DawgTalkers.net Forums DawgTalk Pure Football Forum Browns Release Sheldon Richardson

This is the rhetoric being trotted out, but it's a fallacy because this does NOT have us sitting as being a better team than we were yesterday. This is a serious downgrade at the position; that's absolutely undeniable.

In order for Malik to be the replacement for Sheldon, he'd have to be equal to or better than Sheldon, and he is not.
Billings has been out of football for a year - he isn't replacing anything, yet.


Berry has established a solid track record of making good moves, and that buys him some trust, but that absolutely does not preclude his moves from being questioned. I can trust his moves with a wait & see attitude while questioning the moves. It's not binary, I don't have to be fully in one camp or the other, and I absolutely do not have to blindly accept that this move is a good decision just because he made it and we have some other guys on the roster.

At the end of the day yesterday, we were NOT as good of a football team as we were at the start of it. I don't care what rhetoric is being trotted out, our DLine DOES have a large hole now, and it is NOT as good as it was. Even with Sheldon, we needed to get better at DT - and that is factoring in having Malik. Without Sheldon, we are flat out WEAK in the middle.

At this point in his career Malik Jackson is best suited as a backup/spot starter, he can't stay healthy and he's no better than average when he does play.

I would be kind of shocked if we didn’t bring a cheaper veteran in.

We need another DT to replace Sheldon and for rotation purposes no matter what anyone says. I don't know who that will be but we need another. Also, LB's and DT are important. Did anyone forget how bad we've been over the years at stopping the run? I certainly haven't.JMO

We don't just need another DT we need a GOOD one that is equal to or better than Richardson. Being "okay" is not acceptable anymore. You get rid of a guy you better replace him with BETTER, not just a body.

Reading this thread, you would think the whole defense just went down the toilet. Typical over reaction. People act as if because Billings opted out, he forgot how to play. Jackson still plays at a high level even at his age, and is still productive. Elliot was a rookie who played limited snaps, he is not a bum. I will wait until the roster is final before I join the sky is falling crowd.

I also expect Clowney to move inside quite a bit with McKinley in the fold too. Heck, even Myles goes inside at times.

We’ll still look to find a DT in the draft I’m sure ... and you never know, maybe Richardson comes back on the cheap

Folks are allowed to question without your accusations they are part of " a sky falling crowd . " ..

I don't believe anyone is calling Elliott a Bum . They do look at 300 snaps with 6 solo tackles and 9 assist's and wonder .. Many on the board feel that Shelton was a very positive force on a crappy D , and will take more than just another body to take his place..

I understand the business end and cap slack it gives us. But he gave us some good value. I get the dollars, but the lack of any compensation, as you point out, puzzles me. Not for the first time either when we have released players who might have given us some secondary value, but who were just released instead.
Thanks for a solid performance on an underperforming and part-time banged up defense. Good luck.

This is what happens with good teams. Ironically enough, it was opined, way back when we signed Richardson, that year 3 (and maybe even year 2) could be "outs" for the Browns.

I've been looking at nfl.com and spotrac.com for any indication of Hurst's status. There is no indication that he's been claimed. Am I right that if a waiver claim isn't made within 24 hours the player becomes a FA?

He was waived on 4/16.

Obviously, he isn't the only option but he certainly would be an option.

This uncertainty is aggravating.

I'm fully aware of all of this, and I'm fully aware that the team likely approached him with an offer to restructure and he likely said no, and this move is the team calling his bluff - still, it's not a good move. They could have waited until after the Draft, at least, to see who/what we can come away with before taking this step - there could have been some move to make us at least as good in the middle as we would be with him. I don't care that we cut him, just as I wouldn't really care if we cut Bitonio, Tretter or Landry -- as long as we have the quality replacement bird in hand, first. It isn't the move that was made, it was the lack of other moves made to make up for it. As I said elsewhere - we haven't replaced him at all because in order to replace him, we have to bring in someone that is at least equal to, if not better than, him. We are not just as good as we were before this move, we are significantly worse in the middle. We have not come close to replaceing him... and people need to stop bringing up Clowney at DT as part of this. Yes, he will rotate there at times, but he is not a DT. He won't be spending more time there than DE; he is NOT a factor here, especially since he isn't here past 2021 and he can't even be counted on to play all of 2021 as it is.

And that's the thing I feel some people are missing. If this FO and coaching staff were in year four or five, a case could be made that they have a player they have developed and taught within our pipeline to replace Richardson. A second or third round guy they drafted two or three years ago they've been working into the line up ans is now ready to fill his shoes. We've seen teams with established systems do this often.

But in year two of a system, all we've seen so far is mediocre talent as fill ins with limited positive results. There's nothing on our roster that approaches the talent level of Richardson. Trying to put lipstick on a pig won't change that.

It seems as though some fans have short memories. I've watched us get the ball ran down our throats year after year. And this move will only make it that much easier.

Much like yourself I would like to have seen the replacement for Richardson in place rather than being an afterthought.

I'm willing to wait and see what they do in the draft and in FA to address the situation. But for those who don't feel something major needs to take place at the DT position with Richardson gone, I think their orange tinted glasses are impairing their perception.

You are correct.

Pay wall.

That's some good news, at least.
Here's to hoping that nobody outbids us.

j/c

I would welcome it personally. If TR can boomerang back to us later unclaimed, would you take him back? If so, at what price?

I'd like to see us take Sheldon back. Good player, good teammate and a leader. How about 7-8 million with incentives?

He's not going to get that here. I bet a deal for him would look more like $4 million with some incentives. I'd be shocked at anything more.

Yea that is probably it.

Hope he comes back to us.

Bummer for him... going from 12 to 4 after being a productive and flexible member of the Dline. Gotta have thick skin in the NFL.


I do understand the $$ and cents aspect, I just hate it when we create holes in the roster that we just have to immediately turn around and fill. Not sure why we couldn't have done this after the draft, when we have our shiny new DT in hand (also, I forgot about Billings).

Does cutting Sheldon Richardson make some sense for the Browns?

Updated Apr 16, 2021; Posted Apr 16, 2021
By Terry Pluto, The Plain Dealer


CLEVELAND, Ohio – When I heard the Browns cut Sheldon Richardson, I didn’t like it.

But I also was warned by an NFL executive who knows how the analytics-based teams operate to expect something to happen with the veteran defensive tackle. At the very least, the team would try to rework his contract.

Apparently, they couldn’t figure out how to make that work for both sides. In the end, the 30-year-old Richardson was chewing up too much of the salary cap. His number was $13.7 million, according to overthecap.com. Furthermore, teams such as the Browns don’t like to pay such sums for defensive tackles unless that player is an All-Pro.

The Browns value speed on defense. It’s why they signed Jadeveon Clowney. They are hoping he can stay healthy and not only play defensive end, but also on other parts of the line.

One football man was explaining it to me this way: The Browns could go with three defensive ends at times – Myles Garrett, Takk McKinley and Clowney. They signed Malik Jackson, a defensive tackle who has played like a defensive end in certain formations.

His point was to stop thinking the Browns have the standard 4-3 defense. They will have two linebackers and three safeties on the field most of the time. It’s why the front office put big money ($37 million over three years) into safety John Johnson III. It’s why they made Grant Delpit a second-round pick last year.

It’s also why I wouldn’t be surprised if the Browns draft a safety somewhere in the middle rounds.

They like safeties. They like linebackers who can play a bit like safeties, at least in terms of speed. They like pass-rushers and cornerbacks.

That’s where the salary cap money goes on defense.


MAKING MONEY CHOICES

The NFL has a tight salary cap, and Browns fans should be happy about that. The league’s salary cap gives Cleveland, Green Bay, Kansas City and other small-market teams an equal chance to knock off big market franchises such as New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, etc.

The salary cap forces every team to make tough choices, often cutting a solid veteran such as Richardson who had become too expensive.

Before the Richardson decision, the Browns had about $11 million left on the salary cap. They need to hold $9 million for signing rookies. Things were getting very tight.

Richardson being cut added another $12 million to the salary cap. It gives veteran Andrew Billings and second-year player Jordan Elliott a chance to combine with newcomer Malik Jackson (signed for $3.7 million) if the Browns want to play two traditional tackles.

According to overthecap.com, the Browns are now $20.9 million under the salary cap.


THINKING AHEAD

The Andrew Berry front office hasn’t made any big mistakes since taking over 15 months ago. Most decisions have been sound or even exceptional. It’s clear coach Kevin Stefanski and Berry are working together well, a key to setting up long-term success.

It’s possible the Browns have targeted some defensive tackles in the draft. Or they may have their eye on a veteran who has been cut or is likely to be a salary cap victim.

Draft day deals are another possibility.

I’m not a huge fan of the Clowney signing because of his durability issues, missing eight games last season. Just as I do think the Browns could end up missing Richardson at some point in 2021.

But I also have come to respect what this front office is doing, especially their planning. They are already trying to position their cap for 2022. That’s when major pay raises will be going to Baker Mayfield, Denzel Ward and Nick Chubb (assuming they are able to re-sign him).

Rather than make any significant conclusion about this move, I’d rather wait until after the draft (and other possible moves) to see what the roster looks like without Richardson.


https://www.cleveland.com/browns/2021/04...RLBZGfgvMWrzyl8

Accurate, but not entirely true.

The rookie cap is the maximum we can spend on rookies; we have to fit all rookie deals in under that $9 million ceiling. However, not all rookie deals will be a factor in what gets counted toward the team's salary cap number as most all of them in the 3rd round and later will be WELL UNDER the current cut-off of $780k that veterans are getting. Remember, only the top 51 salaries count toward the Cap. So, all rookie salaries have to fit inside that rookie cap limit, but that has little to do with the actual team cap itself. They're two separate jars, even if one jar overlaps the other.

I think one of the more important factors (and perhaps overlooked as well) is the Browns ability to now roll over more cap into 2022 to sign players, preferably their own. I'm not sure if that is the plan with doubling their cap space after the Richardson release, but it could aid in signing many guys who are eligible for extensions at season's end. Coupled with an presumed uptick in the cap ceiling in 2022, I think it provides a little more flexibility to extend guys like Mayfield, Ward, Teller, Chubb, etc. if they choose to do so.

I didn't like seeing Sheldon cut but the more I'm reading about this the more I realize it had to be done unless he agreed to a pay cut. It isn't just a move for now it's a move looking into the next couple of years.

Yes, ... only our number is $850,000 because of how our roster is structured.

This means that rounds 4-7 (5 picks) will be under our top 51 amount, and the third round selections as is today, amount to #89 $871,796 and #91 $870,347 ... with minimal cap hits replacing $850,000 contracts, (7), above and (7), below our top 51.

Just asking a kinda dumb question. did we need to release Richardson in order to pay or draft class?

No. We did so because the analytics approach did not see a 30 year old DT as being worth $12 million.

It really is that simple. They have an idea of what each position's max value is, and they want to avoid going above that, unless the player is one of the top players at his position.

Then that begs the question about the timing.. Why now?

I think more accurately ... to pay for our own.

Because they added Clowney and Jackson. They also want flexibility heading into the draft, to be able to make a trade if the right one comes up.

Courtesy to a vet player who has/had been a good guy to have on the filed and lockerroom.

I likely misremembered the actual number since the last time I checked it; I had thought our number was $780k; and since it has been a few weeks since I looked, it may well have been. Still, as you pointed out, our Round 3 picks will only consume an additional ~$20k each. The 2nd rounder will take up a couple hundred thousand, and the 1st rounder a couple of million. None of the picks after the 3rd will affect the cap in any way. As a a sample, last year's #26, Jordan Love, had a salary cap hit of only $2,251,540 and the #59 pick, Denzel Mims, had a 2020 cap hit of $926,181.

So, there was zero need to cut anyone or move anyone to sign our rookies. It simply wasn't needed and cutting Richardson had absolutely nothing to do with that, no matter how much it gets said because it simply isn't factual.

j/c...

We're past the point of "flush with cash" so every move, going forward, will have a casualty on the flip side. Nobody knows how things play out behind closed doors. Some things you can be sure of...

* The Browns wanted Clowney and obviously placed a high value on his speed, versatility and upside.

* They valued this more than Richardson's consistency and durability.

* This is not to say they didn't value Richardson, their ideal scenario was to keep both.

* Clowney's contract is team friendly, and within the confines of how it allows manipulation of the cap... much more economical. Richardson's was not.

They probably approached Richardson beforehand with some type of "if this happens we'll need to..." scenario. They went back to him after signing Clowney to try to get it done. It didn't happen so Berry was quick to move on, the same way he was with Schobert.

The biggest lesson to learn as fans, imo, is that Berry will be forthright and direct with players... no head games, no "wishy washy" approach. Contracts are for individuals but they all need to work together within the confines of team goals. A team with championship aspirations and a goal of longevity in staying competitive.


So now we have:

Cap space needed to pay some of the big bills coming due.
Much more flexibility within the cap for any other moves we may want to make before the season.
Players that understand that Berry has a "no nonsense" approach, makes decisions and sticks with them.
A necessity to cultivate and explore the talent of young players on the staff.

Three of these things are good, one is an unknown.


We also have:

Clowney's upside and it's contrast to his "availability" issues vs. Richardson's consistency and durability. That one's a crap-shoot, but a crap-shoot with a much higher ceiling. Not just because of Clowney, but also because of the three "wins" stated above.


I'll miss Richardson. Loved the guy. Yes, we've created a "hole", but it's not like it can't be plugged. I love that Berry is setting the tone for players and negotiations going forward. Players like Beckham and Landry can be sure that Berry makes a decision and puts the ball squarely in your court. They'll know the gig before they ever sit in the seat -- and they'll both be sitting in that seat next off-season.