Cleveland trades Barkevious Mingo to New England

As a player who was the sixth overall pick in his draft, Barkevious Mingo hasn’t lived up to the expectations that come with being such a lofty selection.

If it wasn’t obvious that the Cleveland Browns weren’t happy with Mingo when they declined to pick up the fifth-year option on his rookie deal, on Thursday we got crystal-clear proof: the Browns traded him to the New England Patriots.

New England confirmed the trade; Cleveland Plain-Dealer beat writer Mary Kay Cabot reported that the Patriots gave the Browns a 2017 fifth-round pick for Mingo.

NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport tweeted that Mingo wasn’t a fit for the new Hue Jackson regime in Cleveland.

In three years with the Browns, Mingo played in 46 of 48 games, but had just 16 starts, 11 of them coming in 2014. He was credited with only seven sacks (none last year), one interception, one fumble recovery and 11 pass break-ups.

Acquiring Mingo is another occasion when the Patriots are bringing in a Browns player from the Mike Lombardi era with that franchise; Lombardi was general manager in Cleveland for just a year, and Mingo was part of his lone draft class there. The Patriots have already brought in former Browns Jabaal Sheard and Dion Lewis, and both have had success in New England.

Lombardi left the Patriots earlier this year, but he was a confidant of Bill Belichick’s before his recent two-year stint in New England, and it’s likely he will remain one now.

Mingo is slated to become a free agent in March, but 32-year-old veteran Rob Ninkovich’s contract with the Patriots expires after this year as well. Ninkovich is currently rehabbing a torn triceps muscle, the first significant injury he’s had in six-plus seasons with the Patriots.