Baron Browning trade gives Cardinals pass rush the juice it needed

The Cardinals get a young pass rusher with potential while Denver irons out their EDGE rotation.

The trade deadline is Nov. 5, and ahead of the deadline there are more teams making moves to bolster their team before a playoff run or selling to start the offseason quicker. The Arizona Cardinals, who lead the NFC West, fall in that first category, a team who sees the door open and wants to be the one to step through and win the NFC West in Year 2 of the Jonathan Gannon area. They went out and addressed their pass rush issue on Monday, trading for a talented (when healthy) pass rusher.

The Cardinals gave up a sixth-round pick in the trade, and for the most part I like the process for Arizona. Browning hasn’t really been able to stay healthy, but when he does play he’s a very talented pass rusher. In 2023 he had a 13.1% pressure rate, and while his pressure rate has come down into the 8% area, he still has some juice on the edge and provides a different element that the Cardinals need on their defense. Before their game against the Chicago Bears on Sunday, the Cardinals were dead last in ESPN’s Pass Rush Win Rate and second to last in Pressure Rate per Sports Information Solutions. They desperately need someone to step up, especially with EDGE Dennis Gardeck out for the rest of the season with a torn ACL. Browning can bring some juice as a pass rusher, and is also in the final year of his contract, so if doesn’t work out, they can let him walk and only traded a sixth round pick for him.

From the Broncos’ perspective, I see this less as them getting ready to phone it in and more about ironing out their EDGE rotation. At 5-4 and right in the playoff race there’s no reason to pack it in yet, but their EDGE group needed to get more snaps to the guys that are going to be around for a long time. With Browning being injured, he got phased out of the rotation by rookie Jonah Elliss, Jonathon Cooper and Nik Bonnito. In order to get those guys more run, Browning had to go. Hours after Browning was traded, the news broke that Cooper got extended by the team so it just makes sense to trade the guy who wasn’t getting snaps in order to get any capital back.

I like the trade for both teams, and they get better on both sides.