Why Grant Delpit Trade Doesn’t Make Sense for Cleveland Browns

After the Cleveland Browns’ blockbuster trade that sent Myles Garrett to the Rams for a package of draft picks and edge rusher Jared Verse, it seems unlikely that the club is done dealing players away.

While a handful of offensive players have been linked to potential moves to other teams, including quarterback Dillon Gabriel and wide receiver Cedric Tillman, it’s another defensive starter who could end up being dealt away over the next few weeks.

Six-year veteran Grant Delpit was present for the team’s three-day minicamp last week, but saw no participation. Browns’ insider Mary Kay Capot reported that Delpit, along with cornerback Denzel Ward and tight end Harold Fannin Jr., where held out with minor injuries.

Now, Ward has been subject of trade speculation for some time, and at 29 years old and carrying a cap hit of $30.89 million, he certainly fits the bill as a trade or cut possibility, either this offseason or the next.

Delpit’s case is a curious one. He’s 27 years old in the final year of a deal that carries a cap hit of just over $8 million for the 2026 season. A few league observers offered up the possibility that Delpit might be looking for a new deal, thus staging a hold-in with the team at minicamp, but Cabot’s reporting strongly denies that.

Could the Browns be looking to preserve Delpit’s health in case he gets dealt in the next few weeks?

That could certainly be one possibility, although there is no indication that general manager Andrew Berry has been shopping the safety around. And yet, the same was said about Garrett, right?

Are the Browns really looking to deal Grant Delpit?

If Cleveland is truly committed to a youth movement after shipping away Garrett for a bounty of picks and an edge rusher on the rise and still on his rookie contract, then moving on from Delpit could make some sense.

After all, the Browns’ other starter Ronnie Harrison has just signed his exclusive rights tender, and the club added second-rounder Emmanuel McNeil Warren. Free agent Daniel Thomas was also brought in via free agency earlier in the year.

However, there might be a few holes in this theory, as well. For starters, even as highly regarded as McNeil-Warren was before the draft -- where some stated he could even sneak into the first round -- he isn’t the same type of safety as Delpit.

Actually, McNeil-Warren’s addition could point to the team using more three-safety sets in order to deal with opponents using big slot receivers or multiple tight ends, a recent NFL trend. McNeil-Warren looks much more comfortable near the line of scrimmage as a “big nickel” than Delpit.

The second thing to consider is compensation. What could Delpit’s trade yield in return? At this point in the offseason, really not much, unless another team loses a starter for the year due to injury.

Is it worth it to lose a proven starter for a third day pick? Even if Cleveland were really trying to stockpile picks, the return for Delpit doesn’t seem worth gambling on Harrison and McNeil-Warren as your starting duo.

Cleveland might not want to extend Delpit past the upcoming season, and that’s fine, but a compensatory selection after he walks in free agency could net at least the same compensation down the road than what the team could fetch now. Plus, cap savings of just under 2 million won’t really do that much for the team, either.

On the other hand, dealing Ward would make a lot more sense, if Cleveland were interested in moving on from a defensive back.

While the Garrett trade taught us to expect anything from this team, moving on from Delpit just doesn’t seem logical for the Browns at this moment.

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