One of the more popular objects of Lions fans’ affection as a potential trade target is no longer available. Cleveland Browns cornerback Greg Newsome is headed to Jacksonville as part of an interesting trade between the Browns and Jaguars.

The Browns are trading Newsome and a sixth-round pick to the Jaguars in exchange for CB Tyson Campbell and a seventh-round pick. It’s a swap of young starting cornerbacks that is more about finances than it is on-field play.

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Newsome, 25, is playing on an expiring contract and is expected to get a free agent contract in the $20 million-per-year ballpark. That almost certainly was not going to come in Cleveland. Rather than lose Newsome for nothing–or for a compensatory draft pick in the 2027 NFL Draft–the Browns moved Newsome for Campbell.

Campbell, 25, is in the first year of a four-year, $76.5 million contract extension he signed with the Jaguars. Jacksonville already paid out all of the signing bonus and first year of guarantees on the deal, making it a financial win for the Browns. Instead of waiting for a draft pick that may or may not pan out, Cleveland picked up a proven starter.

Detroit couldn’t possibly trade any player of Tyson Campbell’s worth to the Browns for Newsome; the Lions are a viable Super Bowl contender and can’t afford to sacrifice any starters to buy short-term injury insurance. That the Browns opted for a player instead of a pick (the late-round pick swap is inconsequential) shows that a team like the Lions, who need every available salary cap dollar and current players on the roster, could never make an offer the Browns would have considered.

The Lions would be unable to give up the type of return compensation Cleveland got in exchange for Newsome; Campbell is a proven starter who is cost-controlled through 2028 and not a significant dropoff talent-wise from Newsome. Detroit also has several other current Lions who are in need of new contracts, including Brian Branch, Sam LaPorta, Jack Campbell and Aidan Hutchinson. That would have made any move to acquire Newsome a partial-year rental that would also have eaten some of the Lions’ rollover salary cap money that will be used to fund and afford those internal contract extensions. That’s simply not how the Holmes-Campbell regime in Detroit operates.

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As a side note, the deal highlights the discrepancy between a late-first and early-second draft slot. Newsome was the No. 26 pick in the 2021 NFL Draft, while Campbell was No. 33–the first pick of the second round. As a result, he earned his second contract two years before Newsome, who had his fifth-year option picked up by Cleveland, one that pays him $13.3 million in 2025.

This article originally appeared on Lions Wire: Browns-Jaguars CB swap show why Lions can’t get into that trade market