DawgTalkers.net Forums DawgTalk Pure Football Forum Player News Continued.....

Glad we didn't sign him, but never really thought it was a realistic possibility.

Or they might not, if they see a QB they like who’ll be available when they pick. This is a weird draft at the top, considering all the particulars.

Not a good QB class, then you have the number of teams who need one, and the number of veteran quarterbacks seen as “bridge”.

I read he wanted 20 mil. Glad someone else paid him.

Yep. Apparently we weren’t in the sweepstakes. Ever.
Which old QBs remain, besides Flacco?

I could see them drafting Hunter as an enticement to land Cousins in a trade. No fast-starting young QB to compete with, a couple more line pieces and a RB in the draft plus Hunter. That might look to Cousins.

I agree, all the retreads come off like waving a white flag. Cousins is the only one who offers more than a 20% chance of breaking even. But not much more.

Really the Watson experience is something the team never, ever wants to repeat. Affecting on and off the field. Need a QB in the long haul as well as one that has great character. Watson era is over but the team need to really make it official.

Cam Ward is back on the menu!

LOLZ

It's unofficially official. To make it officially final we probably have to wait until June 1 of next year.

I'm not trying to be an A Hole here, but it sounds like you are saying, evaluate the rookies and take the best one at #2 no matter what? That's a slippery slope if none of them grade out. I think it's pretty obvious that if they graded out, they would be the pick. But, if you take one just on the basis of need and he misses, then you are screwed for another 4 years. If you look at draft history the odds are a QB is not going to get to a second contract anyway, but if you draft one with a second round grade at #2 overall, you are really asking for failure, imho.

On the other hand, there are a handful of players that are quite obviously top 5 graded players, that raises your success rate significantly.

As for retreads.. If it isn't a rookie, that is your only option besides waiting for Watson to heal.

Looking at, with experience:
Aaron Rodgers (NOPE)
Drew Lock (I certainly hope not)
Joe Flacco
Carson Wentz
Teddy Bridgewater
Then..
Case Keenum
Tyler Huntley
Desmond Ridder
Etc..

OR the trade route of Kirk Cousins

My top 2 choices are Kirk Cousins, then Joe Flacco... But I think we are heading towards a Carson Wentz in 2025 and probably a rookie drafted in the second round.

If your vet FA starter is going to be Wentz... why do you even bother? Just start the rookie because they're going to be playing by mid-season anyway.

I don't want Wentz at all. He was cooked like 5 years ago

Steelers' Art Rooney II on Aaron Rodgers pursuit: 'All signs are positive' QB is headed to Pittsburgh
Published: Apr 01, 2025 at 12:46 PM
https://www.nfl.com/news/aaron-rodgers-steelers-art-rooney-ii-positive-signs
Eric Edholm
Lead Draft Writer



Like sands through the hourglass, so are the days of our Aaron Rodgers-to-Pittsburgh updates.

Steelers president Art Rooney II offered an incremental update on his team's pursuit of the future Hall of Fame quarterback on Tuesday at the Annual League Meeting, inching closer to the free agent Rodgers potentially joining the team.

"We keep hearing that he's, I guess, headed in our direction," Rooney said, via ESPN's Brooke Pryor, "and so that seems to (indicate that) all signs are positive so far."

Positive, true, but hardly settled. Rooney admitted that the drawn-out process has gone on longer than anticipated after Rodgers and the team first met nearly two weeks ago.

"Didn't envision it taking this long," Rooney said.

Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin said Sunday that there was “no timetable” for Rodgers and the Steelers to make a decision. But there's also only so much sand in the glass. The Steelers aren't willing to wait indefinitely for Rodgers' decision.

"Not forever," Rooney said Tuesday, "but a little while longer."

With this rookie class, I wouldn't be so sure. Maybe with Jalen Milroe because of his special skillset, but none of the others have the start me now tools.

I am not a Carson Wentz fan. I think he is capable of getting us 7-8 wins. With a rookie, I think we will be right back at the top of the draft list in 2026.

The story line reads, "What does Berry and Stefanski have to do to keep their jobs?" I think they need 6-8 wins in 2025 to be given leeway. If they take a QB at #2, I give them 25 games... If they go the veteran route, I give them 22 games. Either way, I think they are going to start the 2026 season, but if they don't have a MASSIVE turnaround to start that season(first 5 games), Haslem will be pulling them quickly to get a jump on the next regime.

If they get 7-8 wins in 2025, they have saved their jobs for a full 2026 season, imho.

Haslem has taken the blame on Watson. Either he is giving them a pass on bad football because of it, or he feels he can't entice good replacements because of the mess they are in because of it. Either way, if the Browns manage to get 9 wins on the season, they will be given full pardon for the 2026 season... I think 7-8 wins might be enough to do it. A rookie isn't getting you 7 wins. Wentz is probably capable of that if they go early in on RB to fix the hole left by Chubb. If they go QB in the 2nd, Wentz probably won't get you to 7 wins either. They are going to need a running game to get those wins.

I think Pickett will be the starting QB for 2025. They will draft a QB (not at #2), at #33 (Milroe) or trading back into the 1st round (Dart).

That's so depressing

Looks like we picked a bad QB draft class to have the #2 pick when we need a QB. Like that time Lloyd Bridges picked a bad week to quit smoking.

And stop sniffing glue

I think Kirk Cousins is the best option for the team in the short term. The short term being 2025 starter and possible 2026 starter depending on which QB taken in 2025 draft class. I think the Brown must draft a QB this year, but it does not have to be pick #2. Cousins or Flacco are the only QB's available that can be the bridge. Also drafting a QB at pick 33 will not prevent the Browns from taking another QB in 2026 if the wheels come off and they find themselves picking top 5 again next year. I like Tyler Shough more than all of the other QB's because he is protype pocket passer. 6'5 and tough. In 2023 he broke his leg playing for Texas Tech vs West Virginia and tried to stay in the game. He is mobile and has a good arm. Most QB's scouts say he has the 2nd best QB film behind only Ward. His only 2 knocks are he is 25 and had 3 college seasons end in injury (all broken bones) so there should be no lingering injuries with him. If he was the developmental QB behind Cousins or Flacco he possibly could be the future QB. Cousins, Flacco, Pickett, or even Shough does not prevent the team from drafting a QB in 2026 if the team fails this season, but that QB room is a huge improvement vs 2024 and gives the team a chance to be competitive.

I would draft Travis Hunter #2 overall to be the starting corner opposite Ward and have a package of 15 to 20 offensive plays a game for him as wide receiver. A team with holes and 1 player can fill multiple gaps will be very hard to pass on.

I tend to agree with you here.


I also agree.....And I hope it will be Dart or Milroe depending on where they value each and how much they are potentially willing to trade up to get either of them. I don't think Dart be available with the 33rd pick so a move up would have to be made if that is the case. Not sure if Milroe is worth the 33rd but might not be there with the 67th pick, so the same would apply. The good thing is the Browns have a plethora of picks to move around but will need to contend with other teams who like Dart or the potential high upside of Milroe.

If we don’t draft a QB at#2, and I don’t think we should, I have no problem drafting Dart later although I think we will have to trade up to get him. If we do end up drafting Milroe I would sit him down so he can learn and grow into the position. That pretty much would be the game plan with any QB we draft. Milroe could probably benefit greatly by watching videos of Lamar Jackson as they seem to have a similar skill set.

Compensation update: Patriots are trading QB Joe Milton and a 7th-round pick to the Cowboys in exchange for Dallas’ compensatory 5th-round pick, per sources.


https://x.com/AdamSchefter/status/1907798948015677633

If we're looking at Dart, I think we may find it easier (and less taxing, literally) to trade out of #2 into the middle of first, pick up another second round pick and an additional high pick next year.

If Dart becomes the consensus #3 QB (whether reality or media narrative) then it will be hard to predict where he will land and a lot of teams sitting 10-20 will either have, or lie about having, multiple suitors for their pick.

I would have liked to see us trade for Milton.

Odds of Raiders drafting Sanders if he was available went down a bit.

I'm just wondering if this move is because they aren't interested in drafting Sanders if he is still on the board or have reasons to believe the Browns will draft him at #2 and he won't still be on the board?

Could impact Njoku negotiations if the rumors were true about visiting him in Miami last month.

Sorry, but you must be jesting with your comment. Njoku hasn't come close to earning the ridiculous contract Berry gave him:
Contract Value: $54,750,000 ($13,687,500 APY), Fully Guaranteed Money: $17,000,000, and Contract Ranking: 6/145 at TE.
I mean really, is there anyone anywhere that can think for a moment that Njoku was anywhere close to being the 6th best TE in all of football these last 4-5 years? In the 5-years here under Stefanski, Njoku has only 21 TD catches.

How about PFF grades:
2024 - 35th @ 64.0 - Heck, Njoku wasn't even graded as the top TE on the Browns (Adkins - 24th @ 67.2)
2023 - 21st @ 68,2

JMHO, Njoku should give money back to the Browns during contract negotiations - he's never turned into that star TE everyone had counted on. 8-years is long enough to wait, this project has never succeeded as thought by the Browns FO.

Impact doesn't mean they will pay more. Impact means what is means-- that this contract will effect negotiations with Njoku. This is the most recent TE contract, so whether he gets paid more or less will be impacted by this recent deal (whether it's the average annual amount, guaranteed dollars, etc.).

You (poorly) chose to interpret my comment in a way that you could spin it into a negative.

Sometimes people simply misunderstand the intent of a post and aren't trying to twist anything.

Not that time.

You have misinterpreted my post likewise. The contract for All-Pro TE Trey McBride should have zero - none - notta impact in the Njoku negotiations. As I stated, Njoku hasn't come close meeting the ROI as he enters the final year of his deal. Njoku should have never been given the extension in the first place because he never lived up to his lofty 1st round draft position. Most teams do not exercise the 5th options on players that fail to meet expectations, but the Browns & Berry (much like today's MSM) sold us a make-believe story on Njoku's young age and chance at improving as the reason for picking up the option and the eventual unworthy deal. 8-years later we are still waiting on that top-notch play from Njoku that has eluded the Browns, Berry, and the fans for 8-years now.

As I said and greatly misinterpreted, never mentioning future money, McBride's contract shouldn't have any more impact on Njoku's contract negotiations than Mahomes contract has an impact on Pickett's contract - apples and oranges.

2023 Njoku had 81 receptions for almost 900 yards. He has flashed but has not stayed consistent. Being a contract year, I am hoping he puts up good numbers this year. I would also like to see the Browns draft another quality TE. This year's draft is loaded with good tight ends that will be available in the mid rounds. Going back to 12 and 13 personal groupings it would be good to have multiple quality TE's information at the same time.

The fact of the matter is each time the salary cap goes up so do the contracts at every position. The salary cap divides up NFL profits. So salaries for TE's increase just like every other position. The fact that Trey McBride now holds the record contract for TE's is no different than how other top players at their positions will also be setting record contracts. It coincides with the increase in the salary cap.

What impacts Njoku's contract will be due to the salary cap increase and not the contract of Trey McBride.