HEADLINES

Browns Rumors

Browns, Myles Garrett Begin Contract Talks

June 12th, 2020 at 10:13am CST by Zachary Links

Contract talks are underway between the Browns and Myles Garrett, sources tell Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com (on Twitter). The Browns don’t necessarily have to rush things since Garrett still has two years left on his rookie deal. However, if they’re able to lock up Garrett this summer, they could save a couple of dollars and avoid an even larger spike in the edge rusher market next year. 

[RELATED: Browns Offered Jadeveon Clowney $12MM/Year?]

Even though it was a trying season for the Browns, the former No. 1 overall pick was phenomenal last year – ten games, ten sacks. Of course, he didn’t get a chance to top his previous watermark of 13.5 sacks from the year prior. Garrett was banned from the field for his role in the ugly brawl against the Steelers, capping his season in the fall and his career sack total at 30.5 sacks, for the time being.

Now reinstated, Garrett is in position to dominate once again. And, at the moment, Garrett’s value might be somewhat depressed by the time he’s missed throughout his career. Between the delayed start to his rookie year and last year’s suspension, Garrett has appeared in just 37 regular season games over the past three years.

Still, Garrett is poised to become the league’s new financial kingpin at defensive end. Currently, Khalil Mack leads the way with an average fo $23.5MM per year, with DeMarcus Lawrence of the Cowboys ($21MM/year) and Frank Clark of the Chiefs ($20.8MM/year) closely trailing. Meanwhile, the Browns will also have to leave enough room to take care of other stars down the road, including quarterback Baker Mayfield, cornerback Denzel Ward, and running back Nick Chubb. Fortunately, they have plenty of cap space to work with right now. And, even if they allocate some of those dollars towards Jadeveon Clowney, they can offset the expense by shedding Olivier Vernon‘s non-guaranteed salary.

Browns Notes: Kaepernick, OBJ, LB

June 6th, 2020 at 3:15pm CST by Zachary Links

In an interview with WKNR AM-850, Hue Jackson said that he wanted the Browns to sign Colin Kaepernick in 2017 (via Jeff Schudel of the News Herald). The Browns, of course, did not sign him, and placed rookie Deshone Kizer under center instead.

“I wanted him,” Jackson said Friday. “It just didn’t work out. Obviously, those things do have to work from a finance, draft, whatever all that is. And that wasn’t my decision.”

Jackson may have wanted Kaepernick in 2017, but he didn’t share that opinion publicly at the time. Like most coaches, Jackson skirted questions about the QB and said that he wasn’t being discussed as a serious option. Meanwhile, Jackson didn’t have full control over the 53-man roster. Personnel decisions were ultimately made by Sashi Brown, who served as the Browns’ GM up until December of that year.

Last month, Kaepernick found himself back in the NFL news cycle when the league briefly listed him as “retired” on his remodeled player page. The following day, the NFL changed his status to reflect that he is, in fact, an unrestricted free agent. The odds of Kaepernick returning to the NFL seemed slim just a few weeks ago, but it may not be so far fetched today. Kaepernick, 33 in November, has been training with the intent of returning to the field.

“My desire to play football is still there,” Kaepernick said in February. “I still train five days a week. I’m ready to go, I’m ready for a phone call, tryout, workout at any point in time. I’m still waiting on the owners and their partners to stop running from this situation. So I hope I get a call this offseason. I’ll be looking forward to it.”

Here’s more out of Cleveland:

This Date In Transactions History: Browns Sign Mychal Kendricks

June 4th, 2020 at 5:45pm CST by Zachary Links

Two years ago today, Mychal Kendricks agreed to terms with the Browns. At the time, the one-year, $2.25MM deal looked like a solid value pickup for the Browns in the second wave of free agency. Instead, the linebacker never played a down for Cleveland. 

What we didn’t know at the time was that Kendricks was involved in a federal investigation for insider trading. Kendricks were aware of the situation, but they say they weren’t clued in on all of the details. Prosecutors alleged that Kendricks and his co-defendant turned $80K in a brokerage account into $1.2MM inside of five months. The insider trading charges he faced could have imprisoned him for up to 37 months, keeping him off the field for at least three years.

When Kendricks’ charges were announced just before the start of the 2018 season, the Browns dropped him. Days later, on Sept. 6, he pleaded guilty in court. Then, just one week after that, Kendricks inked a one-year deal with the Seahawks. Kendricks still had sentencing and a lengthy NFL suspension ahead of him, but Pete Carroll & Co. didn’t want to pass up the chance to sign him at a bargain basement minimum-salaried rate.

Despite the off-the-field issues, Kendricks offered up an impressive resume from his time in Philly, including 74 career starts, 14 sacks, and a 77-tackle campaign in 2017 en route to a Super Bowl ring. Kendricks spent most of 2018 sidelined as he duked it out with the league office, but he returned to form in 2019 as he started in all 14 of his games, tallied 71 stops, and notched three sacks.

Now, Kendricks finds himself in NFL and legal limbo once again. Kendricks was originally set for sentencing on January 23, 2019, but thanks to multiple postponements and the COVID-19 pandemic, Kendricks won’t face the judge until May 29, at the earliest. And, after suffering an ACL tear in January, the Seahawks found linebacker help elsewhere. Depending on how things go from here, Kendricks may eventually find a market for his services as a free agent. Still, it might be a while before we see him back in the fold.

Browns Offered Jadeveon Clowney $12MM/Year?

June 2nd, 2020 at 1:13pm CST by Zachary Links

Jadeveon Clowney recently rejected an offer from the Browns, one that is rumored to be the most lucrative of any he’s received thus far. Still, it sounds like it was a far cry from the type of coin that Clowney has become accustomed to. The Browns’ proposal was believed to be worth around $12MM per year in base salary, agents tell Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com.

[RELATED: Browns Still Interested In Jadeveon Clowney]

That’s the “word in the agent community,” per La Canfora. The full and true details of the offer are only known to Clowney’s representatives and those in the Browns’ front office. It’s also not immediately clear whether the Browns were offering a one-year deal or a multi-year arrangement. Either way, the Browns haven’t been totally turned off – they’re reportedly still interested.

When Clowney was traded from the Texans, he made the Seahawks promise not to use the franchise tag on him for a second consecutive season. The Seahawks probably wouldn’t have given him a 20% bump over his ’19 salary, but as JLC notes, a one-year, $18MM tether for 2020 would have been preferable to his current situation. So far, the Browns offer is apparently the best Clowney has been able to scare up, and the base compensation is about 25% less than Matthew Judon’s DE/LB hybrid tag for this year.

Clowney seems prepared to wait things out, even though most of the league’s dollars have dried up and many of his potential suitors have backed out. The Giants, Eagles, and Jets are putting their energy elsewhere, leaving the Browns and Titans as the likely frontrunners. Right now, Clowney seems unlikely to get anywhere near his original $20MM ask, unless the Ravens make a surprise pivot by trading Judon and signing the former No. 1 overall pick.

AFC North Notes: Colts, Mack, Ravens, Stanley, Humphrey

June 2nd, 2020 at 9:55am CST by Zachary Links

After his first season with more than 1,000 yards rushing, Marlon Mack isn’t assured the starting role in the Colts‘ backfield. Head coach Frank Reich says he’ll have a leg up on second-round pick Jonathan Taylor, but he also says that fans shouldn’t get too hung up on the RB1 designation.

“There’s definitely inherent respect for the starter returning,” Reich said (via Kevin Bowen of 105.7 The Fan). “I see it as a 1-1 (punch). The way the league has gone and the way role playing has been elevated in our league, it’s made it prominent. We used to say in San Diego that when we had Danny Woodhead. He was not our starter, he was our ‘role playing’ starter. He played such a significant role. He had 80 catches in a year. You look at a guy like Nyehim Hines. We talk about Marlon and Jonathan, but what about Nyheim? He’s such a good third-down back that he’ll play a prominent (role). In some ways, (Hines) is a starter. He’s a role-playing starter.”

Right now, it seems like Mack will have to prove himself all over in camp as he gets set for his final year under contract. As it stands, he’s set to make $2.13MM in base salary before reaching the open market in March of 2021.

Here’s more from the AFC North:

  • After turning in a stellar season, Ravens left tackle Ronnie Stanley could become the league’s highest-paid non-quarterback, ESPN.com’s Jamison Hensley writes. Currently, Bears edge rusher Khalil Mack ($23.5MM per year) leads the way, followed by Rams defensive tackle Aaron Donald ($22.5MM). This year, fellow left tackle Laremy Tunsil ($22MM/year) put himself in that neighborhood, but Stanley is likely to leapfrog him. In 2019, Stanley allowed Lamar Jackson to be pressured just six times, the lowest total of any offensive tackle in 14 years.
  • The Ravens have other deals on their agenda, of course, including a new contract for Marlon Humphrey. With all due respect for Stanley, Jeff Zrebiec of The Athletic argues that the cornerback should actually be priority No. 1. When it comes to Stanley, his comp has already been set, thanks to the Tunsil deal. Meanwhile, time is of the essence with Humphrey – the top of the CB market will be reset soon with Jalen Ramsey, Marshon Lattimore, and Tre’Davious White all due for new deals.
  • The Browns went ahead with their gradual re-opening plan with Phase 1 beginning on Monday (Twitter link). Meanwhile, other clubs are still working on alternative plans. The Raiders, who were set to hold camp in Napa, California, may shift to their new headquarters in Henderson, Nevada.

This Date In Transactions History: Jets Reunite With Demario Davis

June 1st, 2020 at 12:05pm CST by Zachary Links

Three years ago today, the Jets swung a deal with the Browns to reunite with Demario Davis and move on from first-round draft bust Calvin Pryor all in one shot.

Davis didn’t see the field much in his 2012 rookie season with the Jets, but he cracked their starting lineup as an NFL sophomore and remained a Gang Green first-stringer through 2015. After that, he moved on to the Browns in free agency with a two-year, $8MM deal. As the Browns’ starting left inside linebacker, Davis racked up 99 tackles and two sacks, but then-Browns GM Sashi Brown seized an opportunity to trade a dependable veteran for a hard-hitting youngster who had yet to make his mark as a pro.

“Calvin is a young, experienced safety that has upside,” Brown said. “We are pleased to be able to add him to our defensive back room and just like every player we acquire, we expect him to come in with a hard-working mindset ready to compete. DeMario is a guy that we developed the utmost respect for in his time with our team, not only as a professional but also as a person. We appreciate all he did for our organization in his time in Cleveland.”

Pryor, known as the “Louisville Slugger,” didn’t have a clear-cut role in the Jets’ secondary after they used their first two picks in the 2017 draft on Jamal Adams and Marcus Maye. The Browns felt that Pryor could play behind their own rookie safety, Jabrill Peppers, and possibly find steady work in the rotation. Even though Pryor didn’t move the needle much as a pro, there was reason to believe – Pro Football Focus ranked him as a top 50 safety in his first two pro seasons and, even with his ’16 regression, he still ranked ahead of two safeties who were on the Browns’ roster at the time.

Unfortunately for Cleveland, Pryor did not pan out. The Louisville Slugger took a swing at teammate Ricardo Louis, prompting Hue Jackson to cut him before the season opener. Pryor moved on to the Jaguars, suffered an ankle injury in September, and got cut towards the end of the year. Pryor was on the workout circuit in 2018, but he never found his way back to the field.

Davis, meanwhile, exceeded all expectations. He started in all 16 of his games in 2017, per the usual, but delivered a team-high 97 solo tackles and a new career high of 5.0 sacks. And, get this – the Jets even got him to accept less than his scheduled ~$4MM salary for that year, making him an even better value. Fortunately, Davis got his payday the following year. Unfortunately for the Jets, it was with the Saints. After earning First-Team All-Pro honors in 2019, Davis is gearing up for his third season with New Orleans.

Browns Announce Front Office Moves

May 29th, 2020 at 10:23am CST by Rory Parks

New Browns GM Andrew Berry announced a series of additions, promotions, and title changes on his player personnel staff today.

The entire list can be found here, courtesy of the team’s official website. Some of the moves, like the hiring of Kwesi Adofo-Mensah as vice president of football operations and the addition of former Colts GM Ryan Grigson, have been reported previously.

Grigson, though, finally has a formal title: senior football advisor. He and Berry have a long-standing professional relationship, but Berry said his familiarity with Grigson is not the reason he was brought on board. “[Grigson] is here because I think he is very good,” Berry said. “He has a very established track record as a personnel evaluator from his time in St. Louis at the time, Philly and then obviously, Indianapolis. General Manager experience, rebuilt the Colts into a winner very quickly, Executive of the Year. And that is something that is valuable to me.”

Adofo-Mensah, who spent seven years with the 49ers, will be a part of all roster and strategy decisions and will also assist Berry with day-to-day operations (he is essentially the assistant GM). “I think [Adofo-Mensah] brings a nice blend of both an insider and an outsider perspective to football,” Berry said. “He is humble, high integrity, a continuous learner, true growth mindset and he has fantastic interpersonal and people skills … I think he is really a perfect fit to add to the mix.”

Meanwhile, former assistant director of scouting Glenn Cook, who has been with the Browns since 2016, has been promoted to vice president of player personnel. He will lead the day-to-day operations of the player personnel department, and as Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets, Cook will also be in charge of college and pro scouting. He will be assisted by Dan Saganey, the new director of player personnel.

Of course, there are also a number of new-age, analtyics positions. Nate Sterken will serve as the new lead data scientist, Andrew Jackson is the data architect, and Ken Kovash is the vice president of player personnel process and development. Berry has been lauded for the work he has done in his first few months on the job, and his roster looks like one that could compete for a playoff spot in 2020. Today’s moves are another step towards his putting his stamp on the organization.

Browns Still Interested In Jadeveon Clowney

May 28th, 2020 at 9:23am CST by Ben Levine

If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again. Following reports from yesterday that Jadeveon Clowney turned down an offer from the Browns, Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com reports that the Browns are still interested in the free agent pass rusher.

We learned last night that Clowney had rejected Cleveland’s contract, even though it was the most lucrative deal he’s been offered. Cabot notes that the 27-year-old is still “weighing his options.”

Clowney’s contract demands have dropped throughout the offseason. While the former first-overall pick was previously seeking a deal that’d pay him $20MM per year, those demands have been reduced to the $17MM to $18MM range. It’s uncertain how much money Cleveland offered the defensive end.

While Cleveland could certainly use some talent, they’re not in desperate need for a pass rusher. After all, they have former first-overall pick Myles Garrett as well as former Pro Bowler Olivier Vernon. Still, as Cabot points out, Browns general manager Andrew Berry isn’t afraid of making a big splash.

“We’re actively always looking, whether it’s draft, free agency, trades, waiver wire, you name it, to add players to our roster,” Berry previously said. “Obviously Jadeveon, he’s a good football player. But for us, it really goes back to something I mentioned maybe a few months ago. Rest assured, across all opportunities to acquire players, we’re going to be aggressive in adding talent to the roster.”

The Titans have been mentioned as a potential suitor for Clowney, and there’s still a chance he returns to the Seahawks. Earlier this offseason, Clowney reportedly expressed interest in joining the Giants or Jets. Neither New York team, despite apparent edge defender needs, has strongly reciprocated such interest.

Jadeveon Clowney Turns Down Browns

May 27th, 2020 at 4:54pm CST by Sam Robinson

Still a free agent after nearly 2 1/2 months, Jadeveon Clowney may have scratched one destination off his list. The high-profile pass rusher turned down an offer from the Browns, ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter said during a radio interview with ESPN Cleveland (Twitter link).

The Browns have offered Clowney the most money thus far, Schefter adds. While the Clowney-to-Cleveland door may not be fully closed, it does appear the former No. 1 overall pick has doubts about such a scenario.

As this lengthy process has unfolded, Clowney has received interest from the Browns, Titans and Seahawks. Earlier on, however, Clowney reportedly expressed interest in joining the Giants or Jets. Neither New York team, despite apparent edge defender needs, has strongly reciprocated such interest.

Details about Cleveland’s proposal are not known, but Clowney has set his price high. He lowered it earlier in free agency, but his target — even on a one-year deal — likely remains substantial.

Cleveland still houses Olivier Vernon opposite Myles Garrett. Vernon is attached to a $15.25MM salary in the final year of his Giants-constructed contract. The Browns shopped Vernon earlier this offseason, but the way it’s looking now, the former Dolphins and Giants defensive end will have a good chance of finishing out his five-year deal this season.

NFL Draft Signings: 5/22/20

May 22nd, 2020 at 5:52pm CST by Sam Robinson

Here are Friday’s draft pick agreements:

  • The Browns continue check off their draft list. After agreeing to terms with two picks earlier this week, the Browns signed fifth-round selection Nick Harris. A center out of Washington, Harris profiles as depth behind J.C. Tretter. However, he could also represent a candidate for upward mobility at guard. Prior to becoming the Huskies’ starting center in 2018, Harris started 17 games at guard during his freshman and sophomore years. Cleveland employs Joel Bitonio at left guard but does not feature as much certainty on the right side.
Load More Posts