The Patriots and Browns' trade partnership remains strong. For the second time in less than a week, the two teams have agreed to a trade, which was first reported by Cleveland.com's Mary Kay Cabot.
On Thursday, the Browns sent cornerback Jason McCourty and a seventh-round pick to the Patriots in exchange for a sixth-round pick, which means the Patriots now have both McCourty twins on their roster. Safety Devin McCourty has resided in New England since 2010, when the Patriots picked him in the first round. The brothers played together at the collegiate level.
Reunited and it feels so good:
What Devin McCourty said at Super Bowl LII:
— Art Stapleton (@art_stapleton) March 15, 2018
"Hopefully this year I’m telling the right guys and Bill [Belichick] and Nick [Caserio] pull it off, and we get [Jason] out of Cleveland. It’d be a great honor for me to support him and hopefully play alongside him one of these years." https://t.co/YOiZRvCoVe
As far as trades go, it's a pretty minor one considering the Browns were going to release McCourty anyway. In fact, prior to the trade announcement, the Browns even announced that they cut McCourty. But the Patriots appeared to have swept in before the release was made official. From the Browns' perspective, it's a great trade because they at least got something for McCourty. From the Patriots' perspective, they just addressed a hole with a veteran player.
The Patriots lost starting cornerback Malcolm Butler to the Titans in free agency, so cornerback was a need for them. In McCourty, the Patriots are getting a cornerback who picked off three passes last season and allowed a 95.8 passer rating in coverage, according to Pro Football Focus, which graded him as the 27th-best cornerback. It's worth noting that Butler graded out as PFF's 51st-best cornerback in 2017. In his nine-year career, most of which he's spent with the Titans, McCourty's racked up 16 interceptions and 86 passes defended.
McCourty shouldn't be viewed as Butler's replacement because he's not nearly as good of a player as Butler -- last year notwithstanding -- but he provides depth at an area of need. He'll likely get playing time, but nobody should expect him to be a star. Still, for the price of a move down on Day 3, it's a nice pickup by the Patriots, who have found an eager trade partner in the Browns.
In 2016, the Patriots traded Jaime Collins to Cleveland. Less than a week ago, the Browns sent Danny Shelton to New England.
