Headlines

Cleveland Browns News & Rumors

The Biggest Wide Receiver Contract In Each Team’s History

By | at May 22, 2024 9:55 pm

Most NFL teams have authorized a big-ticket (by today’s standards) deal for a wide receiver. Ranked by guaranteed money and excluding rookie contracts and accords acquired via trade, here is the most lucrative WR deal in each franchise’s history.

Arizona Cardinals

Larry Fitzgerald‘s seven-year, $113MM extension (August 2011) holds the Cardinals standard for total value, but Hopkins’ pact checks in higher in terms of guarantees and AAV.

Atlanta Falcons

Baltimore Ravens

In total, Michael Crabtree‘s 2018 deal (worth $21MM) and Derrick Mason‘s 2005 agreement ($20MM) surpass Beckham’s. But the 2023 Baltimore rental’s guarantee came in higher.

Buffalo Bills

Carolina Panthers

Chicago Bears

Cincinnati Bengals

Cleveland Browns

The Browns have featured three higher-paid receivers on their roster since Landry’s contract, but both Odell Beckham Jr. and Amari Cooper arrived via trade and played on contracts designed by other teams. Jerry Jeudy‘s AAV ($17.5MM) on his 2024 extension also outpaces Landry’s, though the recent trade pickup’s total guarantee falls short here.

Dallas Cowboys

Denver Broncos

Courtland Sutton‘s 2025 extension carries a higher AAV ($23MM) but included $41MM guaranteed

Detroit Lions

Green Bay Packers

Houston Texans

DeAndre Hopkins‘ 2017 re-up included more in total value but a lower AAV and guarantee

Indianapolis Colts

Jacksonville Jaguars

Kansas City Chiefs

Las Vegas Raiders

Los Angeles Chargers

Los Angeles Rams

Miami Dolphins

Tyreek Hill‘s 2022 extension tops his teammate for AAV ($30MM) but came in just south for guarantees ($72.2MM)

Minnesota Vikings

New England Patriots

New Orleans Saints

New York Giants

New York Jets

Philadelphia Eagles

Pittsburgh Steelers

San Francisco 49ers

Seattle Seahawks

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Chris Godwin‘s 2025 deal beats Evans’ for at-signing guarantees ($44MM); his 2022 deal did as well. Godwin’s 2025 deal also tops Evans’ in AAV ($22MM). The all-time Bucs receiving leader’s 2024 agreement, however, leads the way in total guarantees.

Tennessee Titans

Washington Commanders

McLaurin’s August 2025 extension eclipses his previous pact in AAV and fully guaranteed money ($44.65MM), but his first Washington payday remains the team’s standard for guaranteed money

10 comments Arizona Cardinals Atlanta Falcons Baltimore Ravens Buffalo Bills Carolina Panthers Chicago Bears Cincinnati Bengals Cleveland Browns Dallas Cowboys Denver Broncos Detroit Lions Green Bay Packers Houston Texans Indianapolis Colts Jacksonville Jaguars Kansas City Chiefs Las Vegas Raiders Los Angeles Chargers Los Angeles Rams Miami Dolphins Minnesota Vikings New England Patriots New Orleans Saints New York Giants New York Jets PFR Originals Philadelphia Eagles Pittsburgh Steelers San Francisco 49ers Seattle Seahawks Tampa Bay Buccaneers Tennessee Titans Washington Commanders

NFL Front Office Updates: Commanders, Chiefs, Patriots

By | at May 21, 2024 10:05 pm

Former Commanders director of pro personnel Chris Polian is on his way to work under one of his former employees. According to Mary Kay Cabot of cleveland.com, Polian, a former vice president and general manager with the Colts, is heading to Cleveland to work under Browns general manager Andrew Berry, who was a scout in Indianapolis under Polian.

Polian will serve as a front office special advisor under Berry. This isn’t the first time Berry has pulled such a move. He previously hired Ryan Grigson, another former Colts general manager, as a Browns personnel advisor in 2020. Grigson is now in Minnesota as the Vikings senior vice president of player personnel.

Pro scout Connor Barringer is also leaving Washington, per Neil Stratton of SucceedinFootball.com. While he hasn’t found a new destination, the Commanders’ scout of the past three years marked the end of his tenure with the team on his LinkedIn account.

Here are a few other front office staff updates from around the NFL:

  • The Chiefs originally hired Madison Aponte as a personnel assistant after her stint in the team’s Norma Hunt Training Camp Fellowship Program. As a personnel assistant, Aponte has essentially acted as the team’s de facto college scouting coordinator since the start of the 2022 season. According to Stratton, she has officially been granted that title in addition to a promotion that will make her college scouting coordinator/pro scout.
  • Lastly, the Patriots have promoted Marshall Oium from assistant director of scouting to director of football strategy, per Stratton. Oium has served five years in New England after a four-year stint in the Browns’ front office.
2 comments Cleveland Browns Kansas City Chiefs New England Patriots Transactions Washington Commanders

Minor NFL Transactions: 5/21/24

By | at May 21, 2024 6:53 pm

Here are Tuesday’s minor NFL moves:

Atlanta Falcons

Cleveland Browns

New York Giants

Pittsburgh Steelers

  • Waived (with injured designation): WR Keilahn Harris

Jackson is the only name here with much extended experience in the NFL. Jackson was part of the Colts’ three-pronged approach to replace lost production during Jonathan Taylor‘s injury-riddled 2022 season.

Zack Moss and Nyheim Hines were the other two to earn starts, but Jackson displayed the most versatility. Moss had 365 rushing yards but only had four catches for 12 yards, while Hines had 188 receiving yards but only 36 rushing yards. Jackson found extended use in both areas with 236 rushing yards and 209 receiving yards. This is because Jackson’s role as a backup changed partway through the season, when the Colts traded Hines to Buffalo for Moss. When Hines was on the team, Jackson was the primary backup ball carrier. When Moss came to town, Jackson’s role shifted to more of a third-down receiving back. His past versatility could land him on another NFL roster once he’s healthy again.

0 comments Atlanta Falcons Cleveland Browns New York Giants Pittsburgh Steelers Transactions

AFC North Rumors: Ravens, Steelers, Hines

By | at May 18, 2024 2:34 pm

After losing both of 2023’s starting guards, Kevin Zeitler and John Simpson, to free agency, the Ravens have been tasked with replacing both starters on either side of center Tyler Linderbaum. Though Baltimore had thoughts to address those holes in the 2024 NFL Draft, The Athletic’s Jeff Zrebiec reports that a third-round run on guards led the team’s draft room to shy away from the position.

Starting with the seventh pick of the third round, the Ravens watched Isaiah Adams, Cooper Beebe, Christian Haynes, Zak Zinter, and Dominick Puni all come off the board. Similarly, in the fourth round, a run that included running backs Jaylen Wright, Bucky Irving, Will Shipley, Ray Davis, and Isaac Guerendo (the last four making up four of the five picks before Baltimore’s) led the team to go in another direction (though Wisconsin’s Braelon Allen was available and selected four picks later).

These runs, especially the four running backs selected in the five picks before the Ravens’ selection, seemed strategic, given the team’s obvious desire to add to both positions in the draft. Faced with this challenge general manager Eric DeCosta pivoted, and instead of drafting a player at those positions far above their distinguished value, Baltimore addressed other needs, selecting Penn State pass rusher Adisa Isaac and Iowa State cornerback T.J. Tampa.

Unrelated, rookie safety Beau Brade, one of the Ravens’ top undrafted free agent signings out of Maryland, is set to be sidelined for a few weeks after injuring his ankle in the team’s rookie minicamp. Considered one of the most likely undrafted players to make a roster spot (the Ravens historically have at least one per year), Brade is expected to be back before the team adjourns for the final break before training camp.

Here are a few other rumors coming out of the NFL’s toughest division:

  • The Steelers utilized three of their seven draft picks in an attempt to make improvements to their offensive line, including taking Washington offensive lineman Troy Fautanu 20th overall. While the team was happy to see Fautanu fall to them, considering they predicted he could go as high as No. 10, the team also had their eye on Georgia offensive tackle Amarius Mims. With all the recon the team dedicated to offensive linemen, Pittsburgh likely figured out that Mims was headed to Cincinnati two picks before them, so it speaks to the team’s feelings on Fautanu that they opted not to make a trade up. As soon as they put in the pick in the first round, they went back to work, targeting West Virginia center Zach Frazier to determine whether or not he would still be around at No. 51 (he was).
  • New Browns running back Nyheim Hines missed the entire 2023 season on injured reserve after tearing his ACL in a freak jet skiing accident last summer. Known for his abilities receiving out of the backfield and returning kicks, Hines lines up as a perfect complement to recovering lead back Nick Chubb on paper. In order to do that, though, Hines has to come all the way back from the season-ending injury. On the Up & Adams show on FanDuel TV, Hines explained that he’s made progress on his rehabilitation and is on schedule for his recovery.
13 comments 2024 NFL Draft Baltimore Ravens Cleveland Browns Pittsburgh Steelers

AFC Staff Updates: Bills, Patriots, Browns

By | at May 17, 2024 9:16 pm

In the weeks following the 2024 NFL Draft, a number of teams have made changes to their player personnel staff and scouting departments. The Bills, for example, recently announced six updates to a scouting staff that should look fairly different in the coming season.

One of the updates we had seen reported days earlier by Neil Stratton of SucceedinFootball.com, who reported that long-time Cardinals area scout Darius Vinnett would be accepting a similar role in Buffalo. Vinnett had been in Arizona for 11 years and had won the Rod Graves College Scouting Award, given at the conclusion of the draft to the Cardinals’ best scout, in 2022. The team also added Vince Magri as a pro scout after having served most recently as the assistant general manager of the Toronto Argonauts in the Canadian Football League.

The rest of the moves were promotions to staffers already in place. Matt Bazirgan, formerly the Bills’ senior personnel executive, has been named director of college scouting. Asil Mulbah, whose pro scout position was filled by Magri, has been promoted to assistant director of pro scouting. Keith Jennings joins Vinnett as an area scout after previously working as the team’s BLESTO scout. Lastly, R.J. Webb, previously a pro scout, will now serve as a college scout and will take up Jennings’ former role as BLESTO scout.

Here are a few other scouting updates from around the AFC:

  • After establishing Eliot Wolf as the pinnacle of their personnel structure the Patriots have made a number of alterations to their staff. According to Stratton, pro scouting director Steve Cargile and area scout Taylor Redd will not be returning for the 2024 NFL season. Cargile had been with New England since 2011, while Redd had been around since 2018, meaning both were around for the team’s most recent Super Bowl victory. Replacing Redd will be new area scout Casey Belongia, previously of the Jaguars. Belongia started his career as an equipment manager for the Packers, residing in Green Bay at the same time as Wolf.
  • Lastly, the Browns are bringing Josh Lucas back to the game as their Mid-Atlantic area scout, per Stratton. Lucas had spent the past two years away from the game of football after serving as the Bears director of player personnel. Prior to his time in Chicago, Lucas had been an area scout for the Saints for 10 years and an intern in Jacksonville.
0 comments Buffalo Bills Cleveland Browns New England Patriots Transactions

Minor NFL Transactions: 5/16/24

By | at May 16, 2024 5:37 pm

Here are Thursday’s minor moves:

Baltimore Ravens

  • Waived: WR De’Angelo Hardy

Cleveland Browns

  • Waived/failed physical: OL Kellen Diesch

Detroit Lions

A former Cowboys UDFA, McKeon spent the past four seasons in Dallas. He worked as a backup to the likes of Dalton Schultz and Jake Ferguson in that span. Used more as a run blocker, McKeon played between 100 and 128 snaps on offense over the past three seasons. The Michigan alum joins a Lions tight end group that includes Sam LaPorta and Brock Wright, the latter drawing a matched RFA offer sheet.

0 comments Baltimore Ravens Cleveland Browns Detroit Lions Transactions

Minor NFL Transactions: 5/14/24

By | at May 14, 2024 9:03 pm

Today’s minor moves:

Cleveland Browns

Los Angeles Chargers

Miami Dolphins

Minnesota Vikings

San Francisco 49ers

Washington Commanders

1 comment Cleveland Browns Los Angeles Chargers Miami Dolphins Minnesota Vikings Pittsburgh Steelers San Francisco 49ers Transactions Washington Commanders

S Rodney McLeod Plans To Retire After 2024 Season

By | at May 14, 2024 5:43 pm

Rodney McLeod is intending for the 2024 campaign to be his final NFL season. The veteran Browns safety told NFL Network that he’ll be hanging up his cleats following the upcoming season.

“This is the last lap for me. It’s been a long career,” McLeod said (via Michael David Smith of ProFootballTalk.com). “I’m looking forward to rocking out with my teammates this year, giving it all, and hopefully ending up where we want to be, which is the last dance at the end of the year.”

McLeod wants to go out on a high note following a 2023 campaign where he was limited to 10 games thanks to a biceps injury. The 12-year veteran acknowledged that he considered retirement following this past season, but the player pointed to “unfinished business” as a reason for a 13th year.

The veteran joined the Browns last offseason and served as a backup to Grant Delpit and Juan Thornhill. He finished the season with only 29 tackles, and while he didn’t earn enough snaps to qualify for Pro Football Focus’ positional rankings, his grade would have placed him towards the bottom of the safeties list.

However, McLeod is only a year removed from ranking seventh among 88 qualifying safeties on that same list, so there could still be something left in the tank. The Browns will return the same safeties grouping in 2024, although this time McLeod will have to compete with his 2023 fill-in, D’Anthony Bell.

This season, McLeod will be looking to complete a resume that already includes a Super Bowl championship and 718 career tackles. The former UDFA has also spent time with the Rams, Eagles, Colts throughout his career.

3 comments Cleveland Browns

Minor NFL Transactions: 5/12/24

By | at May 12, 2024 5:50 pm

Sunday’s minor transactions to wrap up the weekend:

Chicago Bears

Cleveland Browns

Detroit Lions

  • Signed: WR Kaden Davis

New York Giants

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

With the conclusion of rookie minicamps, a number of teams have made a few additions from minicamp auditions of undrafted rookie free agents. Sweeney is a rare example of a non-rookie getting a second chance from a minicamp audition. After collapsing on the practice field with the Giants last year due to a “medical event,” Sweeney will attempt a comeback to the NFL in Chicago.

Jones (undrafted out of Arkansas State), Sirmon (undrafted out of Northern Colorado), Chatman (undrafted out of SMU), Hayes (undrafted out of Central Arkansas), and Jefferson (undrafted out of Kentucky) all earned roster spots for the offseason after successful minicamp tryouts. Mosely and Stenberg were waived to make room for Hayes and Jefferson.

0 comments Chicago Bears Cleveland Browns Detroit Lions New York Giants Tampa Bay Buccaneers Transactions
Show all
Go To Pro Hockey Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors