The standoff between Duke Johnson Jr. and the Cleveland Browns came to a sooner than expected end on Thursday. Hours before the team took the field for their first preseason contest, general manager John Dorsey swung a deal with the Texans to send the unhappy running back to Houston in exchange for a 2020 fourth-round pick that could become a third rounder.
It was a somewhat surprising move considering Dorsey himself had reiterated for weeks that Johnson was an important part of the team.
In the end, the 25-year-old’s very public trade request was too much for the Browns brass to ignore and Dorsey held out long enough to get what he saw as fair value for Johnson in return.