Browns trade running back Duke Johnson to Texans
The Browns granted the trade request of running back Duke Johnson on Thursday by agreeing to send him to the Houston Texans.
In return, the Browns will receive a fourth-round draft pick in 2020 that can become a third-round choice, a league source confirmed. The Houston Chronicle reported the Texans will give up a third rounder instead of a fourth rounder if Johnson is active for 10 games this year.
Johnson must pass a physical with the Texans for the trade to be finalized. He has sat out most of Browns training camp with an injured hamstring.
Browns general manager John Dorsey had made it clear throughout the offseason he wouldn’t deal Johnson unless he received the compensation he sought. It turns out the Texans were willing to pay the price Dorsey set because they desperately needed a backup running back after waiving D’onta Foreman on Sunday reportedly due to being unsatisfied with his work habits.
A third- or fourth-round selection is pricey for a running back. In March, the Chicago Bears got a 2020 sixth-round choice from the Philadelphia Eagles for running back Jordan Howard, 24, who has rushed for 935 (2018), 1,122 (2017) and 1,313 (2016) yards in his three NFL seasons.
Johnson, who will turn 26 on Sept. 23, produced his highest single-season rushing total of 379 yards as a rookie in 2015, when former Browns GM Ray Farmer drafted him in the third round out of the University of Miami.
Still, Johnson became one of the better Browns players in recent years and one of the NFL’S best receiving threats out of the backfield. He never missed a game in four seasons, appearing in 64 of them with 10 starts. He compiled 1,286 yards on 299 carries (4.3 average) and 2,170 yards on 235 receptions. He had 13 touchdowns, five rushing and eight receiving.
Last season, Johnson started two of his 16 games and rushed 40 times for 201 yards (5 average) and caught 47 passes for 429 yards and three touchdowns. Multiple Browns regimes struggled to maximize Johnson’s potential. It happened again last season despite Dorsey signing Johnson to a three-year, $15.6 million contract extension in June 2018.
Johnson became determined to get out of Cleveland this past winter.