Cleveland Browns: Terrelle Pryor ranked No. 9 available free agent

While Cleveland Browns fans hope the team re-signs Terrelle Pryor, he remains one of the best available free agents in 2017.

NFL free agency does not officially begin until Thursday, but the legal tampering period is open which means the Cleveland Browns must act fast when it comes to Terrelle Pryor.

The wide receiver is going to be a hot commodity in this year’s free agent class, and was ranked as the ninth-best player available in an article on NFL.com ranking the top 101 free agents this offseason. Alshon Jeffery tops the list.

The Browns had a chance to lock up Pryor before he hit the open market, but it did not happen. The team must now convince him to stay on what is a rebuilding team when he will receive offers from contenders, who may offer him more money than the Browns.

He was one of the most passionate players on the team last season, and some may expect him to stay in Cleveland out of sheer loyalty. But it is unfair to Pryor to expect him to remain loyal if the Browns try to offer him less than what he is worth on the open market, especially if other teams offer more than the Browns.

Losing Pryor would once again leave the Browns with a depleted wide receiving corps, which is not a good sign heading into the second year of the rebuilding process. The goal is to improve every year, and losing one of the team’s most talented players would not help achieve that goal.

Even if the Browns think they may be overspending for Pryor, if the market dictates a high price, that is just what they will have to pay to keep him. And with enough cap space to buy an island or two, it should be a no-brainer to match any offer given to Pryor by another team.

Next: Five free agents for the Browns to consider

Fans just have to hope the front office realizes how important it is to retain Pryor and offer him a contract before it’s too late.