2023 Off-Season Free Agent moves/signings

[7moses7]

1 hour ago, Unsympathetic said:

A lot of stats options at this link : snap count analysis 2022 Browns TE

How about Dalton Schultz from the Cowboys?

[SdBacker80]

7 hours ago, Korsou Dawg said:

You have indeed preached the gospel of the IDL, to the point it was described by other board members as beating a dead horse. 

That's the thing. Many, including myself, doubted the FO would (fully) address this. It has however been the primary focus of free agency so far. Looks like Jim has demanded more big boys up front. 

As you are probably aware, I made the “beating the dead horse” comment.  Before making that comment on a few occasions during and after the 2022 season, I acknowledged IDL is a weak/weaker unit on that team.

No one in their right mind would be  comfortable with Bryan, Winfrey, Elliot, Togai.   I hoped for a rotation keeping these four fresh and expected some adjustment like 3rd down blitz package bringing Myles inside.  We heard some rumblings of Elliot getting better and the Winfrey pick was praised by many.   I expected our two bookends to play well and maybe mask or compensate for a few deficiencies.  One did. 
 

Let’s go one year back…Going into 2022 we had issues beyond just this unit.  If you recall, we had an internal debate here about Baker and needing and hopefully finding an alternative to Baker.  In order to do that we gave up draft capital- some of which could been utilized to acquire established IDL talent or draft IDL talent.

We are no different than anyone else …We want it all…we want it right away. 

There was some proof (keep in mind I don’t play Madden, I didn’t play collegiate football and I didn’t coach Football.  I am just a retired HS wrestling coach and a corporate hack) that when the above mentioned guys did their job (it wasn’t consistent enough) that LBs weren’t filling properly.  Hello Jacob Phillips.  Safeties weren’t reading cues/assignment and making half @ss attempts.  Hello and Goodbye John Johnson.  When Teams/Organizations/Families have some issues  it is usually never just one thing. 
 

My perhaps uneducated opinion was replacing IDL was necessary BUT let’s not leave out replacing the D coordinator essentially getting a new voice and direction there and fixing the middle second level and middle third level of this defense. 
 

And essentially I made excuses for the front office…some made excuses for Joe Woods.  Some were highly critical of Brissett!?   Like most Browns fans I’m tired of making excuses.  

i like the emphasis thus far.  I’d like a Mike though. 

 

 

[Orion]

4 hours ago, SdBacker80 said:

 Safeties weren’t reading cues/assignment and making half @ss attempts.  Hello and Goodbye John Johnson.

I agree with a lot of your post, but I don't get all the hate for JJ.  He was second on the team in tackles, 2 behind the leader...who was also a Safety (Delpit).

Supposedly Woods' defense was confusing...resulting in missed assignment reads.  

There were a bunch of us that were apprehensive before the season about our IDL and lighter, quicker LB'er theory, as to whether it would hold up against the run.  

[Orion]

Browns sign Watson’s former tight end according to his agent

Well, Flugal & I were just talkin' about not being impressed with what we had behind Njoku...

[gumby73]

28 minutes ago, Orion said:

Browns sign Watson’s former tight end according to his agent

Well, Flugal & I were just talkin' about not being impressed with what we had behind Njoku...

Big fan of TE's that can block, with good handles for hands .. Was in for a FA visit today 👍

Jordan Akins is coming off his best season as a pro with 37 catches for 495 yards and five touchdowns earning a 72.4 overall grade from Pro Football Focus.

Jordan Akins is a big target in the red zone at 6-foot-4 and 243 pounds with reliable hands only having one dropped pass in 49 targets for a terrible Texans team last season.

Akins agreed to a two-year contract worth a maximum of $5.2 million.

Another good signing

[Orion]

This is a make or break year for Trigger-Finger Haslems Henchmen.  Berry & Stef know that their jobs are on the line to show results with their new 'top notch QB' (in theory top notch).  

Their top two picks in the draft are #42 & #98.   How much could they possibly hope to fix in the draft...with players that have never played a snap in the NFL?  

Some people were against 'overpaying' in FA.  But how were these guys supposed to save their jobs?  How were they supposed to stop the run without bringing in some IDLinemen?  How are they supposed to replace Clowney?  Get a starting safety?  Improve the TE position behind Njoku?  

They HAD to get some things done in FA.  It's a tool that had to be used.  And they've used it to address the areas that we've all felt that were in serious need.  Of course we still need more, like WR and perhaps MLB...but now we go to the draft with less of a mandatory shopping list.     

[MLD Woody]

On 3/16/2023 at 6:04 AM, tiamat63 said:

@MLD Woody well, there's your 3 tech depth. 

Dude has had such an unlucky career. From the heart issue right before the draft to injuries during his time in the NFL. Was a stud at Michigan too. An interior pass rush in college is deadly. 

Hoping for the best here, obviously. Has a long way to go though

 

 

[ballpeen]

3 hours ago, Orion said:

This is a make or break year for Trigger-Finger Haslems Henchmen.  Berry & Stef know that their jobs are on the line to show results with their new 'top notch QB' (in theory top notch).  

Their top two picks in the draft are #42 & #98.   How much could they possibly hope to fix in the draft...with players that have never played a snap in the NFL?  

Some people were against 'overpaying' in FA.  But how were these guys supposed to save their jobs?  How were they supposed to stop the run without bringing in some IDLinemen?  How are they supposed to replace Clowney?  Get a starting safety?  Improve the TE position behind Njoku?  

They HAD to get some things done in FA.  It's a tool that had to be used.  And they've used it to address the areas that we've all felt that were in serious need.  Of course we still need more, like WR and perhaps MLB...but now we go to the draft with less of a mandatory shopping list.     

No doubt.

FA is where you address needs.  You get proven players at positions of need.  Those guys may flop, but it is a far surer thing than trying to fix that in the draft.

If you try to do that in the draft you end up reaching for players at the expense of passing better players.  You are also banking on rookies stepping right in and making significant impact, which doesn't happen all that often.

I don't think there is any doubt that Haslam has let Berry and Stefanski know in no uncertain terms that this is a very important season for their continued employment with the Browns.

[Korsou Dawg]

Some of us were really gunning for another TE, but Akins wasn't exactly what I had in mind. Sure he can catch the ball, but he posted a career-low run blocking PFF grade of 45.7 last season. Yikes!

What say you @Flugel?

[Orion]

1 hour ago, Korsou Dawg said:

Sure he can catch the ball, but he posted a career-low run blocking PFF grade of 45.7 last season

Ooops!  That's bad.  

[Orion]

8 hours ago, ballpeen said:

FA is where you address needs.  You get proven players at positions of need.  Those guys may flop, but it is a far surer thing than trying to fix that in the draft.

If you try to do that in the draft you end up reaching for players at the expense of passing better players.  You are also banking on rookies stepping right in and making significant impact, which doesn't happen all that often.

Quoting this because it's exactly how I see things.  Try to address needs in FA and take the BPA in the draft.  Of course you've gotta walk the money tight-rope in FA.

[TexasAg1969]

22 minutes ago, Orion said:

Quoting this because it's exactly how I see things.  Try to address needs in FA and take the BPA in the draft.  Of course you've gotta walk the money tight-rope in FA.

And since we don't seem to be addressing WR in FA, looks like we are hoping for a WR BPA in maybe more than just round 2. Finally I'm starting to perk up interest in the draft this year because I like what we are doing in FA., especially in our greatest weakness last season, DL.

[Flugel]

2 hours ago, Korsou Dawg said:

Some of us were really gunning for another TE, but Akins wasn't exactly what I had in mind. Sure he can catch the ball, but he posted a career-low run blocking PFF grade of 45.7 last season. Yikes!

What say you @Flugel?

I think we still need to draft a TE.  The Draft Mag I got has TE as the highest rated offensive position group of this year's draft prospects with a grade of an A.  QB was second highest with a grade of A-.  That tells me this is a pretty good year to be looking for a TE in the draft.  It also gives me the impression that the BPA could be TE at least once...

 

 

Edited March 18, 2023 by Flugel

[gumby73]

Did play the position thru HS.. just adding my 2 cents on the TE room..

1. Njoku got better with run blocking because Bill Callahan would not exempt Joke from the OL group.. Than, TE coach Drew Petzing, gave Callahan credit in coaches pressers... Expect Bill Callahan to correct Jordan Adkins form also. It would not surprise me, if Callahan was not part of meeting with Adkins during his FA visit.. He fits the NFL TE frame/weight to do it ! He will see 2 TE sets.. run or pass

Staying on TE, frames..

2. Harrison Bryant... 

I'm thinking AB/staff thought H. Bryant could grow into a TE body frame of over 230 lbs. but, He seems stuck there.. Last season, it came to the point of bringing in Forbes or Hudson to remove Harrison from the blocking game.. Yes! It told the defense we were going to run the ball.. but, Percentages will show, we were still better with 4 linemen & Njoku.. Taking H. Bryant off the field.

I'm not Bailing on Harrison Bryant ! He needed competition at the TE2 position..

[Dutch Oven]

55 minutes ago, Flugel said:

I think we still need to draft a TE.  The Draft Mag I got has TE as the highest rated offensive position group of this year's draft prospects with a grade of an A.  QB was second highest with a grade of A-.  That tells me this is a pretty good year to be looking for a TE in the draft.  It also gives me the impression that the BPA could be TE at least once...

 

 

And the TE position gets pretty bare after this season, too. 

But I also think the days of multi-TEs on the field are over. All indications are that the Browns will be opening things up this coming season. 

[tiamat63]

10 minutes ago, Dutch Oven said:

 

But I also think the days of multi-TEs on the field are over.

 

Sir, I have Coach Andy Reid and The Chiefs on line 1.  They would like a word with you.

[Dutch Oven]

12 minutes ago, tiamat63 said:

 

Sir, I have Coach Andy Reid and The Chiefs on line 1.  They would like a word with you.

Yeah, I still expect to see way more 1 RB/ 1 TE/ 3 WR sets than multi-TEs on the field. 

The Browns didn't trade for Watson to pound the ball.  

[tiamat63]

43 minutes ago, Dutch Oven said:

Yeah, I still expect to see way more 1 RB/ 1 TE/ 3 WR sets than multi-TEs on the field. 

The Browns didn't trade for Watson to pound the ball.  

 

I think you're conflating 12 personnel with the running game.   

 The reason I use the Chiefs as an example is that they're still a pass heavy team who utilizes 12 more frequently than years previous and more often than teams that are run heavy, such as the Iggles.  

 KC ran 12 on 1st down 32% of the time. 

 Their first down formation was gun based 66% percent of the time.

 But they were still bottom 3 in the NFL in run rate at 33%.  

 

 Conversely 

PHI was 10th in rush rate %

But only used 12 on 1st down 21% of the time, tied for 23rd.  

PHI used gun on 1st down more than any team in the NFL, 72%.

 

 I go back to the days of Gronk and Hernandez when they took the league by storm as the TE dynamic duo.  Although Hernandez was more of a + H or 'move' TE.  The Pats still took advantage of having the larger body in the lineup by the mismatch it gave them in the passing game, first and foremost.  

Edit: also worth pointing out, just because you're in 12 personnel, doesn't mean you're under center in a YY and running the rock.  This is where you have to take deployment into account.  Kelce, Geseiki, Waller, Andrews, Goodert...  They function every bit as much as a removed receiver as they do a "traditional" inline TE.   Again, does having bigger bodies help the running game and for most teams mean they want to emphasis that part of their game? Sure.  

 But these are examples of teams that go against our classic understanding of that sort of offensive play call and personnel structure. 

 

 

[Flugel]

23 minutes ago, Dutch Oven said:

And the TE position gets pretty bare after this season, too. 

But I also think the days of multi-TEs on the field are over. All indications are that the Browns will be opening things up this coming season. 

Makes sense Dutch.   My biggest worry is we currently don't have a reliable Left Tackle protecting the blind side of Watson. Therefore, it feels like we gotta rob Peter to pay Paul here in terms of what the Browns would like to do vrs what they should do.  IMO, they should line up a TE to the left of Wills.  I don't mind having a RB chip on the edge rusher every now and then in lieu of that.  Look at all of the help we have to barrow from could-be receivers to help Wills with pass pro at the LOS.  Unfortunately, that restricts how many receivers we can attack defenses with downfield.   

[Flugel]

16 hours ago, Orion said:

This is a make or break year for Trigger-Finger Haslems Henchmen.  Berry & Stef know that their jobs are on the line to show results with their new 'top notch QB' (in theory top notch).  

Their top two picks in the draft are #42 & #98.   How much could they possibly hope to fix in the draft...with players that have never played a snap in the NFL?  

Some people were against 'overpaying' in FA.  But how were these guys supposed to save their jobs?  How were they supposed to stop the run without bringing in some IDLinemen?  How are they supposed to replace Clowney?  Get a starting safety?  Improve the TE position behind Njoku?  

They HAD to get some things done in FA.  It's a tool that had to be used.  And they've used it to address the areas that we've all felt that were in serious need.  Of course we still need more, like WR and perhaps MLB...but now we go to the draft with less of a mandatory shopping list.     

This is a great post.  I like where you and Ballpeen are coming from.  I'll clarify my take on FA.  I prefer to build through good drafting and supplement immediate needs through free agency.  Teams that draft well usually have healthy caps as opposed to teams that tend to lean too much on free agency.  That said, this FO realized previous mistakes made and were extremely well prepared to pounce on opportunities to upgrade the IDL/DL and replace a starting Safety.  I'd love it if they punctuated this with a great draft.

 

 

[gumby73]

We don’t have cap information yet on:

• Akins
• Hill
• Hurst

Without the latter three contract details, Cleveland still has over $11 million in cap space to work with. On June 2nd, they will add almost $11 million more to that number but can’t spend that money until then.

Based on performance, injury history and one-year deals, it is likely that Hurst and Hill won’t cost much more than minimum salaries, just over $1 million in salary cap. Akins deal has been reported to be a two-year contract maxing out at $5.2 million but the details of that structure matter greatly for the salary cap.

If they want to keep adding players beyond the current $11 million, they have the flexibility to restructure the contracts of Myles Garrett, Joel Bitonio, Wyatt Teller and Denzel Ward to add more space.

not certain, if drafted slotted players contracts were included in this number either

[Orion]

50 minutes ago, gumby73 said:

If they want to keep adding players

My hunch is they're about done with major singings.  I think if a WR they wanted were available, they'd have signed him already.  But who knows.

So now, with defensive improvements in place (in theory)...what if a LT that they kinda' liked were to happen to be there at #42?   Or is there no way we can do that with the current situation of Wills (1st rounder) and Conklin?  (crazy talk, I know...but I'm just not a huge fan of Wills)

[gumby73]

1 hour ago, Orion said:

My hunch is they're about done with major singings.  I think if a WR they wanted were available, they'd have signed him already.  But who knows.

So now, with defensive improvements in place (in theory)...what if a LT that they kinda' liked were to happen to be there at #42?   Or is there no way we can do that with the current situation of Wills (1st rounder) and Conklin?  (crazy talk, I know...but I'm just not a huge fan of Wills)

I quit stressing on OL issues when Callahan got hired .. Your not replacing Wills at LT or RT, picking at #42 in this draft..

The WR FA market got crazy money last season..not much changed this FA season  $$.. Draft & grow your own cost little..See Bengals now less Tee Higgins..

 looking at this depth chart 🧐 it really needs youth building beginning at... MLB and Safety depth and Tackle  

[BrownsnMopar]

My hope with the Browns O line is to move Wills to the RT spot after Conklin leaves or retires! We will need to address the LT in an upcoming draft when we have our own 1st rounders again.... or in FA after Conklin...my .02 cents

GO BROWNS!!! ✌️😎

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[ballpeen]

15 hours ago, Korsou Dawg said:

Some of us were really gunning for another TE, but Akins wasn't exactly what I had in mind. Sure he can catch the ball, but he posted a career-low run blocking PFF grade of 45.7 last season. Yikes!

What say you @Flugel?

I don't know, I don't really care if a TE can block.  If blocking is what you want, line up a back-up tackle or guard to grind out that yard.  

I want TE's to be offensive weapons more than being a blocker.

[Korsou Dawg]

7 hours ago, ballpeen said:

I don't know, I don't really care if a TE can block.  If blocking is what you want, line up a back-up tackle or guard to grind out that yard.  

I want TE's to be offensive weapons more than being a blocker.

And I wanted both, and still do. Tia explained above how 12 personnel is utilized for both pass and run in today's NFL. Where that formation shines for me is when you can really do both, and the opposing D has to account for that. An 'old school' TE who can block and catch would really benefit that. 

Getting Akins on the field doesn't do that for me. Neither does a back-up tackle or guard. That's signalling exactly what you are intending to do. 

Edited March 19, 2023 by Korsou Dawg
Typing with a hangover

[ballpeen]

First, I didn't want it to sound like I was putting you down for mentioning blocking. It is important, but it is last thing I care about at positions like that.

 

As for signaling, in 90% of the cases they already know what you are going to do.  Somewhere on the team we have a big guy who can catch.  They aren't total clods, at least all, and catching is as basic as it gets.

I would also say signaling one thing, then throwing to the guy who signals is a good option.  You are only doing that in short yardage situations.

 

I will also say it is only signaling if you never throw to them.  Do it once or twice, now you have the great blocker in line that teams do have to at least think about as a receiver.  You don't have to show it much for it to become a threat.

[gumby73]

Jed Wills..

Does it seem fair to blame Jed Wills, who only had to hold a block, maybe all of 2.5 seconds protecting Tua at Bama?

Watson's rusty release clock was not all that good last season either.. Both need to get their 💩 together..  

[Flugel]

11 hours ago, gumby73 said:

I quit stressing on OL issues when Callahan got hired .. Your not replacing Wills at LT or RT, picking at #42 in this draft..

 

Exactly regarding Wills, Callahan and the 42nd pick overall especially if Free agency addresses need and draft addresses BPA right? 

FWIW, Right Tackle recently got a generous contract extension in spite of the wear and tear.  I do believe we have a great one there if/when he has better luck with injuries.  The FO must have felt that way too or they wouldn't have made the commitment to him.

[gumby73]

5 minutes ago, Flugel said:

Exactly regarding Wills, Callahan and the 42nd pick overall especially if Free agency addresses need and draft addresses BPA right? 

FWIW, Right Tackle recently got a generous contract extension in spite of the wear and tear.  I do believe we have a great one there if/when he has better luck with injuries.  The FO must have felt that way too or they wouldn't have made the commitment to him.

I've come to the conclusion..

Conklin now makes Left Tackle money.. even If we swing Jed back to his college RT? A Good defense would still just send targets to the weakest side.. Lucky enough.. We're still not, Jet's fans trying to find a place for Mekhl Becton.. 

Will's & Watson pocket scrambling protections are not a good match.. Watson was not the cleanest of accurate rolling to his weak-side either