Cleveland Browns safety Tashaun Gipson is pretty sure that his efforts last season mean he's due a raise, hence his lack of attendance at voluntary offseason work thus far.
Gipson certainly played well beyond his meager $570,000 base salary in 2014, amassing 52 tackles, one forced fumble, six interceptions and eight passes defensed in just 11 games of work, en route to the first Pro Bowl berth of his three-year NFL career.
There's no doubting that Gipson deserves more money, but there's also the small matter of the second-round restricted free agent tender the team slapped him with this offseason - and which Gipson has yet to sign - and the fact that Cleveland GM Ray Farmer and the rest of the Browns brass may not be particularly interested in reworking his incredibly favorable contract at present.
If Gipson is determined to remain absent and the Browns are faced with the proposition of operating without him, would Farmer and Co. consider trading Gipson in exchange for help elsewhere on defense?
Ed Kracz of TheIntell.com suggests that there could be a mutually beneficial trade to be consummated between the Browns and the safety-needy Philadelphia Eagles involving Gipson.
"Gipson is a solid cover safety, one who would fit the Eagles' scheme nicely. He is 5-foot-11, 206 pounds with 12 interceptions in 29 starts since entering the league as an undrafted free agent from Wyoming. He was named to the Pro Bowl last year," writes Kracz.
"Perhaps the Eagles could make a call for Gipson and offer say, linebacker Mychal Kendricks. The Browns could use an inside linebacker to slot next to Karlos Dansby and Cleveland could use fourth-round pick Ibraheim Campbell or former Eagles draft pick Jordan Poyer at safety. And heaven knows, the Eagles could use a safety to start opposite Malcolm Jenkins."
The Eagles are currently facing a depth chart of oft-injured Earl Wolff and a number of unknown safety-cornerback hybrids at the spot alongside Jenkins. Gipson, 24, would immediately slot in as a starter, continuing the upgrade of the Philadelphia defensive backfield that Kelly and the Eagles brass have so clearly made a top priority this offseason.
For the Browns, the 33-year-old Dansby is set to enter the second season of a four-year, $24 million deal. Craig Robertson looks like the current frontrunner, but will battle with Tank Carder and Christian Kirksey for the starting spot next to Dansby for next season.
Kendricks, also just 24, seemingly blossomed into a legitimate playmaker for the Eagles last year, racking up 83 tackles, four sacks and three forced fumbles in just 12 games of work after a 2013 season which saw him nab 106 tackles, four sacks, two forced fumbles, three interceptions and four passes defensed.
Still, reports emerged after the year that Kelly and Eagles defensive coordinator Billy Davis may have been frustrated with Kendricks' inability to get back on the field after injuring his hamstring.
The trade for Kiko Alonso and the contract extension handed to DeMeco Ryans raised further questions about Kendricks' future in midnight green - questions which became more intense as rumors began to swirl just prior to the 2015 NFL Draft that the Eagles were willing to trade Kendricks for a second-round pick and had included him in a potential trade package to the Tennessee Titans for the second-overall selection.
Despite the mounting evidence of the Eagles disinterest in continuing their relationship with Kendricks, he remains on the roster to this point.
While the Browns would likely be reticent to part ways with a young up-and-coming safety like Gipson, if they really are convinced that Campbell could step in and produce from Day One or that Poyer is ready to make the full-time transition to safety, moving Gipson for an electrifying young 'backer in Kendricks could make ample sense for both sides.
