DawgTalkers.net Forums DawgTalk Pure Football Forum Browns News 3.0

Good to finally have you aboard the Ward train.

That is good news!!!

Did not see that coming.

Hopefully, Garrett liked seeing this.

it's crazy to think we drafted Bitonio and Thomas. Both of them should be 1 team and done.

His stats are impressive

2× First-team All-Pro (2021, 2022)
3× Second-team All-Pro (2018–2020)
7× Pro Bowl (2018–2024)
PFWA All-Rookie Team (2014)
First-team All-MWC (2013)

Mar 06, 2025
Converted $44.7M of 2025 salary into signing bonus, adding 1 void year, creating $35.796M of cap with Cleveland (CLE)

Now the question is how soon can we put him on IR and free up the roster spot?

I believe Joel's talk with Joe T. helped convince him to come back for another year as well.

Probably near the end of camp. That is the only time you will need the roster spot. If I am not mistaken, teams don't have an 'early" roster cut in camp anymore. You just run from 72 down to 54 or whatever the number is.

Designating players now isn't of any real value. You would essentially be picking up player #73. All teams have someone they can cut if someone better comes along.

I could see myself making the same argument. I'm looking at it a bit differently, though.

What if I just don't want him (or the thought of him) in the building? A comeback out of the question. Season ending IR him the second you can. Fail him on his physical (the Achilles "didn't heal right") and IR him again the next year as soon as you can as well.

Addition by subtraction more than the player replacing him. Plus, You never know, the 90th guy could end up being the diamond in the rough.

j/c:

Joe Flacco on the Browns’ radar; Kirk Cousins might stay put: Latest on the search for a bridge quarterback

https://www.cleveland.com/browns/20...the-search-for-a-bridge-quarterback.html

I’d be fine with Flacco as a bridge.

Key NFL insider changes tune on Browns NFL draft plans
https://www.dawgsbynature.com/2025/...efter-not-confident-browns-drafting-a-qb

If so, I'm guessing Shefty has heard some rumblings about the Brows FA QB plans?

Lol.

With this, do you think it means no chance at Flacco?

Zac Jackson: Browns will probably have Kirk Cousins 'by the weekend'; has been Browns' No. 1 plan at QB
https://www.audacy.com/923thefan/sp...ill-probably-have-cousins-by-the-weekend

Audio is in the link.

Wow, if you listen to the whole audio, this guy says exactly what many of us have been saying: the Browns have major issues with the cap, aging players, and massive holes to fill on this team. With only 20 regulars under contract with the majority of that 20 being age 30 or north of 30, the Browns have a serious age problem with inadequate backups. The OL is a mess and has to start being addressed.

Berry's dead money bucket is full and ready to start overflowing but he has no chance of getting any decent fixes if he doesn't mortgage the future more with prorated bonuses. If the guy is Cousins as he says, expect a huge amount of his contract to be prorated too exploding the bucket!

I would expect the interior of the Oline to make a dramatic leap forward with a return to the Stefanski O.

Our tackles will continue to be an issue, though.

We’re in the situation we’re in because the FO felt there was a window of opportunity for us to make the Super Bowl, which was true, and we kept the players we had to try and make it. A couple of years ago the general consensus was that we had a very talented roster and when DW came back we were one of the better teams in the league. We know now that it didn’t work out but that’s why we kept the guys we had and now it’s an aging roster. If we had those 3 first round picks it would be different now. We gambled and lost but I understand why we did it. Obviously it’s rebuilding time.

The problem with the interior line besides the fact that they are all 30 plus years old is all 3 - Bitonio, Teller, and Pocic are all in the final year of their contracts. IMHO, it's highly suspect that any of the 3 will get an extension from the Browns. If I am correct, the other issue is the dead cap each of them will generate either leaving as a FA or retiring which takes effect at the start of the league new year in 2026: Bitonio @ $8,574,000, Teller @ $12,068,000, and Pocic @ $4,368,000 totaling $25,010,000 in 2026 dead cap for just these 3 players.

Let's not forget the Browns drafted Zac Zinter and Luke Wypler in the last few drafts and our designed to eventually take these roles. Both players had exceptional college careers at Michigan and OSU. I would expect another player or two drafted this year in the mid rounds to help with any future losses to the OLine.

I think we're hoping for Zinter to make a big step forward after his first full pro off-season.

I think with the way the roster and the cap is right now, it would be good if AB doesn't get too far out over his skis. OT, QB, RB is a problem today.

Says everyone who has been a member of Gamblers Anonymous EVER!

Conklin had said he wanted to finish his career in Cleveland. Taking a pay cut for this year might be an indication.