The Cleveland Browns have a need along the edge and the Dallas Cowboys are the perfect team for Cleveland to call about a trade.
On Sunday, the Browns placed starting defensive end Alex Wright on season-ending injured reserve and announced the signing of veteran defensive end Derek Barnett.
According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, Wright’s placement on the list comes due to a ruptured Achilles’ tendon.
While Barnett gives the Browns some help, Schefter notes that Cleveland was already looking for more edge rusher help before Wright’s injury, so the team’s search continues.
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Here’s why the Browns should be putting in a call to the Cowboys about a trade.
Why Browns should call Cowboys about tradeDallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones at training camp at River Ridge Playing Fields. Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images via Reuters Connect (Reuters)The Cowboys currently have six edge rushers who should be on a 53-man roster, but it’s hard to imagine Dallas carrying that many.
Dallas’ edge rushers room consists of Rashan Gary, Donovan Ezeiruaku, Von Miller, Malachi Lawrence, Sam Williams and James Houston.
Gary, Ezeiruaku, Miller and Lawrence are all locks to make the cut, which could leave just one spot for Williams or Houston.
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Assuming the Cowboys only plan to carry five, they would likely be more than amenable to dealing one of Houston and Williams.
And those are ideal trade targets for Cleveland because neither one will cost much draft capital for the rebuilding Browns.
Who’s better?Dallas Cowboys linebacker James Houston (41) at training camp at River Ridge Playing Fields. Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images via Reuters Connect (Reuters)Williams posted 8.5 sacks over his first two seasons in the NFL, including four in 2022 and 4.5 in 2023.
He missed all of 2024 with a torn ACL before returning in 2025 and posting just one sack in 17 games. That’s obviously not ideal, but players often need a full year to return to form after coming back from such an injury.
Houston, who has played for the Browns before, showed plenty of promise in his first season in the NFL with eight sacks in 2022, and he had 5.5 in 2025.
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In between those showings, Houston saw his 2023 campaign cut short after just two games due to a fractured ankle, and he posted one sack in 11 games in 2024 during stints with the Detroit Lions and Browns.
Houston has more upside given what he produced in his best seasons, so he’s the better bet between the two. That said, the gap is pretty small.
What would Houston or Williams cost?Dallas Cowboys linebacker Sam Williams (54) at training camp at River Ridge Playing Fields. Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images via Reuters Connect (Reuters)The Browns would likely only have to give up a late Day 3 pick for Houston or Williams, at most, and they could cost as little as a late-round pick swap.
Cleveland has a pair of seventh-round picks in 2027 and a sixth-round pick in 2028.
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Meanwhile, the Cowboys have two sixth-round picks in each of the next two drafts, and they have a pair of seventh-rounders in 2027 but none in 2028.
If the price is right, it makes all the sense in the world for the Cowboys and Browns to hook up for a trade.
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