The Cleveland Browns are trading for Houston Texans offensive tackle Cam Robinson in exchange for a swap of late-round picks in 2027, sources told ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler on Monday.
The Browns had a need at offensive tackle after David Jones suffered a season-ending injury in Week 3. He underwent surgery last week to repair a torn LCL and hamstring avulsion.
Cleveland has used four different starting offensive line combinations in as many games because of offensive tackle injuries. In addition to Jones’ season-ending injury, right tackle Jack Conklin has missed the past three games because of an elbow injury.
Backups Kt soup and Cornelius Lucas have struggled with extended playing time. Leveston and Lucas rank 57th and 61st, respectively, out of 66 qualifying tackles in ESPN’s pass block win rate. The Browns’ offensive line ranks 10th in run block win rate but 27th in pass block win rate.
Cleveland last week also signed Thayer Munford Jr. off the New England Patriots‘ practice squad but he was inactive for the team’s 34-10 loss to the Detroit Lions on Sunday, a game in which quarterback Joe Flacco was sacked three times and pressured 19 times.
Robinson, who signed a one-year contract with Texans as a free agent in March, was inactive for Houston’s 26-0 victory over the Tennessee Titans on Sunday. He appeared in Houston’s first three games but made just one start.
The Texans paid $8.75 million of Robinson’s $12 million 2025 contract via a signing bonus, so the Browns are only on the hook for the proration of his $2 million base salary and $1.25 million in per-game roster bonuses. He also has $500,000 in incentives.
In the offseason, Houston drafted left tackle Aireontae Ersery in the second round to compete with Robinson, who suffered a knee injury early in camp that knocked him out for a couple of weeks. Ersery took full advantage of the injury and snatched the starting role.
But Robinson still started in Week 1 because of an injury to right guard Ed Ingram. That forced Houston to insert Robinson at left tackle while pushing Ersery to right tackle while the original right tackle starter Tytus Howard went to right guard.
But once Ingram was healthy enough to start, Howard went back to right tackle and Ersery returned to left tackle. That relegated Robinson to a backup role.
Robinson, 29, spent the first 7½ years of his career with the Jacksonville Jaguars before the Minnesota Vikings acquired him last season in Week 9 as a temporary replacement for injured left tackle Christian Darrisaw. He made his first start for the Vikings five days after the trade and made a total of 11 starts, including the postseason.
The Jaguars’ second-round pick in 2017, Robinson has made it through full seasons twice in his career: 2020 and 2024. Injuries and a four-game suspension in 2023, for violating the NFL’s performance-enhancing drug policy, cost him games in all other seasons.
ESPN’s Daniel Oyefusi and DJ Bien-Aime contributed to this report.
