Browns checked boxes over first week of free agency, even without all big names

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Browns checked boxes over first week of free agency, even without all big names | Analysis

Chris Easterling, Akron Beacon Journal · Akron Beacon Journal

Sun, Mar 17, 2024 ·

8 min read

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The ability to upgrade the roster doesn't end for the Browns because the first week of free agency ends. However, it does provide a chance to step back and assess what they were able to do over the initial burst of offseason moves.

The biggest move the Browns made was actually agreed to before even the free-agency negotiating window opened this past Monday. Two days before that, on March 9, they agreed to send two day-three picks in next month's draft to the Denver Broncos in order to acquire wide receiver Jerry Jeudy .

Once the window opened, the Browns were active in signing more than a dozen free agents , although few were near the "name" level of Jeudy. Many of those were either their own free agents they brought back, or a handful to fill spots opened by other departures.

If you went into the start of the new league year with a checklist of items the Browns needed to take care of, it would've probably included a few of these.

Find wide receiver and defensive tackle help
Retain as many of their own key free agents as possible
Find serviceable replacements for the ones they did lose
Find a veteran backup quarterback

Browns general manager Andrew Berry, left, and head coach Kevin Stefansk watch the team's rookie minicamp in Berea, Saturday, May 13, 2023.

With the full understanding there's still a lot of time left before this roster even needs to be ready for training camp, let alone the regular season, let's take a look at each of those points.

Jerry Jeudy , Quinton Jefferson help at wide receiver, defensive tackle

The wide receiver market was stripped of some of its star power before things even got going when the Cincinnati Bengals placed the franchise tag on Tee Higgins and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers re-signed Mike Evans . Once the market did open, the trickle-down created prices that admittedly didn't make for fiscally sound decisions on several of the biggest names remaining.

Of course, by that time, the Browns already had the trade done for Jeudy. The move stands to be a potentially win-win one both through the short- and long-term prisms.

In the short term, it's a low-risk move to try to bring in a former first-round draft pick who hadn't quite met expectations with his first team and see if a change of scenery — and being around the player Jeudy looks up to the most — unlocks him. In the long-term, with Jeudy, Amari Cooper and Elijah Moore all on the final years of their contracts, it could potentially provide you a chance to secure him to a future deal that gives you smooth transition to him taking on a much bigger role following this upcoming season.

The defensive tackle market was where the Browns got their big-ticket free agent a year ago in Dalvin Tomlinson . However, the top of this year's class, despite some interest from the team, seemed to price themselves out of the Browns' range from the start.

So Berry took a similar approach as he did a year ago after he landed Tomlinson, specifically when he signed Shelby Harris . He took a swing at a older tackle who was still showing signs of productivity in Quinton Jefferson, who'll be going into his ninth season.

Jefferson has been effective in his career providing pressure from the interior, as evidenced by his 35 sacks and 237 pressures in his career, according to Pro Football Focus. It's another low-risk, high-reward move that doesn't necessarily preclude the Browns from circling back to the position, either through the draft or another means of player acquisition.

Za ;Darius Smith, Maurice Hurst II were the first two deals done, and that's good

Instead of spending big, and risking the possibility of an over-pay, to specifically address the defense, the Browns turned their attention to their own collection of free agents. The first two deals agreed to during the negotiating window were defensive end Za'Darius Smith and defensive tackle Maurice Hurst II.

In re-signing those two right off the bat, the Browns made clear they were pleased with what they provided the defense a year ago, and that they were priorities to bring back for a second go-around. Harris agreed to a new deal the next day, meaning the only key member of this past season's defensive line rotation who won't be back is defensive tackle Jordan Elliott , a third-round pick in 2020 who signed with the San Francisco 49ers .

Browns defensive tackle Dalvin Tomlinson (94) celebrates with defensive end Za'Darius Smith (99) during the second half against the San Francisco 49ers Sunday, Oct. 15, 2023, in Cleveland.

Couple that with news Saturday that veteran safety Rodney McLeod was close to a deal to come back, and the Browns are going all-in on running it all back with the personnel on what was the league's No. 1 defense in the regular season. Of the key personnel on that defense, when it was fully healthy, the only starters who have left via free agency are Elliott, as well as the linebacking duo of Anthony Walker Jr. (now with the Miami Dolphins ) and Sione Takitaki (with the New England Patriots ).

Hold tight on those last two for a moment.

Beyond the defensive players who were brought back, the Browns felt good enough about the two years they got out of punter Corey Bojorquez to sign up for two more years to keep their specialist group intact, at least going into training camp. They also brought back valuable reserve offensive lineman Michael Dunn, although center/short-yardage fullback Nick Harris and No. 2 tight end Harrison Bryant both departed to Seattle and Las Vegas , respectively.

That leads right into point No. 3

Jordan Hicks , Devin Bush Jr . among ways Browns tried to replace departed

Walker and Takitaki weren't just productive members of the defense. They were also valuable locker-room assets who were looked up to by other members of the team.

The Browns went out and signed veteran linebacker Jordan Hicks to a two-year deal almost immediately. Near the end of the week, they signed former top-10 pick Devin Bush Jr. to the kind of deal which Berry has excelled at, a "scratch-and-dent" purchase on an asset where the potential is there but the production has not been for various reasons, in this case, a second-year anterior cruciate ligament tear.

Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray (1) is hit by Seattle Seahawks linebacker Devin Bush (0) after sliding during the fourth quarter at State Farm Stadium in Glendale on Jan. 7, 2024.

That at least provides some answers to the absences of the two veteran linebackers. They absence of Harris and, to a lesser extent, Bryant, may have been addressed by signing former Carolina Panther Giovanni Ricci, who was effective in a blocker role and may at least step into the short-yardage fullback/H-back role.

Hakeem Adeniji was the only outside offensive lineman the Browns signed, but he could serve as insurance at tackle as left tackle Jedrick Wills Jr . and right tackles Jack Conklin and Dawand Jones return from knee injuries. Adeniji started every playoff game for the Bengals when they went to the Super Bowl after the 2021 season and to the AFC Championship game in 2022.

Seems like that's all the spots that needed to be addressed, right? Oh, yeah, there was one more.

Jameis Winston was the younger option to Joe Flacco at backup quarterback

Time to address the move that generated the most conversation around Browns fans, in as brief a way as possible. That's right, time to talk about Jameis Winston — whose deal hadn't been officially announced as of Saturday evening — being signed instead of Joe Flacco as the backup quarterback.

Many Browns fans had put their full support behind the idea of bringing back Flacco, who went 4-1 as the starter in December, to be Deshaun Watson 's backup. Flacco, himself, kept the door wide open the week before free agency by telling SiriusXM NFL Radio that Cleveland was his first option "all things being equal."

However, late last Monday, it emerged that the Browns were in contact with Winston, the former No. 1 overall pick who was told by the New Orleans Saints he could seek out free-agent deals ahead of them designating him a post-June 1 release. The deal between he and the Browns was agreed to Tuesday, the same day Flacco eventually signed with the Indianapolis Colts .

Nov 5, 2023; New Orleans, Louisiana, USA; New Orleans Saints quarterback Jameis Winston (2) during warmups before the game against the Chicago Bears at the Caesars Superdome. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Lew-USA TODAY Sports

Thus started a firestorm on sports-talk radio and social media in Northeast Ohio. Again, for the backup quarterback position.

Winston is 30, while Flacco is 39. The bet here is that, all things considered, that age gap wasn't necessarily insignificant.

While Flacco did something no Browns quarterback has ever done — throw for 300-plus yards five consecutive games, including the playoff loss at Houston — there's a distinct possibility the team looked at it as a "caught lightning in a bottle" situation. Remember, no one wanted Flacco before the Browns called after Watson's season-ending shoulder injury in mid-November.

Both quarterbacks are big in stature — Winston is 6-foot-4, 231 pounds; Flacco 6-6, 245 — and boast big arms, too. Both quarterbacks, if everyone's being honest, also have the propensity to throw ill-timed interceptions, with Winston having thrown 99 in the regular season since 2015 and Flacco having thrown 155 regular-season picks since 2008.

While Flacco would've been familiar with the organization, we still don't know what the virtually-new offensive staff has cooked up schematically. So it's not like it's the exact same offense as a year ago.

To sum this up best, it is, again, the backup quarterback. The best outcome for the Browns and their fans really comes down to Watson being able to play the full season and play it consistently well.

Chris Easterling can be reached at ceasterling@thebeaconjournal.com. Read more about the Browns at www.beaconjournal.com/sports/browns. Follow him on X at @ceasterlingABJ

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Browns checked boxes to open free agency, big names or not: Analysis

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