https://www.nfl.com/news/browns-signing-rb-d-ernest-johnson-to-one-year-2-4-million-deal

Good for him.

I am thrilled for that young man, and us.

Depending on the contract, this means either Johnson or Hunt will be traded for a pick.

Good news. I had hoped for 2-3 years.

Great news, but like peen, I would've like it to be longer. but, what do I know.

Probably Hunt. Although length of Watson suspension could dictate who is moved.

I sure hope that Felton isn't a guy we are counting on. I think there is a good chance he gets cut, but hey, what do I know?

He was getting snaps at receiver during OTAs. He was a 6th round pick so he is the exact type of guy that should be on the roster bubble.

Except Felton was 70% of UCLAs' offense his final year of college and as a rookie the Browns barely gave him the ball and one of those was a spectacular touchdown all by him, (from his spin move I guess). So he's exactly the type of player that should be developed. (Kind of like D'Ernest Johnson 3.5 years ago.)

I was meaning to say.

It's good that the Browns re-signed D'Ernest Johnson, he appears to play with heart and passion to the max.
You Go Slow Grind!
I'm happy for him, and I'm happy someone like D'Ernest, -meaning his route to the NFL- got resigned today.

It probably will be Hunt, but I strongly disagree w/that move. We won't get the value for him that he deserves. RBs don't command high draft picks. How Dorsey got a 3rd for Duke is beyond me, even if it was BOB.

A little surprised but happy with the move.

I'll be the first to admit that I'm not the sharpest tool in the shed when it comes to the logistical and financial ramifications of such things, but is it at all possible we might be thinking about a Hunt/Mayfield trade to a team willing to give up something juicy?

Probably not, right?

So what do you speculate that might be worth? I would love to keep Hunt. A Hunt/Chubb package would work a defense pretty hard. Ship Felton. How juicy might it get? Got me scratching my head.

No one is trading anything juicy for a backup running back and Baker.

We signed Johnson to this contract to get a draft pick. We just don’t know which running back will get us that draft pick yet.

I prefer Hunt over Johnson as well. Just thinking out loud.

In a vacuum I’d take Hunt over Johnson. The team has to take into account what they’d get back for each player and their salary. Neither player is going to get much in return and Hunt costs a bit more.

These are the type of decisions I trust our front office with.

We agree. I was basing my comment on the charts listed above where felton's name is all over them.

I do as well. My only reason for being in favor of trading him is I don't see a good chance we will be able to sign him again. I do see being able to add years to Johnson.

It's just a matter of long term value to the team. If we can get him extended before the trade deadline, I am all for it.

Farmer - of all people - got a 1st for Trent Richardson...that he used on Johnny Football or Justin "Are you kidding me" Gilbert.

Duke was actually traded for a conditional 4th that turned into a 3rd - based on being active for 10+ games...an easy bar to leap.

I think they move Hunt - and I won't like that either. I would think he is easily worth a 3rd...maybe with some conditions that sweeten the pot a little for us...to a 2nd?

For years I've watched the Steelers and Ravens trot out 3rd, 4th, and 5th string RBs who ran all over us...maybe it's our time to return the favors.

I suppose we could roster (5) RBs...especially if we nix the FB spot.

I think Felton will be utilized as a WR more than RB.

Tradeable commodity, I think Johnson is the guy who will get traded when a team has injuries and needs a RB. There aren't any big trade commodity in our RB room other than Chubb and I don't want him to be moved. Teams won't want to give much to get Hunt.
They all passed on him after he was a Pro Bowler and FA after his suspension.

I'm thinking we'll try to get Felton to the practice squad where he can be injury insurance for RB or WR. Depth is nice, but leads to risking other teams claiming your excess at times.

Happy for him for sure.. happy for the Browns as well.

Just wondering do we have enough carries to make/keep everyone happy?

Happy for him too. I hope the guy continues to show the NFL what he did last year and earn himself a bigger contract or more guaranteed money next contract. Dude seemed 100% genuine and I'd love to see him get paid.

At this point, I don't think any move will be made between Hunt and Johnson for the 2022 season, unless an offer blows the FO away. IIRC, this team kept 4 RBs on the roster. This most likely spells the end of Felton's time here barring any injury in TC. As much as I like Johnson and think he deserves a chance to start in the NFL, let's not forget his sample size is rather small. I'm not sure how confident the Browns would be with Johnson backing up Chubb if he were to go down. All of these RBs behind Chubb offer a ton of flexibility in this offense and I think the Browns felt they got value signing Johnson at this price when maybe they expected him to sign a long-term deal.

I guess I'm trying not to fall victim to Jerome Harrison syndrome just yet.

I think this is a wonderful precaution for what the team is expecting to come. I mean when watson gets suspended having a three headed monster at RB will be more important now than ever.

This signing was going to happen no matter what the QB situation was/is.

Yet it didn't happen until now. New lawsuit just flied. New lawsuit set to be filed the first of the week. Odd timing. Some people believe in such coincidences. Some people don't. To each their own.

The flip side of that is that there will be news stories coming out about DW and these allegations every week. Or Hardy will open his mouth and say something that will be written about. And football operations must continue so - every time a football decision is made it is going to be "around" another news story. I really don't know if the team can/will be making decisions as a reaction to any of these stories. They, like us, have to sit and wait and watch. Can't do a lot until the NFL actually makes some sort of announcement.

I don't believe it involves the stories themselves. More the content of actual quotes and and new developments themselves. Let's face it, Hardin's quote this week combined with yet a new lawsuit and a new one reported coming out this coming week changes things. And not for the good as it pertains to watson. I don't think that factual information is ignored by either side or by someone who has a 230 million dollar investment on the line.

For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.

You think there was a mad rush to sign D'Ernest Johnson once accuser #23 came forward??

I actually already explained that there was more than one factor. Lawsuiit #23, Hardin's crazy statement last week and it was announced that a lawsuit by accuser #24 would be coming out this week.

Do I know if that's true? No.

But let's face it, when the indications seem more and more likely that Jacoby Brissett may very well be your starting QB than watson, having a third reliable horse in your RB stable would appear to be more important. Mad rush is a phrase that I think is not what I'm trying to say here. I'm saying that as the situation has evolved it made it a higher priority to do so and the timing when looking at all the factors combined seem to suggest such.

Yeah, I see that now. You definitely make a good case for the "mentality".

Is it? though. ( a good case.) I mean.
I think they have absolutely nothing to do with each other, nothing in common whatsoever.

Wow, another Watson thread.

Maybe this is karma for all the posts you tried to bring Baker into all those years?

OL? Baker makes them look bad.
WR? Baker makes them look bad.
KS offense? Baker limits them.
Conservative defensive scheme? KS doesn't trust Baker.

Maybe a little hyperbole here - but also more than a grain of truth to it.

Bottom line - a poster has an opinion that a FO move was forced or in reaction to the events and news relating to our starting QB. I disagreed with him and told him why. I didn't just make a churlish comment. But that's just me. I guess we should be grateful you didn't call him Evil for his opinion.

Who needs a Accurate QB with these four RB's


Hand ball off and say go water boy !!!

As much as you hate to admit it or hear it, what happens with watson will impact many of the decisions this team makes now and moving forward. You're either going to have to learn deal with that fact or remain in denial. That's up to you.

Here are some things that nobody can actually deny. As I said, I don't know for a fact that the latest developments in the watson case are directly involved to the timing of signing Johnson. But the facts dictate it could very well be.

Johnson has sat there on the market for some time now. Yet during all that time we have heard nothing about the Browns having a deep desire to sign him. Last week there were at least three new developments in the watson case that further complicate the possible outcome. His lawyer pretty much crapped the bed with his comment. Yet another case was filed. It was announced yet another case is to be filed this week. Those three developments are not in dispute.

Despite my disapproval of the watson signing, not because of his play on the field but because of who he is, there are things I can not deny. And I doubt you would either.

DePodesta and crew are smart people. I actually don't think they made the decision to make such an offer to watson but that's just my opinion.

What we know to be a fact is that they are very analytically driven in their actions and decisions. As things change and develop they will make decisions based on those changes. Analytics are not stagnant. They change based on developments as they occur. Last week brought about several developments in the watson saga. The more information that leaks out, the worse this thing looks. The more we hear, the higher the likelihood that watson's suspension may be longer.

The timing of the signing may be coincidental. But the the timing of moves by billion dollar corporations aren't usually coincidental. It's also just as likely that this FO is looking at the new details that have come out and believe a longer suspension is becoming an even stronger possibility. As such they are preparing for the very real possibility that watson may not be around for much of, if any of this coming season. A lesser QB means they would probably focus more on the run and less on the pass. That means a third quality RB makes perfect sense for this season.

You see, I'm not saying any of this as a bad thing. It's actually smart. There is a very real possibility that watson will be suspended and it may be for a very long time. I actually believe that this FO, or at least the owner believed this would be nothing more than a six game suspension and everything would suddenly disappear and be forgotten. But Depodesta and his crew understand the longer this thing goes on the more likely it is that will not be the case.

So they are very smart to go out and sign Johnson as a short term insurance policy.

I would suggest that people take a look at just how many teams with a top tier QB pay their 3rd RB 2.4 million dollars as an indicator. Watson, on the field, is certainly a top tier NFL QB.

I think you'll find that teams with great QB's who they count on playing this season aren't paying their third RB that kind of money. So either you think DePodesta and crew are being reckless with the signing or you think they have found a reason to pay that amount. Your choice.

But don't act like it's not worthy of consideration because it is. I know you think people shouldn't be talking about it here. I know you think that the watson situation doesn't impact the moves this team is making, how it might impact our game plan or anything else that is directly impacted in regards to football. Oh, but it does.

j/c

I watch 30, and I think to myself, "this guy would either start or be near the top of the rotation in any quality NFL team." He has good instincts, good vision, and can hit holes as well as any feature back. Boggles my brain to think that he's #3 on our depth chart.

CLE backfield: a total embarrassment of riches.

.02

Nice post, Clem. I see the same things. I remember watching him play this year and thinking we are not missing a beat w/him in there and not having Chubb and Hunt available. That's not intended as any disrespect on Chubb and Hunt, but I tip my hat to DJ. Also, let's consider this for a moment............just how good is our offensive line? I still think they are the best in football when healthy.

They are that level of OL that makes average backs look good. When you have backs like 24 and 27 hitting their holes, it's no wonder we see so many 8-10 yard runs. The YouTube vid "3-headed monster" is a revelation. That Callahan line just dictates the LOS. Plug 30 in behind that line: same results. It's freaking beautiful to see.

A long time ago, well...not that long ago in relation to our old asses, but you said something to me about having good instincts when it comes to music. I literally know nothing about music other than what I think sounds good. Thus, that was a huge compliment and I was thrilled. Some people uplift others. Some degrade others. You chose the higher road. Likewise, I have always said that while you are not a real football guy, you always had a good eye for the game. You are not demonstrative in your points, but you provide good insights and keen observations. The latest observation that I failed to mention was your point about Callahan. I have no way of proving this, but I think the guy is the best OL coach in football. I love his scheme. I love his attention to detail. I love how he has taken a nobody like Teller and helped turn him into one of the most dominant guards in all of football. The guy is a great coach and we are lucky to have him. Don't be bashful about posting in here, my friend. More football talk will be appreciated and maybe some of the guys who used to love to talk football will come back and participate more.

We're starting to remind me of the Broncos in the early 2000's. Didn't matter who was in the backfield... Olandis Gary, Mike Anderson, Clinton Portis, Reuben Droughns, Tatum Bell, Mike Bell, Selvin Young, Quentin Griffin... they all looked like world beaters. Don't get me wrong -- Chubb, Hunt and even (maybe) Johnson are nothing to take for granted behind any line, but I feel like you could put anybody back there with Callahan in charge.

Hmmmm........that's a really good take. I never thought of that. Here is what makes it even better. Stefanski comes from the Shanahan/Kubiak tree and Mike Shanahan was the HC in Denver when they had that prolific running game and utilized the Zone Blocking System, which is my own personal favorite blocking scheme. I love talk like this and wish we could have more of it.

Forgot to add.........Kubiak was his OC, I believe.

I have some concerns that D'Ernest Johnson is a great 3rd back kind of like Duke Johnson was.

I wonder if he could actually start an entire season.

I think D Ernie is way better than the Duke. Not even close IMO.

Duke's specialty was as a receiving back. He was also plenty shifty, but not as big and strong as D Ernie ... Not sure if D'Ernest can catch the ball out of the backfield like Duke, but then few can. But as a RB I'd take DJ all day.

I never thought Duke was an every down back. I don't see DJ as a 3rd down back.

Last year, in his very limited useage, he had 19 catches for 137 yards, on 25 targets.

Hunt had injuries last year, but he had 22 catches for 174 yards on 27 targets.

I agree, but receiving isn't how I judge backs.

And Chubb had 20 catches on 25 targets for 174 yards. I guess he is just a 2 down back as well.

j/c:

This might be a dumb question, but what are we debating here?

Lol. That's what I was just thinking.

LOL........Fate gets what I'm asking, but for anyone else......I was not being snarky at all. I just couldn't figure out what the debate was.

The way football is evolving, you might want to start.

I think when judging a back you need to consider all components in regards to if he is a complete and well rounded back. I always combine his blocking ability and receiving ability into the equation to determine if he is a well rounded, every down RB. If one only looks at whether he can run the ball well, you are looking at one dimension of the skill set it actually takes to be a well rounded RB.

I just asked a question

I wasn't talking about you. I understood what you were asking/saying.

I just didn't get all the stats about the catches of all the different guys. There is probably a simple answer, but I just couldn't figure it out.

I couldn't figure out when Ytown responed to ThomasE and said he had x. x last year. Was he talking about D'Ernest Johnson, or Duke Johnson. hmm.