FA is a month away. Let's get some talk going about who is out there.
Guys I want us to kick the tires on...
QB
Nobody really, but if we must look at a FA, I'd look at Case Keenum. He's proved that he is at least better than Nick Foles and won't want huge money. Sam Bradford could be an option, but I think he wants $25 mil a year to spend half the season in the hospital. Cousins and Osweiler won't be on the market and Fitzpatrick is too old and limited.
RB
Doug Martin - Muscle Hamster Lamar Miller - Underused at Miami Matt Forte - Only for the right price.
WR
Alshon Jeffery- Only guy on the list worth going after. The rest are #2 types.
TE
Ladarius Green - sneaky pick because he was behind Antonio Gates his entire career. Played pretty well when Gates was suspended though.
OT
These guys are in play if Schwartz wants $10 mil plus a year.
Cordy Glenn and Ryan Schraeder Both are better pass blockers than Schwartz but maybe not as good at run blocking.
Russel Okung - More talented than Schwartz, but more injury prone.
Kelechi Osemele - Normally a guard, but filled in at LT for Eugene Monroe and didn't miss a beat. If Schwartz did go, he would be my first choice due to his versatility.
Center
Stefen Wisniewski - not close to Mack, but the best on the market.
DE
Muhammad Wilkerson- Will want big money, but worth it.
Malik Jackson - Denver can't afford him. Not far off from Wilkerson and will come much cheaper.
Jaye Howard - Another solid 3-4 DE that won't break the bank.
NT
Damon Harrison "Snacks" - There are a half dozen other NT's that can do the job and come cheaper, but Harrison dominates in the trenches. If we got him, we would need to consider moving Shelton to DE. If we get any of the other guys, Williams, Raji, or Knighton, Shelton could rotate with them.
OLB
Von Miller - If he somehow winds up an FA, then he is the #1 target.
Olivier Vernon JPP Bruce Irvin
ILB
Brandon Marshall Danny Trevathan Rolando McClain
CB
Josh Norman Janoris Jenkins Trumaine Johnson Casey Hayward
Safety
Eric Berry Eric Weddle George Iloka
Kicker
Justin Tucker is probably the best on the market but.....
Phil Dawson, K, 49ers. Age: 41. He might be at the end of his career, but wouldn't it be nice to have him back as a Cleveland Brown for the end. He was still 3 for 3 from 50 plus last year and only missed one FG in 2015.
The people I'd really want likely will get paid or tagged. Von Miller and M. Wilkerson being top two.
Alshon Jeffery, there already reports he'll be returning. Coming off an injury plagued season, Bears fans would flip their tops though letting him go after letting Marshall go the previous year or whatever.
Osemele is my pick that we actually have a legit chance of acquiring.
thanks for the info DD I really want us to go after Alshon and still draft Treadwell. Would be nice to have receivers that are feared instead of being a joke.
Resign Schwartz sign Alshon, solid free agency period. I dont wanta beat up on our corners to bad, our pass rush was non existant really hung them out to dry. \ Resign our own! Gipson, Schwartz
j/c: Cleveland Browns Set to Have About $35.99 Million in Cap Space
With the offseason in full swing, it's time to start thinking about the following things regarding the Cleveland Browns:
•The team's current salary cap situation. •Using the franchise tag. •Re-signing our own free agents. •Releasing players to open up more cap space. •Signing other teams' free agents.
The first stage in that process is to look at the Browns' cap space heading into the 2016 offseason. The Browns enter the 2016 offseason with the ninth highest cap space in the NFL at about $35.99 million.
One reason the Browns' cap space is high is because they are rolling over $20.73 million of the space they had remaining at the end of 2015 (as long as they inform the NFL that they are doing so, which the USA Today says they did). The salary cap was estimated to be between $150-$153.4 million for the upcoming season, which is up from the $143.28 million salary cap in 2015.
For the purposes of estimating the Browns' cap space, we are using the highest projected figure ($153.4 million). When you factor in the amount the Browns are rolling over, their salary cap is estimated at $174.13 million, which is the second highest figure in the NFL. Let's break these numbers down in a more formalized manner:
NFL 2016 Salary Cap (Projected): $153.4 million Browns' Rollover from 2015: $20.73 million Browns' 2016 Adjusted Salary Cap: $153.4 million + $20.73 million = $174.13 million
How much money do the Browns already have committed toward the 2016 salary cap? To determine that, we need two figures: the top 51 salary cap figures on the team, and the amount of dead money that was committed to players who are no longer here. For example, we cut WR Vince Mayle last year before the end of his contract, but he'll still count for $362,364 against the cap this year. That is dead money -- we can't do anything about it.
Browns' Top 51 Cap Total: $137.45 million Browns' Dead Money for 2016: $0.69 million Browns' Total Cap Spent for 2016: $137.45 million + $0.69 million = $138.14 million
When you subtract the two subtotals above ($174.13 million - $138.14 million), you can see how the "$35.99 million in cap space" figure was derived.
Once again, the trend continues in which a new front office for the Browns is in great shape when it comes to cap space. It has already been said that the Browns don't believe in building a team by spending big in free agency, but that doesn't mean the team can't seek a starter -- like WR Marvin Jones of the Bengals -- or a couple of reserves to fill the back end of their roster.
On average, teams have to allocate an average of $5 million toward their draft picks, and Cleveland practically has two first round picks for the third year in a row. The biggest free agents for the Browns this year are WR Travis Benjamin, RT Mitchell Schwartz, ILB Craig Robertson, and FS Tashaun Gipson. Schwartz will command the biggest deal, while Benjamin is reportedly close to an agreement. Gipson is a tricky one when it comes to considering his value.
The team could also experience some big-time roster moves over the next couple of weeks that impacts their amount of cap space. C Alex Mack can choose to opt out of his contract until March 4th, which could take $8 million off the books in 2016. The team will also likely cut QB Johnny Manziel on March 9th, but with a possible suspension looming, there is no telling right now how much dead money Cleveland would owe him. WR Josh Gordon could be re-instead too, which would put his cap figure of around $1 million back on the books.
There could also be several players who the Browns part ways with (i.e. Dwayne Bowe) to make the cap space figure go even higher over the next couple of weeks. Over the coming days and weeks, we will be digging into each of these topics (franchise tag, possible cap casualties, free agents, etc) here at Dawgs By Nature, so stay tuned.
Note: We consulted OverTheCap.com and Joel Corry of CBS Sports for our data. Also, the final 2016 NFL salary cap is typically set in late-February or early March.
“To announce that there must be no criticism of the President, or that we are to stand by the President, right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable to the American public.”
We should go after Mario Williams. He might get released from the bills
“To announce that there must be no criticism of the President, or that we are to stand by the President, right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable to the American public.”
The only WR FAs I'd be interested in us signing are Alshon Jeffrey or Jermaine Kearse. I'd be ok with re-signing Travis, but won't be heartbroken if we don't.
“To announce that there must be no criticism of the President, or that we are to stand by the President, right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable to the American public.”
I dunno. I like the list but Free agency is gotten so watered down in the past few years because with the Salary Cap increasing so much each year (like 10+ mil each year) more and more teams are keeping their better FA (like a Von Miller) and letting their unproven backup FA's go. People don't know much about the unproven so it's a crap shoot to throw bunch of money at them.
As a former Rams fan, Keenum is no different from Austin Davis. Sure he's done some good things and he's been a starter but he's not the answer. He's better than Foles but last year that wasn't saying much.
I do like that Heyward, Jenkins, and Johnson might be available. You can never have too many starting quality CB's.
Not much by way of pass rusher in the FA ranks but a mid level guy could provide some needed depth.
I like the two corners from the Rams. I doubt if they'll be able to keep both guys. Which guy do you think the Rams will keep and which guy do you like better?
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