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I think we will try to sign him again.

I wonder what type.

Info I found has them like this.

1st round: $4.766 million

2nd round: $3.384 million

Original round: $2.183 million

Right of first refusal: $2.133 million

It makes me wonder. With the tender placed on Hodge if that says anything about the value they place on Higgins? Let's face it, Hodge was getting the snaps Higgins was until he was injured.

I actually thought with the way Higgins played he would have replaced Hodge on the depth chart. But the RFA tag may suggest otherwise.

My thoughts/hopes (prolly more the latter) is that Hodge and Higgins are 2 very different situations, despite playing the same position.

Hodge was taking Higgins' snaps early on, but you can't ignore how Higgins stepped in and delivered. Hodge is a speedster that also plays special teams, while Higgins runs good routes and makes those tough/clutch 3rd down catches. IMO, you need both and I really don't think it should be that hard to hang onto both.

I don't think it would be that hard either. That's why I posed it as more of a question than fact. Actually my thinking was that Higgins proved to be more valuable then Hodge when he stepped in during the Hodge injury.

I would certainly hope that both end up being kept for exactly the reasons you stated.

Hodge is an RFA. Higgins is UFA.

I don't think it says anything other than they're letting the market set Hodge's value, same as they are doing with Higgins. Hodge is free to go get a contract anywhere else, and we want him here, so we get the option of matching. Higgins says he wants to be here, and he's free to go seek a contract anywhere else and come back to us before he signs anything.

Basically, neither one is our #1 or #2 WR, and neither one will be. They're both good enough that we want them here, but neither is in a category where we should fall over ourselves to keep them.

So are you saying we couldn't have tagged Higgins instead of Hodge?

We could not. Hodge is a restricted free agent. Higgins is not.

That is correct

why haven't we made any FA moves? i'm a little concerned

Outside of the Pats and Texans nobody has. It's a buyers market.

I posted this in another thread, but I believe I read that this FO likes to mostly stay away from Day 1 FA signings. Doesn't like to go after the most expensive guys.

We went after Hooper and Conklin last year. We are not alone in this slow start.

We only have one year experience with them in charge and in that first year they signed Hooper, Conklin, and Keenum (at least) on the first day.

Yes.
Because Higgins is an UFA, the only tags available to us are Franchise and Transition, and that just isn't happening for either player.

It's not Day 1, yet.
This is just the "legal tampering" period. Free Agency doesn't even begin until, what... Wednesday?

You know what I mean.

Just adding clarification for everyone... it's not actually Day 1, yet. Free Agency has NOT started. Even if it has.

We understand

j/c:


After Day 1, I'm really not surprised the Browns didn't sign one of the top end pass rushers. Unless there was a situation where one of those guys' value would have been too good to pass up, they were going to get massive money....which they did. I was surprised with Dupree's and Hendrickson's contracts as I thought they would be lower, but then again, it is FA.

I've felt that this FO might try and find value in the next tier of edge rushers and we might see that play out today or tomorrow. Then there is always a trade, I suppose. And of course, the draft which people tend to dismiss during this wild week.

Really like the JJ signing. With the uncertainty with Delpit and the intent to probably play more secondary players on the field, I think this might also lend itself to the approach that the LB position group is the least important defensive group.

I would still like to see some things restructured with our own guys and retaining some as well, but for the first day it was pretty much what I expected-- sign one guy to be a starter Week 1.

They did just that.

I agree. Spending that much on a DE would probably have been unwise in the long term. We can probably do better at finding a mid-level stopgap and drafting one

Where and who are you going to find in this draft class at DE ?

I wouldn’t mind Phillips or Paye ... or Weaver a bit later

Paye may be gone when we pick and Phillips scares me. I would feel much better had we been able to land another DE to line up opposite Garrett in free agency.

I believe the article/info I was referring to was from the Sashi era. Obviously, the FO we have now is different, and perhaps not all the practices from then are being carried over.

Guys, there are still Fa options out there. I think Reddick is a target. I think Clowney is a target.

We all look for the cream, but that costs.

Let's see what pans out over the next day or two, or even week or three before we determine we are done for.

JMO

Give me one of Clowney, Dunlap, or Houston at DE and I'm feeling pretty good about the situation there.

Follow that with Oweh, Rousseau, or Perkins in the draft and I'm feeling pretty great.

Throw in a healthy Gustin in year 2 in the system and that's a nice looking 4 man rotation, headlined by Myles, of course.

not sure why all the Clowney love..he's not good

He’s good. He’s just can’t stay healthy. One a one year deal for a low salary he makes sense. Anything more than that and I’d be worried.

JMO. I think because of the injury history we should stay away from Clowney. Sign someone more reliable.

His 8 games last year for TN were underwhelming to say the least. Maybe he's the guy that needs the alpha opposite like he had in Houston. Then yeah I agree, one year prove it deal might be best for both sides.

He's under 30 and better than anyone else left on the market. He's not Myles, but then no one else is, either. Clowney's pretty good. Just line him up at DE and let him mash on people. Take the calculated risk that you get the 2017-2018 version on a short term contract.

Edit: Also, I don't want to see him sign with Baltimore.

j/c:

I either missed or forgot that the Browns have an offer out to Higgins.

There were reports that the two sides were negotiating since last December on an extension. If true, there is no doubt each side knows where the other stands. I'm guessing there could have been several offers exchanged.

They definitely know where they each stand. No team lets a player they would like to keep head off to free agency in a vacuum. They absolutely have been talking up to this point; Higgins agent, no doubt, was trying to get more than the team was willing to pay otherwise there'd be a deal.

I'm betting the market is bearing out to be more in line with what the team was thinking and not so much what Higgins' agent was thinking, otherwise there'd at least be a rumor of something other than "he's still letting the market work".

My bet is that after taking a look at free agency, he will be back at whatever the team offered and both sides will be equitably happy.