Eagles

Eagles Acquire Genard Avery From Cleveland Browns

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Paul Bowman
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Paul Bowman Sports Editor

Penn State Great Valley MBA, Penn State Berks Undergrad, Eagle Scout and Vigil Honor, IT Service Manager. I joined Sports Talk Philly in 2017 and root for all the Philly teams (as well as their minor league counter parts).

All posts by Paul Bowman
Sports Editor

Published28 Oct 2019

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By Paul Bowman, Sports Talk Philly Editor

As the trade deadline moves closer, the Eagles have made a trade, though it may not be their last.

It certainly is not a move fans were waiting for.

The team announced it has acquired Genard Avery from the Browns for an undisclosed pick.

While fans may not be excited by the move, it is a good move for the Eagles, though the draft pick given up will certainly play a factor in whether it was a wise use of assets.

A fifth-round pick of the Browns in 2018, Avery registered 40 tackles and 4.5 sacks along with four defensed passes, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery.

He is under contract through the 2021 season, providing another young pass rusher to add into the mix going forward with Brandon Graham, Derek Barnett, Josh Sweat, Daeshon Hall and Shareef Miller.

Despite a strong rookie season, Avery had fallen out of favor with the Browns following a shakeup of the coaching staff and played just five defensive snaps with the team, though he did register a tackle in those reps.

The Eagles figure to use him more as they rotate Brandon Graham and Vinny Curry inside.

Part of his downfall may be that the Browns use a 3-4 defense and played Avery at linebacker, where he struggled in coverage. Within a 4-3 scheme, he will likely play DE and should improve his play without a need to worry about coverage.

Check out a Browns fan board and you’ll see quite a few people upset by the move. That’s good news for Eagles fans.

The Eagles and other teams had reportedly been trying to land Avery for some time, so this may have been the Browns reaching out to get a deal done before the deadline rather than Howie Roseman specifically looking to make this move.

No corresponding move has been made official.

UPDATE: The Eagles have waived DT Bruce Hector to make room for Avery.

If Hector should clear waivers, the Eagles will almost certainly bring him back to the practice squad. He is likely to take the spot back from the recently signed Scott Orndoff at that point.

UPDATE: The pick is reportedly a fourth-rounder in the 2021 draft, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN.