CLEVELAND, Ohio – Now that JJ Watt has signed with the Arizona Cardinals, the Browns will turn their attention to keeping some of their own agents free and acquiring other veterans.
The league year begins on March 17, with the early negotiation period for free agents starting on March 15. Once the salary cap is set, Browns GM Andrew Berry will make offers to some of his own free agents, including receiver Rashard Higgins and cornerbacks Terrance Mitchell and Kevin Johnson.
He has also pledged to remain active in the commercial market and will explore business from now until the November deadline. He acquired initial security from Ronnie Harrison in an exchange with the Jaguars for a fifth round choice in September, and he will not stop there.
The deadline to apply the franchise or transition mark to a player is Tuesday, so the Browns will have a much better idea of who will be available after that. Teams are also expected to cut many players this week to stay below the limit, and this will give teams and players a chance to act freely.
Here are some things you should know and expect under free agency approaches:
1. What happened to Watt?
The Browns were one of the teams that made an offer to Watt, but, as I reported last week, it was no bigger than the two-year maximum $ 31 million deal with a guaranteed $ 23 million that the Cardinals gave him. Watt really liked the Browns, but he took more money to sign with the Cardinals. He also said he was very fond of Kyler Murray and the weather in Arizona. The Browns probably offered Watt something close to the $ 11 million they paid Olivier Vernon last season, or would have landed if negotiations continued. Now they will probably use that money to look for another pioneer in this saturated market.
2. Von Miller, Carl Lawson, Haason Reddick, Trey Hendrickson and other rushers on their radar
It’s a great year to need a complimentary pass-rusher, and the Browns are likely to end up with one of the best available on the market. The question is, which ones will actually be available? Some of the most intriguing are Von Miller from Denver, Carl Lawson from Cincinnati, Haason Reddick from Arizona, Trey Hendrickson from New Orleans and Yannick Ngakoue from Baltimore. As soon as the teams start to unload salaries and restructure contracts next week, some of these players will re-sign with their teams. Lawson, for example, could be franchised by Bengals for about $ 15.8 million.
Otherwise, the Browns will likely chase you. He is only 25 years old and ranked 9th among the pass-rushers on profootballfocus.com last season, with 64 pressures. The Broncos said they would like to try to keep Miller, the eight-time Pro Bowler, but he would be a great option if they didn’t. Reddick, 26, is expendable now that the Cardinals have Watt, and he has six forced fumbles, the best in the league, to go with his 12.5 sacks. Hendrickson finished second in the NFL with 13.5 sacks in his first year as a starter last season, and Yannick Ngakoeu, for whom the Browns tried to negotiate last season, had eight combined sacks in Minnesota and Baltimore.
Pittsburgh’s Bud Dupree, who had eight sacks before tearing his ACL last season and 11.5 the previous year, would not only strengthen the Browns, but weaken the Steelers. It is a veritable hodgepodge of pass rushers, and the Browns will undoubtedly be satisfied.
3. Odell Beckham Jr.
The Browns really like Beckham, but they would have heard offers this off-season because of his $ 15.75 million salary for 2021. The reality is that there probably won’t be much of a market because of his salary and the fact that the salary cap falls to about $ 185 million this season, from the estimated $ 210 million it would have been had it not been for COVID-19. Beckham is also coming out of a torn ACL, and it is risky to switch to a player in the middle of rehab. He appears to be well ahead of schedule and is expected to be 100% in 2021, but the injury will likely make the teams hesitate.
The Browns appear to be moving forward with virtually the same reception room they had last year, as long as they are able to sign again with Rashard Higgins.
4. Rashard Higgins
Higgins looked dismayed last week that he had not yet received an offer from the Browns, but that was only because the salary cap had not yet been set. As soon as that happens, Higgins will receive an offer from the Browns and will also have a chance to see what he can get from other teams during the March 15-17 trading window. If a team is willing to pay him $ 6 million a year, his estimated market value by spotrac.com, he should probably take it and run. The Browns, with more than $ 30 million of their limit tied to Beckham and Landry, are unlikely to want to pay him that much.
But Baker Mayfield loves Higgins, and the coaches too, so they will make an effort to keep him.
5. Breshard Perriman
If Higgins escapes, the Browns could have their old friend Perriman on their radar. He played for the Browns in 2018, and Berry was VP of Player Personnel when he signed him. Perriman, who would give the Browns a much-needed deep threat, has natural chemistry with Mayfield and has revived his career here after being cut twice in the space of a week by the Ravens and Washington. Formerly chosen by the Ravens in the first round, Perriman played for the Jets in 2020, but languished in his terrible attack. Here, he is capable of at least six tank destroyers per season.
6. David Njoku
Njoku’s fifth year option of $ 6,013 million becomes guaranteed on March 17, and it looks like the Browns are in full swing with their ambivalent tight end. The Browns have always valued Njoku and never wanted to give it up. Berry was here in 2017 when they changed his draft in the first round, and it seems that he still likes him a lot. Njoku played well in the final stretch and in the AFC divisional game against the Chiefs, and the Browns believe he has a good advantage in this heavy tight end scheme.
If the Browns keep it, and it looks like they will, they won’t need tight end Kyle Rudolph, 31, who was released last week by the Vikings and would love to meet Kevin Stefanski.
7. Lavonte David
The Bucs are likely to make a strong effort to keep David, the leader of their defense corps. But if they can’t pay you, the Browns will probably attack and try to grab you. Its market value is $ 12.7 million a year, according to spotrac.com, but it is worth it. He’s 31, but he hasn’t missed a step yet. He is No. 5 linebacker in the NFL according to pff.com, and No. 6 in coverage. He’s exactly what the Browns need to strengthen their linebacking body, and the player they could have used against Kansas City.
If they can’t get it, they’ll look at others like Matt Milano from Buffalo, who is in second place, and Jarrad Davis from Detroit.
8. Marshon Lattimore
If the Saints decide to trade their cornerback three times in the Pro Bowl, the Browns are likely to have him on their commercial radar as a possible partner for their former Buckeye teammate and local man, Denzel Ward. A Cleveland-centered cornerback room would make sense for a number of reasons, including the chance to have two Pro Bowlers roaming the defensive field together.
The Browns expect Greedy Williams to return 100% nerve damage to his shoulder, but they must have a solid backup plan, and Lattimore represents just that. If the Browns had it, Williams, Ward, Grant Delpit and Ronnie Harrison would have a dynamite backfield and one of the best in the NFL. They would have to pay Ward and Lattimore somewhere around $ 17 million a year for the next few years, but it could be worth it.
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