillis has now played in 26 games in his NFL career in which he has carried the ball 81 times for 397 yards (4.9 ypc) with 6 TD grabs.  He has also caught 18 passes for 198 yards (11.0 avg) for 1 TD and he has returned 10 kickoffs for 199 yards (19.9 avg) in his career.  To get two late round picks and a decent FB/RB for Brady Quinn was decent value as the Broncos knew the Browns had to trade him after bringing in Seneca Wallace and Jake Delhomme.

The Browns have acquired 29-year old QB Seneca Wallace from the Seahawks for a conditional pick in the 2011 NFL Draft.  Wallace played in 13 games for the Seahawks last season and he completed 78 of 120 passes (65%) for 700 yards with 3 TD passes and 2 INTs (81.9 QB Rating).  He also carried the ball 16 times for 2 yards (0.1 ypc) with 1 TD run last season.  Wallace has now played in 48 games in his NFL career and he has completed 333 of 556 passes (59.9%) for 3,547 yards with 25 TD passes and 14 INTs (83.1 QB Rating).  He has also carried the ball 54 times for 214 yards (4.0 ypc) with 1 TD run in his career.  This is a good pickup for the Browns as Wallace is well versed in the new West Coast Offense that the Browns are going to run in 2010.  Wallace has ties to Browns’ president Mike Holmgren from their time together in Seattle so don’t be surprised if he is the Browns’ starting QB in 2010.

UPDATE:  The Browns traded a 7th round pick in the 2011 NFL Draft that could escalate into a 6th rounder based on Wallace’s P.T. in 2010.  I really like this trade for the Browns now as they really didn’t give up much at all for Wallace.

The Browns have traded 29-year old DT/DE Corey Williams and a 7th round pick in the 2010 NFL Draft for a 5th round pick in the 2010 Draft.  Williams played in all 16 games for the Browns last season and he made 31 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss, had 4 sacks, forced 1 fumble and he defensed 4 passes.  Williams played in 32 games in his two seasons with the Browns and he finished up with 81 tackles, 4.5 sacks, 8 passes defensed and 2 forced fumbles.  The Browns were using Williams out of place at DE and he wasn’t a good enough pass rusher to help them there.  This trade makes it likely that the Browns will hold onto NT Shaun Rogers and for that reason I like this trade.