The Cleveland Browns have roster holes to fill and money to burn. Here are 10 free agents the team should be interested in.
The Cleveland Browns will enter free agency later this spring with holes to fill on the roster and money to spend.
Depending on which of their own free agents the Browns ultimately retain, and just how much the salary cap increases once the new NFL year begins on March 9, the Browns are expected to have somewhere around $38 million in cap space for 2016.
The Browns can use help at wide receiver, linebacker and in the secondary, and should always be looking to add quality depth to the offensive line.
How much of a splash the Browns make in free agency remains to be seen, however, as owner Jimmy Haslam has correctly said that the team will look to improve through the draft, rather than “win” the offseason headlines.
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“We do want to do this the right way. We are going to build through the draft,” Haslam said at the end of the 2015 season. “I know there are probably rolling eyes because that hasn’t worked so well, but if you look at the successful teams in the NFL, they have built through the draft. That is what we are going to do.
“We are not going to go out and spend a gazillion dollars in free agency. We are going to build through the draft because we are firmly convinced that is the right way to do it.”
Even knowing that, once free agency opens the Browns will be doing something as they can’t afford to stand pat.
So while it may be a pipe dream to think that the club will sign a true difference-maker, and knowing that other teams may do everything they can to avoid losing their own free agents, here are 10 players that the Browns should at least take a hard look at.
Next: Wide receiver Alshon Jeffery
Alshon Jeffery is exactly the type of wide receiver that the Browns need, especially if they are planning to select a quarterback in the upcoming draft.
Jeffery only played in nine games in 2015 because of injuries, but still had 54 receptions for 807 yards. Had he been healthy the entire season, Jeffery would have likely posted his third-consecutive season with more than 1,100 receiving yards and 85 receptions or more.
In four years with the Bears, the 25-year-old Jeffery has averaged 14.8 yards per carry and pulled in 24 receiving touchdowns. At 6-foot-4 and 230 pounds, he would also provide a big target to help balance out the smaller receivers the Browns currently deploy.
The Bears need offensive weapons as much as the Browns and have even more money available (an estimated $56 million), if they want to keep Jeffery they can easily work out a deal.
As to whether or not Jeffery would want to leave the Bears, he recently told ESPN that it will strictly be a business decision.
“I love the city of Chicago, but I’ll let my agent and [Bears general manager Ryan] Pace deal with that situation,” Jeffery said. “I just play football.”
Next: Linebacker Danny Trevathan
Denver Broncos inside linebacker Danny Trevathan is another player who struggled with injuries, missing 13 games during the 2014 season, but he bounced back in 2015 to be a key member of the league’s No. 1 defense.
Pro Football focus ranked Trevathan in the top five for inside linebackers in both run-stop percentage and tackling efficiency, two areas the Browns certainly need help with, while also giving him the sixth-best coverage grade among linebackers.
The 6-foot, 237-pound Trevathan led the Broncos with 110 tackles this past season, while also adding four multi-sack games.
In March, Trevathan will become one of nine Denver starters, and 19 players overall, to enter free agency. The Broncos may have to choose between Trevathan and fellow inside linebacker Brandon Marshall.
“The only way you keep both for another year is you have to get Trevathan down on a long-term deal and Marshall plays on a tender,” Joel Corry, a former agent and current NFL contract and salary-cap expert for CBS Sports, told The Denver Post. “But I kind of view them as a proposition kind of like the defensive linemen.”
With Denver not having much cap room and several decisions to make, some of those players are bound to hit the open market.
The Browns should be interested if Trevathan is one of those players.
Next: Safety Eric Berry
Depending on the mood of safety Tashaun Gipson, the Browns may be in the market for a starting safety. (And even if Gipson returns, the team needs to keep Donte Whitner off the field as much as possible.)
After missing most of the 2014 season while undergoing treatment for Hodgkin lymphoma, Kansas City Chiefs safety Eric Berry returned in 2015 to earn his second First Team All-Pro selection.
The 6-foot, 211-pound Berry is one of the league’s top safeties, and earned a Top 5 grade from Pro Football Focus in 2015.
According to Arrowhead Addict, Berry and his representatives will be looking for a contract that averages about $9.5 million per season and includes somewhere in the neighborhood of $25 million in guaranteed money. The Browns have the cap space to do that, but so do the Chiefs.
The Chiefs have several free agents to deal with on the defensive side of the ball as, in addition to Berry, they have to decide what to do with Tamba Hali, Derrick Johnson and Sean Smith. So while Berry’s emotional impact in returning to the Chiefs was tangible, he may find himself caught up in a numbers game and be looking for a new home in 2016.
Next: Wide receiver Marvin Jones
Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Marvin Jones returned to form in 2015 after missing the 2014 season due to lower-leg injuries, posting 65 receptions for 815 yards and four touchdowns, numbers that would have placed him a solid third among the Browns receivers.
While Jones is not a large wide receiver, at 6-foot-1 and 199 pounds he would add some much-needed size to a Browns receiving group that trends to the smaller side.
Signing Jones would also have the added benefit of taking away a productive player from a divisional rival, which is always nice. Jones also said this week that he is ready to see what free agency can bring.
“I’d like to be back, but at the same time I am a free agent – no hometown discount, definitely not – but I’m a free agent,” Jones said. “It wouldn’t be good for me not to test the waters a little bit. So it’s just an exciting process.
“In terms of the money, that’s an issue that they’ll hash out. But at the same time, I want to be a great wide receiver in this league. Sometimes an opportunity presents itself. If it’s a good opportunity for me as we sit back and weigh the options, the pros and cons to everything, then it might happen.”
Jones is reportedly looking for a new deal that will pay him close to $7 million per season, an amount that would make him one of the top 21 highest paid wide receivers in the league. With the Bengals already paying A.J. Green top dollar, having two wide receivers in the top 20 may be more than the Bengals want to take on.
Of course, with a thin wide receiver group hitting free agency, that $7 million could just be a starting point as several teams may be courting Jones.
The Browns have the money to compete, though, and if they were willing to pay Dwayne Bowe $9 million, they may not have a problem kicking in a few extra dollars to sign Jones if the need to.
Next: Linebacker Jerrell Freeman
Indianapolis Colts linebacker Jerrell Freeman is entering free agency after his best year in four seasons in the NFL.
According to Pro Football Focus, Freeman had the third-highest run-stop percentage among inside linebackers and was among the top five in tackling efficiency, two areas where the Browns continually struggled on defense. And despite missing seven games combined over the past two seasons, Freeman has been the Colts second-leading tackler.
In four seasons with the Colts, Freeman has recorded 478 tackles and 12 sacks to go along with four interceptions and eight forced fumbles.
So what’s not to like?
The biggest concern is that Freeman will be 30 when the 2016 season starts and as a first-time free agent will be looking for a big payday.
“I’ve been a free agent for most of my life, but it’s different now because I’m kind of in control of everything,” Freeman told colts.com. “Coming out of college (2007) I was a free agent, getting cut twice, going to Canada, coming back here as a free agent. Now, this is different. I played out the whole contract, got the tender (last year) and now I’m just free. I don’t know if it’s scary. It’s just different.”
While the Browns need to get better on defense, they also need to get younger. And paying big money to a player that may have already peaked is always a risky proposition.
But Freeman would help fill some much-needed holes on the defense, which means the Browns should be getting in touch with him once free agency beings on March 9.
Next: Defensive end Robert Ayers
While defensive coordinator Ray Horton‘s defenses have trouble keeping opponents out of the end zone, one thing they do well is get after opposing quarterbacks.
Dating back to 2014, when he was with the Denver Broncos, and continuing through his past two seasons with the New York Giants, defensive end Robert Ayers has been in or near the Top 10 in pass-rush productivity, according to Pro Football Focus.
Ayers has 19.5 sacks combined over the past three seasons and just posted his best season, according to Empire Writes Back:
"Ayers set career-highs across the board despite playing only 12 games, as he received more snaps. His 41 tackles, 9.5 sacks, two forced fumbles and four passes defended were all career-highs for the seventh year player. The 9.5 sacks led the Giants, as he also paced them in quarterback pressures with 48 according to Pro Football Focus. He recorded multiple pressures in every game that he played in as well, and had only one negative game grade this season also according to Pro Football Focus."
Much like Jerrell Freeman, age could be an issue when considering Ayers as he will turn 31 just prior to the start of the 2016 season.
But if the numbers look right, adding Ayers as a situational pass rusher may be something the Browns would consider to give Horton another weapon to unleash on defense.
Next: Center Manuel Ramirez
This one is a bit of a wild card and is based entirely on what current center Alex Mack decides to do, but if Mack opts out of his current contract to test free agency and the Browns don’t want to pay him what he is worth, they could take a look at Detroit Lions center Manuel Ramirez.
Ramirez is a versatile player who can play center or either guard position, making him a valuable addition and one that, on second thought, the Browns may want to consider even if Mack stays with the club.
Ramirez only made seven starts for the Lions in 2015, but was the team’s highest-graded offensive lineman, and third-higheset graded offensive player overall, according to Pro Football Focus. The site also rated him highly as a pass blocker after seeing him give up just eight combined pressures in 502 offensive snaps.
At age 32 Ramirez would not be a longterm solution, but rather a nice insurance policy in case Mack leaves, one of the guards goes down, or if Cameron Erving is not ready to take over a starting role after struggling during his rookie season. Ramirez has experience in the mentor role after working last season with Laken Tomlinson, Travis Swanson and Larry Warford in Detroit, so that’s a plus in his favor as well.
Next: Center Stefen Wisniewski
If the Browns are not interested in Ramirez, they may want to take a look at center Stefen Wisniewski, who is a free agent after spending a year with the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Wisniewski may not have had his best season in 2015, but he has earned a positive grade from Pro Football Focus as a pass protector in four of his past five seasons and has missed just 19 offensive snaps during his five-year career.
He is also just about to turn 27, meaning he should be able to perform at a solid level for at least the length of a free agent contract. Wisniewski was a second-round draft pick in 2011 by the Oakland Raiders – who were coached that year by Hue Jackson – so Wieniewski should be familiar with Jackson’s offense.
Wisniewski may not be the type of signing that wins offseason headlines, but he is a dependable pro that can help teams win during the regular season when it matters.
Next: Kicker Justin Tucker
The Cleveland Browns struggled with their place kicking game in 2015 after turning the job over to rookie Travis Coons.
While he was accurate, converting 22-of-24 extra points and 28-of-32 field goals, Coons’ weak leg was a big part of his four blocked kicks and resulted in him having just 27 touchbacks on kickoffs.
Baltimore Ravens kicker Justin Tucker has no such trouble, as in 2015 he was 29-of-30 on field goals of less than 50 yards, was fourth in the league with 63 touchbacks, and has yet to miss an extra point in his four-year NFL career.
Signing Tucker away from the Ravens would not only bolster the Browns kicking game, but would take an asset away from the Ravens, who may have to turn their attention to other free agents and risk losing Tucker.
There are reports that say the Ravens will simply use the franchise tag on Tucker, at a cost of $4.5 million, but for a club that may only have between $5 million and $9 million in salary cap space, that could be a big pill to swallow.
Next: Right tackle Mitchell Schwartz
Didn’t see that one coming, did you Browns fans?
While finding a quarterback is obviously important, resigning right tackle Mitchell Schwartz to a new deal needs to be priority for the Browns.
Offensive lines get better the more the five components can work together, and keeping the starters from what is one of the best offensive lines in the league together for a third season would be a huge plus for the Browns.
Despite what the hoople heads in Browns nation have to say, Schwartz is a very good right tackle and was Pro Football Focus’ highest-rated player at that position in 2015, with the site pointing out that:
"Although (Schwartz) did allow 43 total pressures this season, he also was tied for the most snaps in pass protection with a whopping 705; by comparison, only 15 tackles had more than 600 pass-block snaps. Schwartz has earned a positive overall grade in all four seasons, and is coming off the best season of his career."
Schwartz has started every game for the Browns since being selected in the second round of the 2012 NFL Draft, and is one of those players whose true value may only be appreciated once he is no longer with the Browns.
If the Browns are serious about making the latest rebuild be the one that finally works, Schwartz needs to be a part of the plan.