Minkah Fitzpatrick to the Cleveland Browns could make sense

The Miami Dolphins have given defensive back Minkah Fitzpatrick permission to seek a trade according to reports by Chris Mortenson of ESPN among others and the Cleveland Browns are an interesting potential fit. Fitzpatrick is in just his second year, so he's got the rest of this season plus two more before the fifth year option comes up. For a team that believes in his talent, that's cheap.

Fitzpatrick seems like an ideal fit for what the Browns are doing with big nickel. He's a good slot player who offers some size and toughness inside. T.J. Carrie is currently the Browns featured nickel and is a fine player, but his contract figure is high and he's likely to be gone next year as a result.

Meanwhile, if the Browns like Fitzpatrick as a strong safety, they can use him right now. The committee approach of Morgan Burnett, Jermaine Whitehead and Eric Murray isn't the answer and the Browns know it.

And if the Browns like Fitzpatrick at free safety, that would give them an answer to the position after Damarious Randall is likely to leave in free agency.

The only thing that Fitzpatrick has proven to this point in the NFL is at nickel,. He's also got some characteristics the Browns like in their defensive backs. Most notably, he will tackle, he's smart and he's a tremendous off the field and in the locker room.

The entire discussion comes down to price. The Miami Dolphins may be allowing Fitzpatrick to seek out a trade, but that doesn't mean they are looking to give Fitzpatrick away. There's nothing that makes the Dolphins need to make a move. So if anyone trades for him, it will likely be a real investment.

There have been reports the Dolphins are looking for a first, which if true, just means the team really isn't looking to trade him, but if someone wants to pony up enough to meet their price, they'll take it.

If Dolphins are more inclined to listen to something along the lines of a second round pick and the Browns love him, that's a consideration. The Browns need safety help next year, whether it's Fitzpatrick, through the draft or free agency. They might need to replace Randall and they need strong safety help anyway.

So if the Browns love Fitzpatrick, they can make the calculation that they'd be spending that asset on safety help next year anyway, can get him now a partial season earlier, and potentially get contributions from him this season. That's intriguing.

All of this seems extremely unlikely and the Dolphins are likely to end up just keeping him, but the way the Browns roster and salary cap is laid out, it's interesting to think about.