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JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- The Jaguars and Browns swapped cornerbacks Tyson Campbell and Greg Newsome, along with draft picks, in a Wednesday night trade. The Jaguars sent Campbell and a 2026 seventh-round draft pick they previously acquired from the Eagles to the Browns for Newsome and a 2026 sixth-round selection they had acquired from the Jets. The Browns selected Newsome, 25, with the 26th pick in the 2021 NFL draft. He is playing 2025 on a fifth-year option, which is paying him $13.38 million, and is scheduled to become a free agent after the season. Newsome spent his rookie season as an outside cornerback but moved to the nickel after Cleveland drafted Martin Emerson Jr. in 2022. Newsome struggled last season, but Emerson's season-ending Achilles injury in training camp opened the door for him to return outside, where he has expressed more comfort. In five games this season, Newsome recorded 23 tackles and five pass breakups. The Jaguars selected Campbell with the 33rd pick in 2021. He signed a four-year, $76.5 million contract extension, with $53.4 million guaranteed, just before the start of the 2024 training camp. He had six pass breakups and a forced fumble to go along with 34 tackles in five games this season. The 25-year-old Campbell had his best season in 2022, when he intercepted three passes, forced one fumble and recovered two others and broke up 15 passes to help the Jaguars win the AFC South. He was limited to 11 games because of a hamstring injury in 2023, when he had just one interception and five pass breakups. He missed five games with a hamstring injury and dealt with shoulder and thigh injuries later in 2024, when he broke up six passes to go along with 59 tackles but didn't have an interception. The trade came up while the Jaguars were having preliminary conversations with teams across the league about needs ahead of the Nov. 4 trade deadline. The Browns had already had preliminary discussions with Newsome about an extension and the Jaguars saw an opportunity to add a player they believed was a better fit in defensive coordinator Anthony Campanile's scheme. "We felt like Greg's skill set with how we've shifted the defensive scheme to play with more vision on the quarterback to be a strong fit for how we operate and his capability to find the football was a trait he possessed," general manager James Gladstone said Thursday morning. Shedding Campbell's future contract was a plus, as well, and the sides agreed to the deal late Wednesday. The Jaguars already paid Campbell's $12.4 million option bonus this season and will not assume any future money owed Campbell. The Jaguars have not had any discussions with Newsome or his agent regarding a contract extension, but emphasized this trade was not a rental. "[An extension] is not out of the realm of possibility but it's not part of the active equation [of the trade]," Gladstone said. Gladstone also said this may not be the last trade the team makes between now and the trade deadline to win the AFC South. "We are trying to win football games and part of this trade is that we think Greg Newsome helps us do that," he said. "We will be aggressive to make us the best possible team this year." This is the second Jaguars-Browns trade in six months. Jacksonville sent four draft picks to Cleveland on the first day of the NFL draft in April to move up three spots to No. 2, where it selected receiver/cornerback Travis Hunter. Cleveland also has been busy this past week, acquiring left tackle Cam Robinson from the Houston Texans and sending quarterback Joe Flacco to the Cincinnati Bengals. ESPN's Daniel Oyefusi contributed to this report.
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