Browns trading OLB Barkevious Mingo to the New England Patriots

On Thursday, ESPN’s Adam Schefter broke the news that the Cleveland Browns were trading OLB Barkevious Mingo to the New England Patriots.

Mingo was the 6th overall pick of the draft back in 2013 and was billed as a pass-rushing specialist. While he is a physical specimen for the amount of speed he has at 6-4, 240 lbs, he was not able to get to the quarterback consistently enough at the NFL level, logging just seven sacks in three seasons (funny enough, his best year came in 2014...as a run defender).

Five of those sacks came as a rookie when Ray Horton was Mingo’s defensive coordinator. When Horton returned this offseason — a contract year for Mingo — there was hope that he could make Mingo his reclamation project on defense. As camp went on, though, it started becoming clear that he wasn’t going to be a major factor in the team’s plans. They were pilot-testing him at inside linebacker a bit, and he didn’t see field in the second preseason game until all the backups had entered the game.

UPDATE: The Browns received a 5th round pick in 2017 from the Patriots. Per Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network, the pick was as high as it was because the Detroit Lions were competing with New England to acquire him:

Are you upset about Mingo’s departure, or are you glad we can finally move on from him to let someone else develop?