DawgTalkers.net Forums DawgTalk Pure Football Forum Browns' Offseason Activity

I think Smith and Goodson were serviceable grades ... Wilson’s was an abortion to athletics

I think Wilson recorded the first negative PFF score in history.

Mack Wilson - 36.2
Sione Takitaki - 71.2
BJ Goodson - 65.4
Malcolm Smith - 70.8
Jacob Phillips - 45.3

If there is one group of guys that I'd feel Ok with projecting out cap expenditures over the next several years in order to manage things and keep everything on-target and on-budget, it's the group we have in there now. I have absolutely ZERO doubt that any move/signing made this year is being done with an eye on next year and the years after that.

The new TV deals, which are 10 year deals, should be done VERY soon.... and from what I'm seeing, it explains easily how/why Jerry Jones felt Ok spending what he just did on Dak. Amazon is taking over Thursday Night Football and will be paying almost double what Fox & Amazon together paid previously. Disney has apparently agreed to something like 2.2 or $2.6 billion per year, depending on the report, for Monday Night Football. CBS & NBC will pay $2 billion per year to keep their current packages. Fox is pushing back a bit on the current $2.25 billion, but it will almost certainly come in at least at $2 billion.

In short, TV revenue is going to nearly double in the first year, and I would be surprised if these are flat numbers and not graduating per year over the course of the ten years.
The Cap is going to explode next year, especially relative to where it is this year after it actually went down for the first time, ever.

Contracts to OBJ / Landry / Hooper are just a bit over the top. Not only that , but the Defensive side of the ball suffers .

j/c...

Just wait until next year if you think Hooper is over the top now, lol

I hate to say it, but I think both OBJ & Landry may be in their last year here. Next year, the dead money is gone from OBJ's deal and Landry will only have $1.5 million in dead money. They each represent a $15 million cap savings if they aren't here in 2022.
Hooper would be a $2 million cap savings. That's $32 million saved.

Unless they all just light it up, I suspect we will have a few deals restructured next offseason.

who? lol

He'd better not count toward our top 51

I heard Bill Pollian say that the toughest players to find were those who were big and fast. My guess is that will be reserved for the draft.

That's awesome. Is that legitimately his wife?

Yes, it is.

I'm still laughing about that re-tweet.

our FA list is:

Vernon
Clayborn
Joseph
Goodson
Sendejo
Taylor
Dorbek
Pridgeon
Hall
Dunn
Gossett
Obinna
Thompson

Anything worth keeping?

This FA period has been unbelievable. Berry has plugged a vast improvement into every defensive hole identified prior the the signings, while still maintaining financial responsibility. I don't know what more he could have done without foolishly throwing a stupid amount of money at someone.

I'd like to see Vernon return, if he can pass a physical. If not Vernon, Clayborn wasn't bad as a rotational guy at DE. Maybe Joseph for depth at Safety, and for ST.

Wow.

That's impressive.

Kevin Johnson Cb is already gone.

Are the Browns going to let S Karl Joseph just walk???

Should really be trying to re-sign everybody they can. Keep the Team Together.

I would like to see us retain Vernon on a cheaper contract and also keep Joseph ... I like Goodson but Berry has really loaded the LB room with FA Pickups and resigning's ...

I'm not going to claim to know much about Troy Hill, but if PFF is to be believed, he is a significant upgrade over Kevin Johnson. Hill's PFF overall grade: 74 ... Johnson's PFF overall grade: 50. Add to that Hill's versatility in being able to play slot or outside WRs.

cut sendejo

That's not very nice. His contract was already up, no need to commit violence.

Well come on guys. No violence here. Need peace and love. A little mercy on the side.

The issue with Vernon is that he probably wont play again until 2022 season.

If ever.

That's what I thought too. We discussed, when Delpit ruptured his Achilles, how difficult it is to return from that injury. And Delpit is almost a decade younger. I think Vernon is probably done.

If Vernon is able to play again, I would like it to be with us. I would welcome Joseph back, and Goodson.

Hall for speed? We signed him and I don't remember him seeing the field.

Andrew Berry’s Plan: Making defense faster while not crushing salary cap – Terry’s Talkin’ Browns

ANDREW BERRY’S PLAN

No doubt, the Browns GM and his staff have far more revealing numbers that these, but here are some basics about the defense against the pass:

1. The Browns entered free agency knowing their pass defense was awful a year ago. The raw stats had them 22nd in passing yards allowed.

2. As ESPN Stats & Info reported: “The Browns allowed 15 touchdown on passes thrown 15-plus yards downfield last season, which was tied with the Cowboys for most in the league.”

3. That matched the eye test: The Browns gave up a lot of big passing plays. I checked the stats and discovered they ranked 24th out of 32 teams in giving up passes of at least 40 yards in 2020. They also ranked 24th in TD passes allowed.

4. And this from ESPN: “Browns safeties allowed 12 passing touchdowns last year when they were the nearest defender in coverage, most in the NFL. John Johnson’s 61 targets as the nearest defender in coverage was 3rd-most this season among safeties. And he allowed only one touchdown.”

5. Those numbers explain why the Browns put a bigger emphasis on their secondary than the defensive line.

The Browns could have said, “We have Grant Delpit (torn Achilles) and Greedy Williams (nerve damage in shoulder) coming back, so we should be stronger in the secondary. And we’ll have Ronnie Harrison Jr. for a full season.”

All of that is true ... maybe. The maybe being they stay healthy. But consider the following:

1. Williams has played only 12 games in his first two seasons. The cornerback says he’s healthy now, but nerve damage is scary and unpredictable.

2. A second-round pick in 2020, the 22-year-old Delpit is young enough to bounce back from Achilles surgery. But that also is a nasty injury. Delpit battled through a high ankle sprain during part of his 2019 season at LSU.

3. Harrison missed five games last season with a variety of injuries.

4. When healthy, Denzel Ward is a Pro Bowl-caliber cornerback. But the Nordonia product has missed an average of four games in each of his first three pro seasons.

PLAYING IT SAFE

The issues in the secondary are why the first big free agent move was to sign safety Johnson from the L.A. Rams.

This from ESPN: “Several teams had Johnson ranked as the best safety in free agency, which makes this nice value for Cleveland. In turn, Johnson gets higher guarantees but gives a manageable contract structure. Johnson is a valuable chess piece, with the ability to play strong or free safety.”

At the start of free agency, I wanted the Browns to sign a big time safety. But I didn’t do enough homework and missed Johnson, instead looking at others. Just as the Browns targeted right tackle Jack Conklin in free agency a year ago to help stabilize the offensive line, they signed 25-year-old Johnson to a 3-year, $33 million deal ($24 million guaranteed).

Defensive coordinator Joe Woods prefers safeties to linebackers, and wants to play three safeties (and two linebackers) most of the time. That’s also why they signed Malcolm Smith to a one-year deal. While Smith is a linebacker, his specialty is pass coverage. At this stage of his career, Smith is more of a safety than a linebacker.

Smith’s deal is $1.1 million ($500,000 guaranteed), according to overthecap.com.

HILL OR MITCHELL?

The interesting decision was to allow cornerback Terrance Mitchell to sign a modest 2-year, $7.5 million contract with Houston rather than keep the veteran. Instead, the Browns gave Troy Hill a 2-year, $9 million deal. He is a cornerback capable of defending receivers in the slot or outside. He is 29 and only became a starter in the middle of the 2019 season.

Mitchell was a tough, durable defensive back who led the Browns in defensive snaps played. While media people love to make snap judgments during free agency, this is a move that leaves me with no real opinion.

I don’t know enough to venture a guess on the Hill vs. Mitchell debate. The Browns believe Hill is more athletic than Mitchell and more versatile in terms of covering a variety of receivers.

I just know the Browns need help in the secondary.

Here’s what Profootballfocus wrote: “Troy Hill displayed versatility in 2020 by moving inside to cover the slot after previously playing primarily on the outside. Hill has high-end play under his belt at the NFL level, but he plays at his best when protected from the most physically imposing receivers in the league - something the Rams have been equipped to do since acquiring Jalen Ramsey. ... His versatility could be appealing to a handful of teams looking for a solid veteran piece in the secondary.”

WHY SIGNING ALL THE RAMS?

Johnson and Hill were part of the best defense in the NFL. So why did the Rams not re-sign them? Money. They were $23 million over the salary cap heading into free agency. Six defensive players have since left.

The Browns are being careful with their cap money because they don’t want to end up in the same situation. Rather than spend big on a pass rusher, they signed Takk McKinley for $4.5 million, $3.7 million guaranteed according to overthecap. I don’t know a lot about him other than he’s been a disappointment since Atlanta made him the 26th pick in the 2017 draft.

Ellis Williams takes a look at McKinley and likes his natural ability to become an effective pass rusher. Defending the run is an issue. Doug Lesmerises makes the case for McKinley benefiting from playing across the line from Myles Garrett. He could be right.

The Browns also added linebacker Anthony Walker to a $3.5 million deal for 2021. He had been a starter with the Colts and probably will replace B.J. Goodson at middle linebacker. And late Friday, they signed veteran defensive lineman Malik Jackson to replace Larry Ogunjobi.

https://www.cleveland.com/browns/2021/03...kin-browns.html

I love the John Johnson signing. My favourite FO decision so far in 2021.We needed help back there and got a good one. I’m glad Higgins will be back. He’s got a thing going with Bake and he is a sentimental favourite.

CLEVELAND BROWNS: EXCELLENT
Best signing: S John Johnson III
The Cleveland Browns are among the winners of free agency, and safety John Johnson III may be the best single signing any team has made, backed up by snagging Troy Hill a little later in the process. Cleveland’s secondary was ugly in 2020, and signing 40% of the best secondary in football, the Los Angeles Rams, is a good attempt to address those woes.

Johnson has earned at least an 82.9 PFF coverage grade in each of his healthy NFL seasons and should be a huge difference-maker for this defense.

Adding depth and rotation players in Takkarist McKinley, Malik Jackson, Anthony Walker while bringing back one of their own in Rashard Higgins all look like solid decisions that will improve the team going forward. Even the subtractions seem to be shrewd moves, moving on from edge rusher Adrian Clayborn — who has been a consistently solid defensive lineman in the NFL — as he comes off his lowest-graded season since 2012.

Sports Illustrated gives Browns the #4 NFL Power Ranking after free agency frenzy...

https://www.si.com/nfl/2021/03/23/nfl-po...DXgzFEkJqNhuG54

"Hear me out: John Johnson was one of the best safeties in football, and Band-Aids one of the Browns’ biggest weaknesses in 2020. Factor in the reintroduction of 2020 second-round pick Grant Delpit, and you have a potentially devastating secondary to pair with an offense humming along at peak efficiency. Whether or not Odell Beckham returns to form (or returns to the Browns at all) it feels like this version of the Browns is uniquely posited to take the division and fully realize its potential. There is simply too much talent on both sides of the ball, especially at cornerstones like defensive back, pass rusher and pass blocker, to ignore this team coming into the year."

jc

Let's see if this actually occurs on the field of play. Nice on paper, but still needs to be proven. I have all the faith in the world that this team is going to turn the corner and be an actual contender. I have had hope before and seen it go up in flames.

j/c...

My guess is that they basically gauged interest and checked on the health of his knee.