Cleveland’s Shelton going to Patriots

CLEVELAND — New Cleveland general manager John Dorsey continued to wheel and deal on Saturday by agreeing to send Danny Shelton, a former firstround draft pick, to the New England Patriots for a thirdround pick in 2019.

Dorsey, who struck three major deals Friday, also sent a 2018 fifth-round pick to the Patriots, a source said. Teams can’t finalize trades until the new league year begins on Wednesday.

Shelton is the latest firstround draft pick to be dumped by the Browns, whose inability to choose good players in recent years is at the heart of the team’s woeful record. Cleveland went 0-16 last season and is an embarrassing 4-44 in the past three seasons. Since 2010, the Browns have selected 13 players in the first round, and only four remain with the team.

Shelton was selected with the No. 12 overall pick in 2015. The six-foot-two, 335-pounder, who starred in college at Washington, started 45 of 46 games in three seasons with Cleveland and the team seemed pleased with his progress against the run. But he didn’t make as many big plays as the team hoped and Shelton played out of position last season when Cleveland switched from a 3-4 defensive scheme to a 4-3 front and he was no longer playing over the centre. Shelton’s departure could give more playing time to Larry Ogunjobi, a third-round pick last year who made one start and finished with 32 tackles and a sack in 14 games.

On Friday, Dorsey sent shockwaves across the NFL with three major deals, acquiring quarterback Tyrod Taylor from Buffalo, wide receiver Jarvis Landry from Miami and cornerback Damarious Randall from Green Bay. He also traded quarterback DeShone Kizer to the Packers, a move that could affect the Browns’ plans in free agency and the upcoming draft.

The Browns are likely to take a quarterback with the No. 1 overall pick in this year’s draft.