By now, it's common knowledge that the Jacksonville Jaguars, under general manager James Gladstone, aren't afraid to move on from players that the past regime brought in or signed to extensions. They did it again a couple days after beating the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 5.
Adam Schefter just reported that the Jags sent cornerback Tyson Campbell to the Cleveland Browns and a seventh-round selection to the Cleveland Browns in exchange for a seventh-round selection and cornerback Greg Newsome.
This isn't necessarily shocking news when you take into account that A) general manager James Gladstone is continually making deals to address the larger scale roster, and B) Tyson Campbell hasn't lived up to expectations after signing a four-year extension worth $76.5 million in 2024.
Why it makes sense for the Jaguars to trade Tyson Campbell for Greg Newsome
A first-round selection in the 2021 draft, Greg Newsome was a starter for the Cleveland Browns early in his career. However, he's fallen out of favor in recent years, with Denzel Ward and Martin Emerson in the mix. The latter is on Injured Reserve at the time of this writing, though, so that may be a reason Cleveland got a deal done.
This season, Newsome has made five starts and logged 285 defensive snaps, most of them in the boundaries, so he'll be an immediate replacement for Campbell, who has been inconsistent for the Jaguars this season.
Campbell, for his part, has tallied 324 defensive snaps in 2025. Although he played a top-10 level back in 2022, he dealt with injuries the past two years and hasn't been able to recapture his dominant form under defensive coordinator Anthony Campanile.
It's possible that Campbell didn't fit the team's current philosophy, and by getting a fresh start with the Browns, he could bounce back. It's also important to take the cap ramifications into account. The former Georgia Bulldog had a cap hit of $8 million, but his release will leave $6.1 million in dead money in 2025 and $19.5 million next year while creating $1.8 million this year.
Given the timing of the trade, it looks like the Jaguars wanted to give Tyson Campbell a clean slate. Once they realized he wasn't a good fit, they moved on from him, so they tried to make it work out. It didn't, so they cut their losses instead of waiting until next year.
And that's the thing, the Jaguars are 4-1, and instead of resting on their laurels, they're looking for ways to improve to increase their chances of making the playoffs in Year 1 of the Liam Coen era. Trading Tyson Campbell and acquiring Greg Newsome might help.