The Patriots acquired defensive tackle Danny Shelton in a trade with the Cleveland Browns on Saturday, according to a league source. New England also got a 2018 fifth-round pick in the deal, and Cleveland received a 2019 third-round pick.
The trade comes just days after New England declined to pick upAlan Branch’s option and Ricky Jean Francois said goodbye to the organization.
Shelton, 24, was drafted 12th overall by the Browns in 2015. The former Washington Huskie, who stands 6 feet 2 inches and weighs 335 pounds, has played in 46 games, including 44 starts, over the last three seasons, with 71 tackles and 1½ sacks.
Shelton will join a young defensive line unit that includes Lawrence Guy (27), Malcom Brown (24), Vincent Valentine (24), and Adam Butler (23).
Before the Patriots faced the Browns during the 2016 regular season, coach Bill Belichick was asked about Shelton. Belichick said Shelton has good range, strength, and power, and is hard to block.
“He does a good job of getting off blocks and he’s definitely a presence in the middle of the defense,’’ Belichick said then. “But more than just a big guy in there, he can extend and make plays out in the C-gaps and on the perimeter and screens and things like that. He runs well. So yeah, he’s a tough guy to handle in there. He eats up a lot of blockers and he’s a hard guy to block.’’
Shelton’s cash and cap number for the Patriots in 2018 will be $2,030,955. He doesn’t have any bonuses tied to his contract as his base salary is fully guaranteed. The Browns take a dead cap hit of $1,692,940.
The Patriots can also trigger Shelton’s fifth-year option — guaranteed for injury only until next March — any time between now and early May.
Shelton is the latest first-round 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 nine remain with the team.
Trading Shelton to New England was the latest move by new Cleveland general manager John Dorsey in his attempts to remake the team. Dorsey sent shockwaves across the NFL with three major deals on Friday, acquiring quarterback Tyrod Taylorfrom 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 impact the Browns’ plans in free agency and the upcoming draft.
49ers add Sherman
Star cornerback Richard Sherman agreed to a three-year deal with the 49ers, one day after being released by the rival Seahawks.
A person in the league familiar with the deal said Sherman agreed to the contract on Saturday after spending the day meeting with the team. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the signing had not been announced. ESPN reported that Sherman’s deal is worth up to $39.15 million.
Sherman played an integral role in the fierce NFC West rivalry between Seattle and San Francisco earlier this decade. His deflection on a potential game-winning touchdown pass in the 2013 NFC championship game against the 49ers led to an interception that sent the Seahawks to the Super Bowl, which they won.
Now, the player who was reviled so much by 49ers fans is joining their team after the Seahawks decided he wasn’t worth his $13 million salary for 2018.
San Francisco hopes he can make a big impact even as he turns 30 later this month and is coming off an Achilles’ tendon injury that cost him half of the 2017 season. Sherman also had a cleanup surgery on his opposite ankle during the offseason.
The 49ers had a glaring need at cornerback with 2017 third-round pick Ahkello Witherspoon and slot cornerback K'Waun Williams the only players under contract with extensive experience.
Sherman’s best seasons came in 2013 and 2014, when Seattle made two Super Bowl appearances, and he has 32 interceptions.
Sherman still was one of the better cornerbacks the past three seasons, ranking second in the NFL by allowing just 49.2 percent of passes against him to be caught, according to Pro Football Focus.
Raiders re-up Ellis
The Raiders agreed to a three-year contract worth more than $15 million to keep defensive tackle Justin Ellis off the free agent market.
A person familiar with the deal said Ellis will be guaranteed at least $6 million. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the team has not announced the signing.
Ellis, a stout run-stopper, was slated to become an unrestricted free agent. He has started 41 of the 60 games he has played in four seasons with the Raiders.
Ellis was a fourth-round pick in 2014.
Giants dump punter
The Giants released Brad Wing, their punter the last three seasons. Wing’s 36.7-yard net average last season ranked last in the NFL. Wing’s best season was in 2016. His 40.9-yard net average ranked 10th in the league and was a team record for a season. Wing was traded to the Giants in 2015 after punting for the Steelers in 2014 . . . The Lions re-signed long snapper Don Muhlbach and defensive end Kerry Hyder. Terms were not disclosed. Muhlbach is entering his 15th NFL season, all with Detroit. He sits third on the team’s list of career games played with 212 and is in line to pass center Dominic Raiola (219) next season. Hyder missed last season because of injury, but led the Lions in sacks in 2016 with eight . . . Chris Gedney, a former tight end with the Bears and Cardinals, died Friday at age 47. No cause of death was disclosed. Gedney caught 83 passes for 914 yards and eight touchdown in six NFL seasons. He was a consensus All-American at Syracuse in 1992.
Material from the Associated Press was used in this report. Ben Volin of the Globe staff contributed to this report.
