The Cleveland Browns aren’t necessarily in position to make any blockbuster trades ahead of the NFL’s mid-season deadline, but there are some upside fringe plays that might make sense after significant losses along the defensive line.
Cleveland entered the new league year with reigning Defensive Player of the Year Myles Garrett and Alex Wright as the top two defensive ends on the depth chart. Since then, however, the Browns have traded Garrett to the Los Angeles Rams and Wright is out for the season after rupturing his Achilles tendon in August.
Jared Verse came back, along with three future draft picks, in the Garrett deal and will start on one side of the line. The team has listed Isaiah McGuire, a reserve with 37 appearances (12 starts) as the other starter, heading into his fourth professional season.
Another option, though, is to explore a trade for a player who might be losing his spot in the Kansas City Chiefs‘ starting lineup in short order: former first-round pick Felix Anudike-Uzomah.
R Mason Thomas Likely to Supplant Felix Anudike-Uzomah in Chiefs’ Starting Lineup Sooner Than Later
Anudike-Uzomah has been something of a bust since the Chiefs selected him No. 31 overall out of Kansas State in 2023.
He appeared in all 34 games across his first two seasons, though he started in just three of those, earning a Super Bowl ring following his rookie campaign. The edge defender tallied eight tackles for loss and three sacks over his first two seasons before a hamstring injury requiring surgery sidelined him for the entirety of the 2025 campaign.
Kansas City selected R Mason Thomas out of Oklahoma with the No. 40 overall pick in Round 2 of the most recent draft, and Thomas has shown early promise during training camp and the preseason.
The Chiefs chose this spring not to exercise the fifth-year option on Anudike-Uzomah’s deal for the 2027 campaign, which indicates the team is preparing to move on from the defensive end after the year is through.
As such, he profiles strongly as a trade chip over the next couple of months and could be available for a Day 3 draft asset.
Felix Anudike-Uzomah Could Prove Short-Term Solution for Browns With Some Longterm Potential
Alex Ballentine of Bleacher Report authored a trade suggestion on Sunday, September 4 that would flip Anudike-Uzomah from Kansas City to Cleveland.
“The Browns shouldn’t be taking too big of a swing here. There’s still money invested in Wright and they’ll have to hope he can come back from a devastating injury next season,” Ballentine wrote. “The other tactic would be targeting a former first-round pick on the final year of his deal. Felix Anudike-Uzomah hasn’t broken out in Kansas City and … a change of scenery could help.”
Anudike-Uzomah remains just 24 years old and could be a value option for the Browns on a short-term deal beyond 2026 if the team trades for him and his production improves from his time with the Chiefs.
Browns Proposed Trade Would Replace Alex Wright With Super Bowl Pass-Rusher