Austin Corbett was a good draft pick, in theory. When the Browns selected the offensive lineman from Nevada with the first pick of the second round of the 2018 NFL Draft, it was widely praised. Browns GM John Dorsey got kudos for taking “the next Joel Bitonio” to join the original Bitonio on the Cleveland line.
Except it didn’t work out. Corbett flopped at multiple positions when given golden opportunities to seize roles. Midway through his second season, Corbett was a healthy scratch despite depth issues at his natural tackle position.
Rather than letting the surprising mistake linger, or wait for progress that didn’t appear to have much hope of ever coming, Dorsey acknowledged the failure and moved on. The Browns traded Corbett to the Los Angeles Rams for a 2021 fifth-round pick on Tuesday.
It might not seem like much return on investment, but getting anything for Corbett is better than letting him sit on the roster as a constant reminder of the failure. That’s what healthy franchises do–move on quickly from mistakes. It stinks that it has to come to that, but Corbett had no viable future in Cleveland other than a weekly reminder when the inactive list gets published that both he and the Browns failed.
Now Corbett gets a fresh chance with a different coaching staff and no weighty expectations. Dorsey gets to try again with another player and can replace his flop with what looks like a budding success story in sixth-round rookie Drew Forbes, who emphatically outplayed Corbett all summer despite limited experience against top competition.
