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Before the Nov. 5 trade deadline, NFL teams looking for immediate help will have to deal with options outside of the headliners.
ESPN Adam Schefter The Las Vegas Raiders announced on Sunday that they will not make Max Crosby available. The update follows NFL Network Ian Rapoport and Tom Pelissero The Cleveland Browns have announced that they do not plan to trade Myles Garrett.
Cleveland could move another defensive end, though Schefter called Za’Darius Smith “one of the most logical no-rush trade targets” given the upgrades surrounding Crosby and Garrett.
The Browns trading Smith would be surprising considering they are 1-6 and heading into what is essentially a lost season.
They already traded wide receiver Amari Cooper to the Buffalo Bills, and quarterback Deshaun Watson is out for the season with an Achilles injury. When trading someone like Garrett, who is one of the best players in the entire league, brings a huge return package, the team wants him to anchor the defense in the coming seasons.
Under Garrett contract through the 2026 season, and the 2025 campaign is Smith’s final campaign under his current tenure. deal.
Smith may be a consolation prize for teams interested in Garrett and Crosby, but he has an impressive resume that includes three Pro Bowl selections. The 32-year-old was a fourth-round pick in the 2015 NFL Draft by the Baltimore Ravens, Green Bay Packers, Minnesota Vikings and Browns.
This is his second year in Cleveland and he has four sacks in seven games. He’s also not far off from a 2022 season in which he posted 10 sacks, the third time in four years he’s reached double-digit sacks.
While Smith has benefited from playing alongside Garrett, who regularly draws double teams, he can provide veteran leadership for the team as it seeks its first career Super Bowl ring.
And Cleveland could get a draft pick instead as it tries to speed up a rebuild in a disappointing season.