The first day of the NFL’s free agency, popularly known as the legal manipulation period, ended without much activity from the Cleveland Browns. GM Andrew Berry and Browns have made a huge move to agree to John Johnson’s safety, but he is the only player to receive after the first day.
The Browns still need a step to align with Myles Garrett, a position that many expected Cleveland to obviously address in the free agency. That didn’t happen on the first day, when there was a spending frenzy on passengers across the league.
Some of the transactions are crazy money, contracts with which Browns are smart not to compete or award them. A few potentially visibly mentioned targets for Cleveland ended up getting a lot more money from other teams than the Browns would rationally spend.
Get Trey Hendrickson. The remarkable Saints are heading to Cincinnati for $ 60 million over four years. This is a massive amount of money for a player with 20 bags in four seasons. More than half – 13.5 to be exact – came in his contract season while playing almost exclusively in passing situations.
Would Hendrickson help the Browns? Absolute. But at that price? This would reduce any potential Baker Mayfield extension or other ways the team has to spend to keep the young emerging contender’s core intact.
Hendrickson replaces Carl Lawson in Cincinnati. Lawson would have looked great in a Brown uniform, no doubt. But he’s paid by the Jets,
For #Jete and Carl Lawson: 3 years, $ 45 million with $ 30 million guaranteed. Up to $ 47.4 million. Huge business. https://t.co/JbL2TsViT0
– Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) March 16, 2021
A $ 15 million a year deal that would be Cleveland’s No. 2 Garrett is simply not a feasible option, not in the long run. It’s hard to justify paying so much for a second fiddle. And someone who can order this type of contract is not able to handle being a second lute too long.
On Monday there were several great offers to switch from 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 USD* The structure / guarantees always tell the whole story.
– NFL Update (@MySportsUpdate) March 16, 2021
Olivier Vernon had to take a pay cut to stay with Cleveland outside of last season and it worked for both sides, thankfully. Expect Browns to learn from that experience that the top salary is not necessary to get the kind of production in a hurry and the general level of play that Vernon has been able to offer in 2020.
The Browns showed 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 create a single bag; hopefully that passion is gone.
The market should settle down now. Fewer teams need beginners in this position, and the amount of teams that can pay for the first remaining boys is also much lower than it was at the beginning of the legal handling period. The remaining names are not premium players, but it seems that the Browns are good not to pay two premium defensive heads. Among those who still can help the Browns:
- Takkarist McKinley
- Tarell Basham
- Haason Reddick
- Carlos Dunlap
There is also the project next month, and the Browns are in an interval in the first round where they should be able to land an instant starter at EDGE if they wish. It’s not time to panic – after all, one day – and Berry and the Browns are smart enough and patient enough to allow the market to come to them.