The Browns are sitting pretty at 3-1 and leading the AFC North, but the front office still has a clear opening to upgrade the defensive line before the season gets deeper.
That need is sharper now with Mason Graham injured, Jared Verse still working to find his footing and the rest of the group carrying plenty of long-term questions. If Cleveland wants to be built for a real playoff push, adding another proven body up front makes a lot of sense.
Two names stand out as trade possibilities: Kayvon Thibodeaux and Jonathan Payne.
Thibodeaux is the kind of swing that could pay off if the Browns want more pass-rush juice on the edge. The fifth-overall pick in the 2022 NFL Draft has not fully become the player the Giants expected, even though he is not a bad player by any stretch. His best season came in 2023, when he posted a career-high 11.5 sacks, but he has only eight sacks across the last three seasons combined.
New York also added Abdul Carter with the No. 3 overall pick last offseason, and with the Giants still searching for wins, moving Thibodeaux could help them pick up draft capital while continuing to reshape the defense around younger pieces.
There’s already some market context for Cleveland to study. When the Browns dealt Za'Darius Smith back in 2024, they got a fifth- and sixth-round pick.
More recently, the Steelers sent out defensive back Joey Porter Jr. and received a sixth- and second-round pick. That kind of range gives the Browns a workable blueprint.
A package of a 2027 third-round pick and a 2027 fourth-round pick could be enough to get Thibodeaux out of New York. Cleveland has three 2027 third-rounders right now, so the flexibility is there. The Giants would also be getting something back for a player who will probably be looking for a new contract elsewhere after the season.
The catch is that Brian Burns is out for the season, which leaves the Giants thin at the spot if they decide to move Thibodeaux. So if the Browns want to make it happen, they may need to come in with a strong offer or include Sam Williams or Derek Barnett.
Payne is a different kind of target, but just as appealing for Cleveland’s defensive front. Drafted 13th overall in 2018, he has quietly built a reputation as one of the league’s better defensive tackles. Over the last nine seasons, he has piled up 440 tackles, 37 sacks, 65 tackles for a loss, 84 quarterback hits and seven forced fumbles.
At 29, Payne is still productive, still disruptive and still the kind of interior presence that changes how a line plays. Washington sits at 1-3 and last in the NFC East, so change is coming as the Commanders look toward the deadline and the offseason. Payne is an unrestricted free agent in 2027, and that makes him a natural candidate to be moved if Washington decides to retool.
For the Browns, the fit is obvious. Payne could line up next to Mason Graham and give Cleveland a sturdier anchor in the middle.
He would also be a useful insurance policy if Graham’s injury ends up being more serious than expected. Payne’s durability matters too - he has missed only three games over the last nine years.
There’s a financial angle here as well. With Deshaun Watson’s contract relatively off the books, Cleveland would be in a position to talk about an extension this offseason. If the Browns offered Washington a 2027 fourth-round pick and a 2028 second-round pick, there would be little reason for them to back away.
As the 2026 NFL Trade Deadline approaches, Cleveland should be in buying mode. If Payne or Thibodeaux becomes available at the right price, the Browns have every reason to make a move.
In Other News...
Yankees Just Got Hit With A Brutal Post-ALDS Question
David Ortiz has weighed in on the Yankees ALDS loss to the Rays, and his point went beyond the box score. He framed New Yorks latest postseason disappointment as a matter of culture, saying the franchise is missing the kind of clubhouse leadership and attention to detail that helped define its most successful eras. For a team that still carries the weight of its history, that kind of critique lands differently because it goes straight to the identity the Yankees have spent years trying to project.
Alex Rodriguez added another layer by pointing out the contrast between the Yankees expensive roster and Tampa Bays ability to win with far less money. It is the sort of postmortem that follows New York whenever October ends too soon, because the questions are rarely just about talent. They are about whether the Yankees still have the standards, structure and edge that once made them hard to knock out when the games mattered most. [Read more 🡒]
Aaron Judge Just Put Yankees Pressure Squarely On Brian Cashman
The Yankees season ended in familiar frustration in the American League Division Series, with the Rays finishing off a sweep by taking the final game 4-3. Aaron Judge watched it all from the sidelines after a strained right calf and a fractured rib kept the captain out of the entire postseason, a tough absence for a lineup that never quite looked like itself without him.
Judge still struck an optimistic tone about the group, even after being limited to 66 regular-season appearances, but he also made clear where the burden now falls. His message put the focus on Brian Cashman and the front office to use the offseason to patch the rosters obvious holes, a familiar mandate in New York after another October exit. [Read more 🡒]
Yankees Offseason Shakeup Could Leave Two Weak Spots Even Thinner
The Yankees are heading into an offseason that already looks like a roster reset in a few familiar places, with several recent additions likely not sticking around after the playoff loss. Paul Blackburn, Ali Snchez, Tim Hill and Jazz Chisholm Jr. are among the names tied to that uncertainty, for reasons ranging from performance to contract decisions to the broader direction the club may want to take. For a team that expected to be built for October, the turnover feels less like fine-tuning and more like another hard look at what actually held up when the games mattered.
What makes the picture trickier is the bullpen, where New York already has to think carefully about how much it can trust from year to year and how it replaces the relievers it leans on most. Losing key arms in that group would leave two weak spots even thinner, and the Yankees do not have much room to be casual about depth after another postseason exit. The offseason decisions now looming around those spots could end up shaping the whole winter, even before the bigger moves come into view. [Read more 🡒]