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#752672 02/06/13 12:57 PM
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Figured we could use one of these threads.

Browns have an estimated $48.9 Million in cap space thanks to $14.3 Million in carryover (source). I'm not sure if the Browns actually filed to have all that carryover, or if they are required to under the new CBA, but that's what's available.

So who would you like to see the Browns go after?

Here are mine.

1 WR: Mike Wallace, PIT
2 WR: Brian Hartline, MIA
3 WR: Danny Amendola, STL
3 WR: Ted Ginn, SF
4 WR: Julian Edelman, NE

1 RB: Ronnie Brown, SD

1 S: Jarius Byrd, BUF
2 S: Dashon Goldson SF
3 S: Louis Delmas, DET

1 DE: Mike DeVito, NYJ
2 DE: Shaun Cody, HOU
3 DE: Alan Branch, SEA
4 DE: Jason Jones, SEA
5 DE: Ron Brace, NE

1 OLB: Paul Kruger, BAL
2 OLB: Anthony Spencer, DAL
3 OLB: Connor Barwin, HOU
4 OLB: Manny Lawson, CIN
5 OLB: Darryl Tapp, PHI
6 OLB: Shawn Merriman, BUF

1 ILB: Daniel Ellerbe, BAL
2 ILB: Geno Hayes, TB
3 ILB: Kirk Morrison. BUF
4 ILB: Leon Williams, KC

1 CB: Dominic Rogers-Cromartie, PHI
2 CB: Sean Smith, MIA

1 OG: Andy Levitre, BUF
2 OG: Brandon Moore, NYJ

1 K: Phil Dawson, CLE

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Give me:

1. OG - Andy Levitre
2. S - Jarius Byrd
3. OLB - Connor Barwin or Paul Kruger
4. ILB - Daniel Ellerbe


Two or three of those guys would be incredible


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Wallace and of course Dawson.


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Quote:

Give me:

1. OG - Andy Levitre
2. S - Jarius Byrd
3. OLB - Connor Barwin or Paul Kruger
4. ILB - Daniel Ellerbe


Two or three of those guys would be incredible




Nice list. I would add Dawson

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I'll add a name to your list..

CB Captain Munnerlyn from the Panthers.. aside from the fact that I think his name is cool.. he's a serviceable nickel CB and a returner..


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Richard Seymour is available and he is still productive. He could be a good rotational defensive linemen to have.

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Kruger would be my #1 target for the defense.

He's only 26, the Ravens will have a really hard time keeping Flacco and very much else. Kruger has consistently improved since his rookie year. He went from 0 sacks, to 1, to 5.5, to 9 this past year. (and 4.5 in the playoffs, including 2 in the Super Bowl) Plus, if I'm not mistaken, Kruger started out as a DE, and then moved to OLB.

Hell, I might even go after Ellerbe as well. Grabbing a pair of guys who are used to playing alongside one another cannot hurt.

Sean Smith might be a nice addition if we wanted a big corner to play opposite of Haden.


Man ...... those 3 moves would make this defense one hell of a lot better immediately, and would fill holes with high quality young players. They wouldn;t be cheap, but we have money and cap space. Finding a FS would be a plus.


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Its really easy to get carried away with FA speculation so I've tried to keep my wish list reasonable.

Tier One
Paul Kruger OLB- I don;t think we'll get him. With Suggs not looking great after his comeback, I think they shell out for Kruger.

Dannell Ellerbe ILB- This kid is coming on. I think the Ravens will make a play for him but I think Kruger will be their bigger priority, allowing us to wrap up a new ILB.

Jarius Byrd FS- FINALLY we have a legit safety to go besides Ward.

Doug Legursky C/G- I know you're thinking "What?" but whenever Legursky is called upon, he steps up big and plays well. Good versatility and makes the Steelers weaker. I think he's a potential bargain.

Tier 2

Ramses Barden WR- Stuck behind a crowded scene in New York, Measureables are ridiculous. I think given a chance he could be good.

Delanie Walker TE- Gives us an upgrade on every TE we have not named Watson.

Patrick Chung FS- Backup plan if we don't get Byrd.

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Frostee Rucker? I heard he's available.



Kruger would be a main target too. And maybe Sean Smith.

I don't want the Browns to make a huge splash, but hit some key positions and then wait for the draft.


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I think Chung is a little overrated because of his national exposure with the Patriots. The Patriots' defense got much better when Devin McCourty took over the safety position this year.

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Quote:

I think Chung is a little overrated because of his national exposure with the Patriots. The Patriots' defense got much better when Devin McCourty took over the safety position this year.




True. Thats why he's the backup. He's better than Usama or Gipson though.

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If we could somehow get Wallace or Amendola I would be super excited. Gordon/Wallace/Little/Benjamin or Gordon/Amendola/Little/Benjamin, either one is fine.

Realistically I would say we have about a 2% chance of getting either guy. But if we did get one we could potentially have one of the best receiving corps in the league if Gordon and Little take a step forward.

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Oh how far Shawne Merriman has fallen. In 2006, he seemed destined for the Hall of Fame. I wouldn't mind signing him for a minimum contract to see if he has even a drop of worth left.

Kruger would be a huge get for us. I hope we make a serious effort to get him. He'd be perfect for us.


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Guards Levitre, Louis Vasquez (Chargers), or Kevin Boothe (Giants). Boothe is also a backup center...

OLBs Kruger, Barwin, or Philip Wheeler (Oakland).

CBs Chris Houston (Lions) or Tony Carter (Broncos).

DE Michael Bennett (Buccaneers)

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We need a linebacker, a defensive end, and a safety.

Wide Receiver would be absolutely HUGE for this offense moving forward, especially with the addition of Alex Smith (if we get him, which I hope we do).

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I'm not thrilled w these WRs.

Overrated, over the hill, &/or injury prone all come to mind. I'd be all about Victor Cruz if he weren't a restricted f.a.

Hartline intrigues me...

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Quote:

Guards Levitre, Louis Vasquez (Chargers), or Kevin Boothe (Giants). Boothe is also a backup center...

OLBs Kruger, Barwin, or Philip Wheeler (Oakland).

CBs Chris Houston (Lions) or Tony Carter (Broncos).

DE Michael Bennett (Buccaneers)




Safeties Byrd (duh), Glover Quinn (Texans), William. Moore (Falcons), or Kenny Philips (Giants).

DT Sammie Lee Hill (Lions)

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Last I read it was 47m, so this number makes sense to me. Don't forget we need to spend at least 88% of the cap as well, so there's roughly a floor of $10-12m under the $48.9m.

My choices:
Re-up some of our players (Mack, Haden, Ward)
S Dashon Goldson
CB Brent Grimes
OG Brandon Moore
TE Martellus Bennett

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I don't understand how the 88% thing works, especially with carryover.

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thanks for setting up this thread.

okay, i'm going to try to be somewhat realistic in listing guys we have chances to actually get. i'd love Ed Reed, Joe Flacco and Terrell Suggs as much to hurt the Ravens as to help us, but none of those are going to happen IMO.

focusing on needs for depth and starters:

CB (need a starter either here or draft)
Sean Smith
Quentin Jammer
Cary Williams
Derek Cox

FS (need a starter or at least some depth)
J. Byrd (doubtful we can get him)
C. Clemons
J. Sanford
L. Delmas (health)
C. Lynch (depth - SD)
Rashad Johnson (depth only - but he's linked w/ Horton)
*love William Moore but all reports are ATL franchise-tagging him.

OLB - really need 2 (1 starter and 1 depth at least)
Spencer (likely lots of bidding here)
Philips (will Norv help?)
Barwin (doubt Houston lets him leave)
Groves (AZ - so Horton should help, I like him)
V.Butler (depth)

------------------------------------------------

OG
Louis Vasquez (SD - cmon Norv!)
Tyronne Green (SD again - gotta get one of them Norv!)
Geoff Schwartz (depth)

TE
Jared Cook (basically a younger Watson who is a FA, I'd like it)
Watson (fine with bringing him back)
Delanie Walker (an okay fallback option)
Ben Hartsock (CAR - don't be surprised to see Chud bring him in as TE2)

WR
Welker (okay, but dreaming big in this category)
J.Simpson
T.Ginn (we already have Benjamin, but he's better than Norwood/Cooper)
L.Murphy (see T.Ginn)
J.Shipley (just to see the reaction)

RB
R. Brown (SD - Norv ties + we need a 3rd RB. perfect fit IMO)
Goodson
Forsett
A.Brown
J.Battle

QB
D.Anderson (obvious Chud ties can teach Weeden/Colt in coaches blackout period. only for depth obviously)
M.Moore (don't want him starting though)


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WR Hartline and Wallace

OLB Kruger

ILB Ellerbe

OG Levitre

K Dawson (Make him the FIRST signing.)


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Most of the names thrown around here either won't make it to FA (re-signed) or will get tagged in hope for some draft pick(s) compensation

That said, of the more "probable" names:

DE DeVito
DE Canty (just got released)

CB Munnerlyn
CB DJ Moore
CB Houston
CB Cason

RB R.Brown

T/G G.Schwartz

QB Moore
QB DA


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Quote:

I don't understand how the 88% thing works, especially with carryover.




Here's a hypothetical. Lets say the cap figure is 127.5M. All teams will need to spend at least 88.8% of that amount (112.776M), but no more than 100%. So, if the Browns were to have 47M available (based on the 127.5M) it means we have 80M tied up in salaries/bonuses. That means we'll need to spend between 32.7M and 47M. If we have 5 million in carry over, I believe that means we'll have to spend between 32.7M and 52M, but I also believe that is just a one year carryover - so we'd need to be careful with spending more than the cap - maybe throw an extra 5M for a guy for 1 year?

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Ok so we only need to spend 88% of the original cap number. The carryover number is not relevant to the floor... We don't have to spend $30Mil, more like $15Mil.

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Quote:

Quote:

I don't understand how the 88% thing works, especially with carryover.




Here's a hypothetical. Lets say the cap figure is 127.5M. All teams will need to spend at least 88.8% of that amount (112.776M), but no more than 100%. So, if the Browns were to have 47M available (based on the 127.5M) it means we have 80M tied up in salaries/bonuses. That means we'll need to spend between 32.7M and 47M. If we have 5 million in carry over, I believe that means we'll have to spend between 32.7M and 52M, but I also believe that is just a one year carryover - so we'd need to be careful with spending more than the cap - maybe throw an extra 5M for a guy for 1 year?




And that includes the money we'd spend on guys we already have, as of now? Resigning, bonuses, whatnot . . . ?

Also, local radio guys in C-Bus are saying the 3 teams to really go after Mike Wallace are Cinci, K.C., & Miami. Sounded like they were reading reports or rumors, not just speculating.

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I'd love for us to go for Wallace.

26 years old, and has averaged 60 catches, 1000 yards and 8 TDs since he was drafted in 2009.

I think he'd be a great addition to our team and would definitely be motivated for the Steelers games twice a year.


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What we have allocated towards the cap would be salaries, prorated bonuses, etc... for the football year that starts in March (unsure of the date).

Any re-signing between now and then (if it can even be done, not sure) would hit the cap accordingly - 2013 salary plus any prorated bonuses.

I'd expect we'd have a John Clayton article in the next month or so with cap info. Also expect cuts between now and the beginning of the football year - all teams need to be at or below the cap number by then.

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Wallace makes me nervous. Blazing speed for sure, but I'm not sure where his head' s at or how much of his focus isn't on getting paid. And he has had his fair share of drops...

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I'm not sure we really need Wallace. I like our young WR core as it is. I honestly believe Gordon will develop into our #1 with Little falling into #2. I'd rather spend most of our draft and free agency on defensive pieces.

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Quote:

R. Brown (SD - Norv ties + we need a 3rd RB. perfect fit IMO





A RB? Really? IMO we already have 4 pretty good ones. Brandon Jackson was pretty much shelved last season, but the guy is a very good 3rd down back. With Trent and Hardesty, I think signing a FA RB would be a massive waste of money.


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My thoughts exactly.

Richardson, Hardesty, B-Jax is a very good backfield.

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Jackson was on a two year deal and is a free agent.

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Quote:

I'm not sure we really need Wallace. I like our young WR core as it is. I honestly believe Gordon will develop into our #1 with Little falling into #2. I'd rather spend most of our draft and free agency on defensive pieces.




3 receivers is better than 2. Especially since only one of them - Wallace - has proven anything in the league. What are we gonna do if Little or Gordon get hurt? Or don't pan out? I don't want to be in a position where if we're making a playoff push and one of these guys gets hurt, I have to count on Travis Benjamin or Josh Cooper to have a big game to save the season. I won't even mention MoMass because he hasn't proven he can stay on the field. Cribbs is also not a legit starter at WR IMO. They should be "spot" guys that are used as 5th receivers, not guys that are a play away from being starters. This is a passing league, I don't think you can have too many options on offense these days - especially for a team $50 million under the cap.

Look at the top passing teams in the league. They all have at least 3 big time targets:
Saints: Colston, Moore, Graham.
Cowboys: Bryant, Witten, Austin
Pats: Welker, Lloyd, Gronk, Hernandez
Broncos: Thomas, Decker, Tamme, Stokley (all these guys got bumped up because of Manning's play though)
Falcons: White, Jones, Gonzalez
Packers: Cobb, Jones, Finley, Driver, Nelson, Jennings

These were the top passing offenses last year (excluded the Lions because Megatron carried them).

Basically they all had at least 2 guys each get over 1000 yards (with the 3rd guy getting close - or at least much better than our 3rd option, and hell even our second or first options in some cases). I think the current Browns corps is not capable of that, and that's what it takes to be an elite team in the league today. Having Wallace, Little and Gordon out there, with Richardson in the backfield makes this a much more versatile and dangerous team.


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From the examples you gave, it sounds like we should prioritize tight end.


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I was actually thinking about that. But the tight ends listed (Graham, Gronk, Finley) play more like wideouts than traditional TEs. I don't see a TE like that in this draft. The only guys who seem to have that potential are Zach Ertz and Jordan Reed (maybe Peen knows about this Florida guy?). To be honest, I don't really know anything about the TEs this year but none of them seem to be "can't miss prospects". Winslow should have been that guy for us, but his knees ruined what I thought was HoF potential.


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Quote:

3 receivers is better than 2.




Have people forgotten about Travis Benjamin? We have two potential legit starters and a promising slot guy. I wouldn't touch a high-priced WR, not when we have so many other holes to fill.


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Quote:

Quote:

3 receivers is better than 2.




Have people forgotten about Travis Benjamin? We have two potential legit starters and a promising slot guy. I wouldn't touch a high-priced WR, not when we have so many other holes to fill.





Yep. The only receiver I would even talk to would be Amendola. Solid hands and now we'd be 4 deep.

Sticking with the "Build through the Draft" philosophy and supplement with Free Agency theme here. Fill needs in FA. It's time this year and next to get some 5 year Vets in here to start our run. Not 10 year Vets. Guys that will be in their Prime. And nothing Mario Williams like contract wise.

We need 2 Offensive players.

Vasquez RG
Walker TE

We need 3 Defensive players.

Free Safety-Best that makes it to the market-Phillips?
CB-Lewis-Smith-Carter
ILB-Ellerbe

Now here's a shocker that many won't like. It's the one move Banner & Lombardi will make to have people up in arms. It will start the these guys are boneheads movement but it would be for the better of this team.

D'Quell Jackson TRADED. He's proven he cannot get off blocks in any 3-4 defense. Ellerbe CAN. DQ's stock is at its highest right now. Healthy and proven now in a 4-3. If we could land a 2nd rounder for him after inking Ellerbe, I drive him to Hopkins as fast as I can get away with. Those 2 moves shows times are changing in Cleveland.

And with the 6th pick in the draft?

Moore
Werner
Jones (Must pass medicals with zero doubt)

Now THAT'S a defense to go forward with and very very doable without future Cap ramifications. Banner's strong point is well known to be Salary Cap related. Structure these FA contracts to have a significant portion of the hits coming in 2013 and 2014.

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Travis Benjamin is NOT a slot WR...have you seen him play? He's not close to being tough enough for playing the slot and go over the middle, that's not his game

Benjamin is a no4 speed WR and returner, who runs a handful of routes, mostly just striking deep...he's absolutely limited playing on the outside


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Quote:

I'm not sure we really need Wallace. I like our young WR core as it is. I honestly believe Gordon will develop into our #1 with Little falling into #2. I'd rather spend most of our draft and free agency on defensive pieces.




Wallace is on my wish list, but you are probably right, he may cost too much and be a prima donna type that we don't need. we need either for Weeden to step up or a another QB, and then Defense. Depending on Watson, we may need a TE as well.


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Picking up Ed Reed would be bananas. (good)

Otherwise I want either (in order) Byrd, Rhodes, Goldson.

Frankly I want to see Sheldon Brown back there at FS but for some reason the FO seems hesitant to do it. For what ever reason the free safety play in this league is atrocious right now. Makes Young/Gipson seem passable, which is sad.

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