Rumor: Browns having fire sale (merged)

LJRomanoff said:

Trading for Thomas would almost certainly make the Patriots a worse team considering what the team would have to do in order to find room for his $80 million dollar contract.

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They don't have to pay that 80m straight away. I suspect if they did trade for him, they'd do it for a one year rental and then look to move him on in the spring. Thomas on the Pats tomorrow would make the team a better one immediately. But, one of the reasons I said upthread that they won't trade for Thomas is because I don't think they'll take on that contract. But for people to suggest that he wouldn't be much of an upgrade on the field, well I don't agree with that.

I would love to have Thomas or Haden, but the economics just don't work. Mingo would be a great addition as well and reportedly affordable, but the greater need is at CB where the situation is thin.

jefmblrd said:

I would love to have Thomas or Haden, but the economics just don't work. Mingo would be a great addition as well and reportedly affordable, but the greater need is at CB where the situation is thin.

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Mingo is on his rookie contract and we all know how cheap those are.

As it happens, the fantastic Word of Muth column about offensive lines is covering the Browns this year. He seems pretty high on the Cleveland O-Line, and lays most of the blame at the skill players.

22 Oct 2015


Word of Muth: Browns' Wasted Effort


24 Sep 2015

Word of Muth: Cleveland Rocks

Cuyahoga River Fire Sale!

What about gilbert? Maybe we can turn his career around.

I don't care what those stats say re Thomas. The reason he won't be here is $$$. BB and his stuff would jump on a "free Thomas" in a second. And he would be very productive. That BS they have running the Browns is the problem. Not Thomas.

I'd love to have Mingo at LB considering he'd cost so little

Imagine having a Barkevious, Dewey and Rufus on the same defense

Trading for a guy like OT Mitchell Schwartz would be nice too. He'd also come super cheap. He's a UFA at the end of the year. He'd definitely be just a rental because he'd probably command a big contract.

Also, in regards to Thomas:

He's not a shiny, expensive toy like Joe Haden, but Tramon Williams would be a nice veteran addition, basically a Tarell Brown replacement, that would bring much needed experience to this young secondary.

But don't get me wrong, if Bill can somehow fit him under the cap, Haden would be a dream addition. Gilbert would be great too, but I doubt Cleveland is giving up on their first round pick after one year.

The problem with Mingo, Gilbert, and Tramon Williams is that you're not just getting the remainder of the 2015 contract. All three have significant guarantees in 2016, and 2017 too for Gilbert.

crownontherocks said:

with reports that the browns are putting mingo, thomas, mack, kruger on trade block. Could we lure joe haden from browns?

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No. Haden's salary for this year is $8.3M. Pro-rated that means the Pats would need 4.4M in cap space. The Pats only have 3.2M. So the Pats would need to re-structure quite a bit to ensure they would still have money for future moves this season..Then there is the $14M is guaranteed salary over the next 2 years.

Sciz said:

The problem with Mingo, Gilbert, and Tramon Williams is that you're not just getting the remainder of the 2015 contract. All three have significant guarantees in 2016, and 2017 too for Gilbert.

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Mingo's contract only runs through 2016. His salary is $675K. He does have a$1.959M roster bonus.

Only 2.8M of Williams contract is guaranteed. For Gilbert, his salary and roster bonus are guaranteed. But that still only amounts to $1.59M.

To me, none of those are significant. Not when you consider that Haden's 2016 salary is fully guaranteed at $10M and $4M of his 2017 salary is also guaranteed.

Sciz said:

The problem with Mingo, Gilbert, and Tramon Williams is that you're not just getting the remainder of the 2015 contract. All three have significant guarantees in 2016, and 2017 too for Gilbert.

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Mingo would only be a $2.6m hit next season if they picked up his roster bonus. They could decline it and he would be a FA. Which you would figure BB would jump at the chance to have him at $2.6m especially with Mayo probably being cut which would save $7m

LJRomanoff said:

Trading for Thomas would almost certainly make the Patriots a worse team considering what the team would have to do in order to find room for his $80 million dollar contract.

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First of all, there are only 3 full years remaining on the contract. NONE of which is guaranteed. The total amount for the 3 years is $25.9M in salary, $3M in roster bonuses and $600K in workout bonuses. Yes, they'd have to find a way to fit him under the cap this year, possibly by converting some of the remaining $4.66 salary to signing bonus. 3.5 years of Joe Thomas could seriously elongate Brady's career.

I would love this.

JMC00 said:

Mingo would only be a $2.6m hit next season if they picked up his roster bonus. They could decline it and he would be a FA. Which you would figure BB would jump at the chance to have him at $2.6m especially with Mayo probably being cut which would save $7m

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All these roster bonuses for high picks (like Mingo and Gilbert) are guaranteed, so they're paid either by the team the player is traded to or the team he's cut by. I think Mingo at his $2.6M in 2016 is definitely the most realistic of the Browns players being mentioned, but with Gilbert the Browns are essentially looking for a "get out of jail free" card on the last 2.5 years and $4 million (guaranteed) on his contract. That sounds like an awful deal to me given what has been said about him by the Cleveland media.

Put me in the Mingo camp, although where he would currently fit is difficult to see. DE/olb is easily our deepest position right now.

I.M. Fletcher said:

Put me in the Mingo camp, although where he would currently fit is difficult to see. DE/olb is easily our deepest position right now.

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I'd use him as an SLB and backup to Hightower and Collins.

manxman2601 said:

I'd use him as an SLB and backup to Hightower and Collins.

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The thought of Collins and Mingo on the field together would give qbs hives. Just so much explosion off the LOS.

Fwiw, if healthy, I like Byron Bell from Tennessee. Can play multiple positions. 6'5, 340, nimble and not much of a cap hit. Shores up the OL.