The Cleveland Browns have been one of the NFL's busiest teams this offseason. They made arguably the biggest move of the early free agency period when they traded Kevin Zeitler, Jabrill Peppers, and the No. 17 and 95 overall picks in the 2019 draft to the Giants for Odell Beckham Jr. and Olivier Vernon. They also signed Sheldon Richardson. And before the free-agent period even opened, they signed former Chiefs running back Kareem Hunt.
After making all those moves, the Browns are putting two very interest players on the market: defensive end Emmanuel Ogbah and pass-catching running back Duke Johnson. As CBS Sports NFL Insider Jason La Canfora notes, though, Ogbah is the more readily-available of the two players, because the Browns would prefer to wait on a Johnson deal until there is a resolution to the NFL's investigation of violent acts committed by Hunt.
Browns actively shopping Ogbah as has been noted but its more likely they wait on dealing Duke Johnson until they have more clarity on Kareem Hunt's status. Official word from the league on that suspension could come as soon as this week
— Jason La Canfora (@JasonLaCanfora) March 14, 2019
Ogbah was the Browns' second-round pick in 2016 and is heading into the final year of his rookie deal. With the team spending big on Vernon and Richardson and pairing that duo with young studs in Myles Garrett and Larry Ogunjobi, he has become a bit of a luxury and they could deal him to fill holes elsewhere.
Johnson, additionally, is a bit of a luxury now. He's primarily a pass-catching back and has worked some in the slot over the years, but with Nick Chubb and potentially Hunt in the backfield, plus Beckham and Jarvis Landry at receiver, his role in Cleveland is likely to be even more minimized than it already was.
There was a report earlier this offseason indicating that the Cowboys and Eagles had interest in Johnson, and a Thursday report from the Cleveland Plain Dealer indicated that three teams had contacted the Browns about him. Johnson signed a three-year, $15.6 million contract extension with the Browns but even while he has shown dynamism, they have never carved out a significant role in the offense for him. Perhaps a change of scenery would do him well, and bring the team either a player at a position of greater need, or a pick they can use to get one.
