Raiders acquire LB Wimbley from Browns for undisclosed draft pick

Raiders acquire Wimbley from Browns

OAKLAND, Calif. — The Oakland Raiders bolstered their pass rush Sunday by acquiring former first-round pick Kamerion Wimbley from the Cleveland Browns for an undisclosed draft pick.

Oakland senior executive John Herrera confirmed the deal, saying Oakland gave up a pick it had acquired in a previous deal. The Raiders had acquired a third-round pick from New England last summer in a deal for Derrick Burgess.

“This gives us a guy who has been a strong presence as a pass rusher,” Herrera said. “He has been very productive.”

The Browns traded two former first-round picks Sunday, confirming a deal that sent quarterback 2007 first-rounder Brady Quinn to the Denver Broncos about two hours before Oakland announced it had picked up Wimbley.

The Browns’ decision to deal Wimbley was a bit of a surprise. Last season, he began to show flashes of being the kind of player he was when he recorded 11 sacks in his rookie year.

The 6-foot-3, 255-pounder was drafted in the first round out of Florida State in 2006. He had 6½ sacks and 48 tackles in 15 games last season and has 26.5 sacks in his career.

Cleveland may use one of its high draft picks to address its pass rush.

Wimbley becomes the fourth former first-round pick on Oakland’s defense, joining defensive end Richard Seymour, cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha and safety Michael Huff.

The Raiders previously had released defensive end Greg Ellis, who tied for the team lead in sacks last season with seven.

Wimbley can play either end or outside linebacker. The Raiders used second-year player Trevor Scott in that role last season as an outside linebacker/third-down pass rusher. Scott had seven sacks in that role.

Wimbley is the first player Oakland has added from another organization since the start of free agency earlier this month. The Raiders had previously cut four veterans — Ellis, running back Justin Fargas, receiver Javon Walker and defensive tackle Gerard Warren.

Oakland also re-signed kicker Sebastian Janikowski before he could become a free agent, used the franchise tag on Seymour and re-signed free agent offensive lineman Khalif Barnes.