The Browns said goodbye to wide receiver Corey Coleman over the weekend. They gave him up for a draft pick, a late round 2019 draft pick from the Buffalo Bills. With this trade, the Browns officially have ZERO first round draft picks on their roster prior to 2017. Say what?!
Joe Thomas retired at the end of the 2017 season after 11 seasons of being a Brown, the longest tenured player for the Browns. Now that Thomas is gone, wide receiver, Josh Gordon holds the seniority position, if and when he’s on the field. Gordon has had issues in the past with staying out of trouble and staying healthy. He is currently not in training camp with his teammates as he has chosen to stay in Florida to continue his treatment plan. So, with Gordon not an active player, who is the longest tenured player suiting up for the Browns this 2018 season? The answer, Christian Kirksey. Kirksey was a third round pick in 2014 from Iowa. He wears number 58, plays linebacker and will be heading into his fifth season as a Brown. While Kirksey is the longest tenured player drafted by the Browns, he does have teammates with more years in the league. Drew Stanton out of Michigan State will be entering his 12th year in the league and offers experience to all the rookie talent around him.
The Browns are young and can’t seem to keep their draft picks much longer than a few seasons. Many experts have their opinions on why the Browns have a constant revolving door in the front office and sideline, but for now Coach Hue Jackson has a lot of questions to answer and has expectations to fill by putting a team on the field who will hopefully win at least one game this season.
Best of luck to you Corey, bundle up, I hear Buffalo is the one NFL city that has fewer sunny days than Cleveland.
