Browns CEO Joe Banner made a swap with his former club, the Eagles, exchanging sixth-round linebacker Emmanuel Acho for running back Dion Lewis.
CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The Browns and Eagles are still willing trade partners despite their offseason tug-of-war for eventual Philly coach Chip Kelly.
Browns CEO Joe Banner executed a minor trade with his former club on Thursday, shipping 2012 sixth-round linebacker Emmanuel Acho to the Eagles for third-year reserve running back Dion Lewis, whom he helped draft in the fifth round of 2011 out of Pittsburgh.
The small and shifty Lewis (5-8, 190) will most likely serve as a third-down back and possible kick returner.
"Dion is a back who runs with very good quickness and vision," said Browns coach Rob Chudzinski in a release. "He is a promising young player who will add depth, which is extremely important at that position."
The Browns currently have Trent Richardson, Montario Hardesty and Chris Ogbonnaya at tailback.
"Dion had an extremely productive college career and responded well in his limited chances with the Eagles," said Banner. "We felt this would be a good opportunity for him and us, and we are happy that Dion is now a member of the Browns."
In 24 games with the Eagles, Lewis has rushed 36 times for 171 yards (4.8 average) and two touchdowns. In addition, he's caught three passes for 21 and returned 32 kickoffs for 702 yards (21.9 average). In 2012, he appeared in nine games and totaled 69 rushing yards with one score.
The Browns never got a chance to see what Acho could do, because he suffered a knee injury during camp and was placed on injured reserve for the season. The 204th overall pick (a compensatory selection) out of Texas, Acho is expected to start out on special teams for the Eagles and provide depth in their 3-4. He's reunited with former Browns coach Pat Shurmur, now the offensive coordinator, and former Browns linebacker coach Billy Davis, now the Eagles defensive coordinator.
Lewis, set to make $555,000 this season, was on the block and would've been hard-pressed to make the Eagles final roster.
"Happy to be a Brown," Lewis tweeted today. "Feeling the love."
A two-year letterman at Pitt (2009-10), Lewis broke Tony Dorsett's freshman rushing record with 1,799 yards and tied Dorsett for the school freshman record with 10 100-yard rushing performances. Lewis' rushing total ranked third in the nation in 2009 and was the second-highest single-season total by a Panther in school history. He added 17 rushing touchdowns en route to being named the Big East Conference Rookie of the Year and Offensive Player of the Year. As a sophomore, he led the team with 1,061 rushing yards with 13 touchdowns.
Kugbila workout: The Browns will conduct a private workout this weekend with Valdosta (Ga.) State guard Edmund Kugbila, a league source said.
Kugbila (6-4, 362) is a third- or fourth-round projection. He's started the past three seasons, and is known for his aggressive demeanor on the field. Kugbila helped Valdosta to the Division II national championship last season.
The Browns are looking for depth at guard, and a possible starter depending on the health of Jason Pinkston (blood clot in lung). They've studied and hosted other top guards, including Kent State's Brian Winters and North Carolina's Jonathan Cooper.
Kugbila moved to the United States from Ghana at the age of 10 after his parents won a visa lottery. He began playing football at age 10, and by high school, he was coveted by powerhouses such as Alabama, Georgia, Florida. He didn't qualify academically, but made the most of his time at Valdosta State.
Out of the black and yellow: Browns owner Jimmy Haslam has sold all of his Steelers stock, his former club announced today.
Haslam had owned a 12.5% share since 2008, and had to divest it when he purchased the Browns. Current Steelers stockholders bought most of the shares.
"We appreciate the continued confidence of our ownership group involving this purchase of stock owned by Jimmy Haslam, and we welcome Scott and Russ Swank to our ownership group," Steelers President Art Rooney II said in the release.
Dolphins have ammo: Dolphins GM Jeff Ireland, who has the No. 12 overall pick, stressed today that he could move up in the draft if he so chooses.
The Dolphins, who might be in the market for an offensive tackle, have five picks in the first three rounds. Some have speculated they'll try to move up, and rumors have circulated that the Browns at No. 6 pick might be one of the teams on their radar.
"You have options," Ireland said in a pre-draft press conference today. "I like to use the word "ammunition" to kind of go up if you wanted to. And certainly there's opportunities to do that, and there's also opportunities to move back, and move around."
The Dolphins could be targeting one of the top offensive tackles in the draft in Texas A&M's Luke Joeckel, Central Michigan's Eric Fisher or Oklahoma's Lane Johnson. Joeckel is projected by many to go No. 1 overall to the Chiefs.
"I've got enough ammunition to get to the first pick if I wanted to," Ireland said. "But I don't see myself doing that."
To reach this Plain Dealer reporter: mcabot@plaind.com, 216-999-4370 On Twitter: @marykaycabot