Exploring 9 Cleveland Browns players and why they will or won't be dealt at the NFL trade deadline

We are through six weeks of the NFL season and teams around the league have a pretty good idea of who they are going to be for the 2024 season.

With the Cleveland Browns at 1-5 this year and a historically struggling offense, you can go ahead and pencil them in as sellers at the deadline that comes on Nov. 5.

Cleveland traded wideout Amari Cooper to the Buffalo Bills yesterday and that was the first player to go . Before the deadline comes, the Browns very well could be moving more pieces.

The Browns had no plans of being sellers this season, it was supposed to be a playoff kind of season. But now they have the hand they were dealt and must look forward to the future.

Below, I have labeled nine players that the Browns could trade and whether or not they will.

DE Za’Darius Smith - Yes

Smith is a player who could be traded due to having no guaranteed money after this season, despite being under contract next year. Smith has three sacks this season opposite of Myles Garrett and is a nice secondary rusher at this point in his career.

Everything lines up for the Browns to move this contract and get something for it. The injury to Alex Wright makes it tougher, but the Browns can see what they have in Isaiah McGuire if they move Smith. Any contender looking for defensive line help would be smart to call about Smith.

DT Dalvin Tomlinson - Yes

Tomlinson is another veteran piece that Cleveland could look to move for draft assets. Moving Tomlinson would be tough since he is the leading veteran on the interior, but the Browns have to look toward the future with players like Mike Hall Jr.

Cleveland trading Tomlinson is an obvious option and would allow him to go to a playoff team in the back half of his career.

RB Nick Chubb - No

Chubb is in the last year of his deal and his base salary of $1.1 million is an attractive number. The chances of Cleveland actually trading Chubb should be next to zero.

In a season where fans are so disappointed, the Browns are not going to ship off the fan favorite right after he returns from a devastating injury . Chubb will be in Cleveland this season, then it is up in the air after that.

WR Elijah Moore - No

After trading Cooper, Moore is now pushed into a bigger role as the team’s No. 2 wideout behind Jerry Jeudy. Moore has not done a whole lot this year and has just 95 yards on 16 catches.

I’d be shocked if a team came calling for Moore, who Cleveland traded a second-round pick for from the New York Jets in 2024. Don’t expect the Browns to run themselves too short at wide receiver.

CB - Greg Newsome II - No

Cleveland has already picked up the fifth-year option on Newsome that will pay him north of $13 million next season. With how he has played this season, there is not a team in the NFL that is going to trade for Newsome at that price point.

Newsome has done more celebrating than actual good play in Cleveland. Expect him to be around another year.

LB Jordan Hicks - No

The Browns signed Hicks to a two-year deal last offseason and while he is a player that could be traded, there is zero reason to expect the Browns to do so. They aren’t going to rip this thing down to the studs nor should they.

Hicks is a green dot player when on the field and has been an upgrade over Anthony Walker Jr. from last season. The Browns would be creating another hole by getting rid of him right now. Mohamoud Diabate might be ready for the role one day, but that day is not now.

RB D’Onta Foreman - Yes

Foreman’s carries are likely about to dwindle with Chubb returning to the field for Cleveland. Once Jerome Ford is back and healthy, the Browns will ride Chubb and Ford for the rest of the season ideally.

That will make a player like Foreman available for a conditional late-round pick from another team. A short yardage back that can help a playoff team that may need some depth.

RT Jack Conklin - No

Conklin had his first start last week and the Browns opted to go with him over the struggling Dawand Jones. The Browns can cut Conklin after the season for less than $3 million in costs. That seems to be the more likely path here.

With the offensive tackle issues the Browns have had the last couple of seasons, they are not going to trade away players at that position. When you add in Jones struggling, the Browns need Conklin right now.

QB Jameis Winston - Yes

Winston will once again be a free agent after the season and the only way the Browns trade him is if it is an offer that can’t turn down. We very well could see Winston as this team’s starting quarterback any week now.

If the Browns opt to bench Watson, it should be in place for Winston , who should be able to elevate the offense a bit with his ability to push the ball downfield.

Related: Browns’ Nick Chubb sends serious message that should have the rest of the NFL worried