DawgTalkers.net Forums DawgTalk Pure Football Forum Bargain shopping

No doubt, after the first week of FA is complete and teams spend the vast majority of their FA cap allocation the price tag of players dips significantly. So there clearly is an opportunity to get value signings here and there. Heck, even after the draft, and post-June cuts, there is some opportunity there as well.

The thing about Clowney is, at least from national writers and reporters, Clowney doesn't seem to be linked to any NFL team at the moment. I'm not sure if teams have soured on him as a player/injuries, turned off by him as a person, or his camp is asking for too much money.

I can't imagine him getting the money he got last season, but maybe.

I don't know how the team will address it, but I think the DL still needs some help.
- It's fine for McKinley to act and say those things, but he is what he is so far and only on a one-year deal.
- Jackson will only be on a one-year deal
- Garret has never been the healthiest of players (minus Covid, of course)
- Not sure of the future with Sheldon Richardson

Whether its a value signing in FA or early in the draft, I think this position group will continue to be addressed as I think Berry and analytics view this as one of the top position group to maintain for a constant flow of players and depth. With a focus more on pass rush than stopping the run (interior and exterior).

I still hope that we add another DB in free agency. I think that almost every one of our remaining DBs missed time last year due to injury.

I am not one for strictly drafting for position, because you can never be sure how the draft will unfold, but I hope we're looking at pass rusher, CB, and S with our 1st 3 picks.

Not sure we're on the same page here, but one thing is certain, LO's projection certainly plateaued, and is likely the reason he wasn't re-signed.


Complete agreement. Upside is there and based on the price, if he does not produce, the price was minimal. But if he fails, we don't really have a backup plan. This is where the idea of adding Clowney (or another edge rusher) comes in to play.

Side note: Has Takk or Clowney ever played DT in certain packages/situations (mainly the 3T but I suppose 1T as well)? That would be interesting to know as it relates to versatility and, perhaps, Woods scheme?


Agreed. Whether it's free agency or the draft.

I would assume Clowney is going to wait until late summer to sign somewhere again. I think we’re going to sign one more CB and then focus on the draft for DE/LB and secondary depth

I would be inclined to go after Vernon on the cheep. He showed up last year.

Bargain shopping is how Berry approached the whole Defense last season , and the stats above prove it !

Which is why we signed John Johnson and Troy Hill this year. We had a lot of holes that needed to be filled. Berry went with the offense last off-season.

Honestly, I can't complain.

Address a couple serious needs and fill in with one-year contracts. Just like last year with Conklin and Hooper (though Hooper's contract is still painful to look at).

Hopefully next year our two "big moves" are extending Chubb and Teller

And Baker and Ward for that matter (but their new contracts wouldn't take effect until 2023).

The only "rub" is that replacing one-year contracts with other one-year contracts doesn't have much of an effect on the comp pick formula that some folks are posting about.

Ogunjobi to Malik Jackson
Higgins to...err...Higgins
Goodson to Walker
Smith to...well..Smith
The Vernon Loss trumps Takk's signing, but...
The Hill signing trumps the Johnson Loss
JJ III's signing easily trumps the loss of both Sendejo and Karl Joseph.

So...we lost Money Mitch and what, Kendall Lamm? We might get a boost since Joseph and Sendejo are two players, but I doubt it'd be much. Obviously a large boost from the Vernon to Takk (Takk only played 4 games last year). Oh boy, maybe a comp 3rd and what, 6th? Comp picks are nothing to shoot for.

Postscript: I love that Berry put in a 750k per game roster bonus on a guy who only was rostered 4 games, lol. Takk's cap hit for that is 187,500 (25% of the 750,000 as "likely to be earned). The other 562,500 can only escalate to the 2022 cap in the event he plays all 16 games. Almost 18% of his contract is tied up in that per game formula. Clever guy, that Andrew Berry. Way to trim almost 600k off a players cap hit but doing next to nothing

I am big on both signings .. Hope we can come up with a true #2 for the outside so we can slip Hill in the slot . The Last few seasons we have been getting killed over the middle . The Johnson / Hill combo should really help.

I still want a MONSTER middle LB ; not going to get one . I want to put together a front four that puts fear in the QB 's eyes . Not there yet ; will take some more drafts.

He just ruptured his Achilles in January. I don't think he is going to be back this year.

Hopefully Barmore is there for us at 26.

that would be very nice

As light in the ass as this draft is in quality DL , I doubt he falls that far . He will be in reach but , but Berry will have to move up to say 16/17 range.

I could see him just as easily falling into the 2nd round. He's 41 on Daniel Jeremiah's top 50 big board. link

Maybe someone will bet on his upside early, but I don't think I'd trade up for it. Barmore had some very meh games. He did save his best for the playoffs. At pick 17 to the Raiders is definitely a possibility for him, though with all the OL they traded away they might go that direction.

I could see us taking him if he's there at 26 depending on his pro day numbers. His only being a redshirt sophomore is probably a positive on the analytics side.

I have couple of extra bucks in my pocket .. I'll cover bets on him lasting until the second round .. lol .. Any one , any one .. If got past us at 26 I would be blown away ..

What odds are you laying out there?

Everything is negotiable ,, lol

They signed Vernon and Sheldon Richardson around the same time.

The Browns would have gone hard after Clowney first, before Takk McKinley, and Malik Jackson if it were going to happen.

And Bring back Vernon, he's the best of the bunch, except for Myles.

And I wish they'd bring back Karl Joseph he still has value, even with a bunch of new faces,
a team needs healthy guys, and guys who can stay healthy more than a game and a half.

I agree with bringing Vernon back (if healthy) and Karl Joseph ...

Joseph is just a guy. We might sign him in June if he is still free.

Vernon, I think we will wait to be sure he can walk without the aid of a cane before we even think about it.

As of right now, I'd think we're done for this offseason - barring a trade or cutting someone, or a low cap hit (under $2m).

Spotrac has us at $14,126,031 space not including Higgins, Walker, Jackson, Senat, Lee, or Natson.

Assuming these all stay... Higgins has a 2.38M cap hit, and it drops off 780k from the top 51. Walker has a 3.5M cap hit, and it drops off a 826,652 salary from the top 51. Jackson has a 4.5M cap hit and it drops off a 850k salary.

Under a 2nd assumption that all of these salaries are less than 850k, and thus wouldn't show up in the top 51, we have about $6.2M cap space. This includes the space needed for the rookies.

True. Only about 2 million to play with as it stands.

A couple million more always frees up after cut downs and young guys take slightly older guys roster spots, but that doesn't really help much since you still have to be under during the off season.

I guess it depends on the structure of the unknown contracts. Any unreleased voidable years, unlikely to be earned escalators and whathaveyou.

Our Active cap spending for this year once those last couple contracts come in should be about 204ish million. Essentially we are usig the bulk of our rollover to cover the cap crunch this year.

At his price, we would likely have to move a player or two to sign the rookies after the draft (even with voidable years).

Then again, we are likely to move on from a couple players after the draft anyway. It would feel weird to not have the cap space to sign your rookies when you first draft them though.

Weird as a Browns' fan, anyway.

We won’t sign Clowney if he wants a lot. Also, there are still contracts to be restructured if we need more space.

100%... no way we should bring on Clowney unless it's a low offer..

They probably offered Clowney less than he wants, on a 1 yr deal with incentives and the chance to team up with Garrett. He was teamed with JJ, and when both were healthy (rarely) they did pretty darn good. Unless he can find someone to offer what he wants, I'll bet the soft sell will win out.

Not to mention he probably doesn't want to do offseason activities (camp) like he did last year. I'm just not a fan of the guy.

But I think he fits what we want. I am not sure we are all that interested in a light pass rusher type. I think we are at least as interested in someone who can set the edge and be solid against the run.

When you are eliminating 1 of your LB's and going with more DB's, I think having bigger linemen is important.

Joe Tyron might be what we are looking for in the draft. He has size but he can also rush the QB.

Definitely. You absolutely CANNOT have DB-sized linebackers and LB-sized defensive ends in this league. You might get away with one or the other consistently, depending on the rest of your defensive makeup, but you won't live long with both.

I don't care how much people are saying that we're moving to a more speed-oriented league... that will not work. You will simply get swallowed up by opposing offenses.

I agree we will still be looking to add here or there is very realistic.

Whether we do or not is another story. We are at the point we can have a dollar amount in mind. If it doesn't work, it doesn't work. The point is we don't have to add anything. We will do it if it makes "cents" to us.

That's exactly what happened to our D last season .. Folks act like it never happened .

In that post, they mentioned he'd never done a FA visit before. Huh?