Browns Advised to Make unbelievable trade for Packers Left Tackle
The Cleveland Browns face big questions about their offense for the rest of this season and beyond.
Cleveland began the 2023 campaign with Jedrick Wills and Jack Conklin at left tackle and right tackle, respectively. Wills was one of the worst players in the NFL before going on IR with a knee injury, and Conklin was ruled out for the year in the first half of Week 1 with a knee problem.
Rookie DaVand Jones is off to a good start under Conklin, but there are question marks over who the Browns’ quarterback will be next year. Wills is under contract through 2024 because the team decided to buy out his $14.2 million fifth-year option before this season, but that doesn’t mean Cleveland won’t trade him if a better option comes along.
Bleacher Report’s NFL staff suggested on Monday, Nov. 20, that the Browns continue to pursue Green Bay Packers offensive tackle Josh Nijman this offseason to add depth to the position and replace Wills if necessary. [Wills] will have to prove to the Browns that he can return to full health after he picks up his fifth-year option and can extend his contract,” BR wrote. “Nijman, who was the Packers’ starter for the first four years of his career, gives them a quality backup should Wills get injured or struggle again.”
Nizman, who played 53 percent of Green Bay’s snaps in 2021 and 69 percent last year, has seen a reduced role this season. He played just 22 percent of the Packers’ snaps in 2023 and made just one start. What makes his decline even more surprising is that left back David Bakhtiari has missed all but one game with a knee injury that will keep him out for the rest of the season. Instead, Green Bay drafted seventh-round rookie Rasheed Walker for the most important position in the lineup. Walker is expected to play through the middle of 2023, but still retains his starting job, which doesn’t bode well for his market value if Nyeman becomes a free agent in March. However, Nijman may need a change of scenery and/or a coaching staff that believes in him enough to become a regular in the starting lineup.
David DeChant of The Athletic reported in April that Nijman, 27, signed a one-year contract worth about $20 million because of his versatility. “No one … has been above average in left field (782 hits) and right field (528 hits) since 2020. These kids get paid well and they get paid well,” DeChant wrote. “He was best on the left side with three sacks and a 2.94 percent pressure rate, and on the right side with five sacks and a 4.36 percent pressure rate. Nijman was an agent restricted free agent this offseason and was acquired by the Packers as a second-round pick (430 received $10,000). “He could ask for more than $17 million a year in his next deal.”
Nijman is unlikely to come close to such a deal as his playing time has decreased with the Packers this offseason. That said, he was solid in 139 snaps in 2023, allowing two sacks and committing two penalties. His player grades are better than Wills’, according to Pro Football Focus, and Cleveland could acquire Nijman at a reasonable price, making him a reasonable target for the Browns this offseason.
