The Cleveland Browns are pretty active ahead of the trade deadline this afternoon, and they just made another move ahead of 4pm EST that might make some fans scratch their heads. The team just cut Quinton Jefferson, a piece of the Browns' defensive line depth, from the team. Jefferson had been a healthy scratch in Week 9, and it appears that was his last game as a member of Cleveland this season. NFL insider Tom Pelissero was first on the news.
Jefferson, a 31 year old defensive tackle who came over to the Browns by way of the New York Jets, seemed like a promising fit alongside other defensive powerhouses like Myles Garrett, Dalvin Tomlinson, and Za'Darius Smith. Smith, of course, was traded earlier in the day, so Jefferson getting cut makes it the second transaction of the day for Cleveland that had to do with their defensive line.
He had not been getting much action behind Shelby Harris or even behind rookie tackle Mike Hall Jr., so his future with the Browns seemed murky for a while. But, Jefferson also had a great season with the Jets in 2023, which makes the Browns' cut a bit more confusing. They're doing everything they can to get their cap hit down ahead of 2025, so taking on more dead cap is confusing. Even with the trade of Smith, the Browns are expected to have a dead cap hit next season of $16.1 million.
Depth chart for the Browns
The depth for the Browns on their defensive line has now shrunken again. Without Jefferson, the team will be relying heavily on Harris to stay healthy and for Hall to be a good go-to backup for Harris when he needs a breather. Clearly, Cleveland views their defensive line as expendable considering how talented they've been all season.
However, if you're gutting this unit while your secondary is still shoddy and your offense looks lost once again, you're playing with fire. Assuming the Browns don't make their tanking efforts too obvious, they'll probably be trying to win at least their first game out of the bye week against the New Orleans Saints. With less help up front on defense, they might struggle to pressure Derek Carr. And, they'll certainly struggle to pressure teams moving forward without Smith up front.
That said, Jefferson is likely to draw some interest from teams in need of help on their D-line. Teams like the Buffalo Bills, Dallas Cowboys, or even the New York Jets could use his help.
