Franchise tagging Terrelle Pryor may be Browns smartest play

Contract talks between the Cleveland Browns and Terrelle Pryor have been quiet, which is why using the franchise tag may be the team’s smartest move.

The Cleveland Browns entered the offseason with a long list of priorities, two of which involved free agents Jaime Collins and Terrelle Pryor.

While the Browns moved relatively quickly to reach a deal with Collins, a former Pro Bowl linebacker acquired from the New England Patriots in a mid-season trade, the situation with Pryor has moved much slower and much quieter.

That could be seen as a positive, as ongoing contract talks generally only start to filter out when a player or his agent is unhappy with what they are hearing from the team, and subsequently find a sympathetic reporter’s ear to bend about the situation.

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Pryor has also reportedly stated that he wants to stay with the Browns and head coach Hue Jackson, and his agents are reportedly in “strong discussions” with the team.

We’ve all been down this road before, of course, as reports start to surface that a new deal with a player is “imminent” or “this close to being done,” only to see that player in another team’s uniform the following season.

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In this situation, however, the Browns hold the biggest card in the deck as they have the ability to use a franchise tag on Pryor, a move that executive vice president of football operations Sashi Brown should not be afraid to use.

When we’re talking about franchise tags, we’re really looking at two primary options, as outlined by NFL.com.

The first is the exclusive franchise tag, which is a one-year contract which would pay Pryor at least the average of the top five salaries at the wide receiver position. This option would give the Browns exclusive negotiating rights with Pryor.

The other option – and the one that the Browns should not hesitate to use – is the non-exclusive franchise tag. It costs the same as it would pay Pryor at least the average of the top five wide receiver salaries, but gives Pryor and his agents the right to negotiate a contract with another team. The Browns would still hold the right to match any offer that Pryor would hypothetically receive.

The best part, at least as the Browns should be concerned, is that if they don’t want to match the offer, they  would receive two first-round draft picks from the team that signs Pryor.

The non-exclusive franchise tag is really the Browns smartest play in all this. While we won’t know  what the dollar amount will be of the franchise tag until the league releases the new salary cap in March, the amount for wide receivers last season was $14.599 million, so you know that figure will go up.

While it seems absurd on the surface to sign Pryor to a deal that would make him the highest-paid wide receiver in the league after just one season, the Browns have more cap space than they can possibly spend, so the money side of it is not an issue.

The bigger benefit to the club is that by signing Pryor to a one-year deal it gives the Browns another year to evaluate Pryor as a wide receiver. There is no doubting that he put up impressive numbers last season with 77 receptions, 1,007 receiving yards and four touchdowns – but the reality is that Pryor has only that one season to his credit.

It is not a stretch to think that with his physical tools and work ethic – and given the opportunity to play with an actual NFL quarterback – that Pryor would not be able to match his 2016 production again this fall. But why take the risk?

The Browns can reward Pryor for last season by giving him a big payday while still retaining the flexibility to keep on negotiating if they like what they see out of Pryor this fall.

And if another team offers Pryor a longterm deal that the Browns don’t find palatable? Then Brown and Jackson would probably have no trouble pocketing another pair of first-round draft picks.

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The Browns should not have a problem working out a new deal with Pryor.

But it is still nice to know that the Browns have positioned themselves well no matter what the outcome is.