The first day of NFL free agency, popularly known as the period of legal tampering, ended without much activity from the Cleveland Browns. GM Andrew Berry and the Browns have taken a huge step to agree to safety John Johnson, but that’s the only player coming in after day one.
The Browns still need a pass rusher to face Myles Garrett, a position many expected Cleveland to feature prominently in free agency. That didn’t happen on day one, a time when there was a frenzy over pass rushers in the league.
Some of the deals are insane money, contracts that the Browns are smart not to compete with or cash out with. A few prominent potential goals for Cleveland ended up getting a lot more money from other teams than the Browns would rationally spend.
Take Trey Hendrickson. The Saints peak will go to Cincinnati for $ 60 million over four years. That’s a huge amount of money for a player with 20 bags in four seasons. More than half – 13.5 to be exact – came into his contract season while playing almost exclusively in passing situations.
Would Hendrickson help the Browns? Absolutely. But at that price tag? That would be a potential expansion of Baker Mayfield or other ways the team must spend to keep the emerging young contender’s core intact.
Hendrickson replaces Carl Lawson in Cincinnati. No doubt Lawson would have looked great in a brown uniform. But he’s PAID by the Jets,
For the #Jets and Carl Lawson: 3 years, $ 45 million with $ 30 million guaranteed. Up to $ 47.4 million. Great deal. https://t.co/JbL2TsViT0
– Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) March 16, 2021
A $ 15 million a year deal to become Garrett’s No. 2 in Cleveland is simply not a viable option, at least not in the long run. It’s hard to justify paying that much for a second fiddle. Someone who can enforce such a contract probably won’t be second fiddle for too long either.
Monday, there were several big deals to pass rushers:
Pass rushers …
Shaq Barrett: 4 years, $ 68 million
Bud Dupree: 5 years, $ 82.5 million
Trey Hendrickson: 4 years, $ 60 million
Matt Judon: 4 years, $ 56 million
Carl Lawson: 3 years, $ 45 million
Leonard Floyd: 4 years, $ 64 million
Yannick Ngakoue: 2 years, $ 26 million
Romeo Okwara: 3 years, $ 39 million* Structure / guarantees always tell the full story.
– NFL update (@MySportsUpdate) March 16, 2021
Olivier Vernon had to take a pay cut off-season last year to stay with Cleveland and luckily that worked out for both sides. Expect the Browns to learn from that experience that the highest salary isn’t necessary to get the kind of pass rush production and level of all-round play that Vernon competently offered in 2020.
The Browns took a keen interest in guys like Jadeveon Clowney and JJ Watt during Berry’s reign at GM. Clowney is still there a year after failing to grab a single bag; hopefully that crush has faded.
The market should now settle. There are fewer teams needing starters on the position, and the number of teams that can pay for the best remaining guys is also much lower than at the start of the legal sabotage period. The rest of the names aren’t premium players, but it looks like the Browns are okay with not paying for two premium defensive goals. Among those left who can help the Browns:
- Branch carist McKinley
- Tarell Basham
- Haason Reddick
- Carlos Dunlap
There’s also the draw next month, and the Browns are in a first-round range where they should be able to get an instant starter at EDGE, if they so choose. It’s no time to panic – it’s a day, after all – and Berry and the Browns are smart enough and patient enough to get the market to come to them.