The Los Angeles Chargers may be out of the Brandon Aiyuk trade sweepstakes should the Cleveland Browns pull off their reported trade. But, as one door closes, a few more open, because the Browns are going to have to trade away talent of their own to make the Aiyuk extension work.
The Browns are almost $60 million over the cap in 2025, paying Deshaun Watson a ridiculous contract with no feasible way to get out of it next year. They also need to extend, at minimum, linebacker Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah and slot corner Greg Newsome. If Chargers fans want a spicier speculative target, All-Pro rusher Myles Garrett might be looking for an updated contract of his own with no guaranteed money in 2025 or 2026.
The real target here would be Newsome, who is one of the league's best slot corners. While Asante Samuel Jr. and Kristian Fulton seem to be holding up well on the boundary in training camp practice, there has not been much positive discussion surrounding third-year pro Ja'Sir Taylor or rookie Tarheeb Still. Neither are remotely the same player Newsome is right now.
The Chargers would have, at minimum, two years of control should they trade for Newsome. His 2024 cap hit of $4.056 million and 2025 fifth-year option cap hit of $13.377 million would be very manageable for general manager Joe Hortiz.
