Greg Newsome II’s move to the New York Giants has already earned an ugly label.
Bleacher Report’s Moe Moton pegged the former Browns first-round pick as the Giants’ most likely bust in 2026, a sharp turn for a player who once looked like part of Cleveland’s answer at cornerback. Newsome had teamed with Denzel Ward to give the Browns a promising duo from 2021 to 2023, and his early numbers backed up the optimism. In his first three seasons, he allowed passer ratings of 87.0, 85.8, and 74.8 in his coverage area.
That picture changed in 2024. Newsome’s season slid to a 112.5 passer rating allowed, and even though he opened last year in better shape with an 87.4 passer rating allowed, Cleveland still made the curious call to swap him and a sixth-round pick to the Jacksonville Jaguars for Tyson Campbell and a seventh-rounder. The deal looks better by the day for the Browns.
Newsome’s time in Jacksonville didn’t steady the ship. He allowed a 100.7 passer rating in his coverage area there, which helped push the Jaguars to move on. He then landed with the Giants on a one-year, $8 million contract.
Moton didn’t hold back in explaining why he picked Newsome. He wrote:
"The New York Giants signed Greg Newsome II to a one-year, $8 million deal. Big Blue should've used that cap space on another free-agent cornerback or a position of need ...
After three years of solid coverage with the Cleveland Browns, Newsome has struggled as a pass defender. Over the last two seasons, he's allowed nine touchdowns and passer ratings above 100."
"It's worth noting that Cleveland traded Newsome to the Jacksonville Jaguars last October. He gave up five touchdowns and allowed a 107.5 passer rating in 12 outings with the Jaguars. If he doesn't break out of a coverage funk, the Giants will have their newly signed $8 million cornerback on the sideline for most of the season."
The Browns, meanwhile, came out of the swap with Campbell in a much better spot. In 12 games with Cleveland, he allowed an 84.8 passer rating in his coverage area and settled in opposite Ward. Cleveland also has Campbell at a little more than $15.5 million per year after taking on the contract from Jacksonville, which had already paid out his $15 million signing bonus.
There’s flexibility built into the deal, too. If the Browns want to move on next season, they can do it with a post-June 1 cut and clear a little more than $11 million in cap space.
For now, though, that doesn’t look like a real issue. Campbell has fit in well, and the former Georgia Bulldog has also emerged as a voice in the locker room.
For Cleveland, this has the feel of another win for Andrew Berry. If those kinds of roster moves keep landing, the Browns may eventually see it show up where it matters most.
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