Cleveland Browns to sign Kenny Britt, Terrelle Pryor remains a free agent
The Cleveland Browns reportedly agreed to a deal with wide receiver Kenny Britt, but fans are still waiting to hear what happens with Terrelle Pryor.
The Cleveland Browns are making some moves in free agency, as expected.
The most notable move of the day came with the announcement that the team is signing wide receiver Kenny Britt to a four-year, $32.5 million deal, as stated by Ian Rapoport in a tweet.
The #Browns are signing WR Kenny Britt, source said (as @caplannfl reported). 4 years, $32.5M.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) March 9, 2017
2016 was Britt’s first 1,000-yard season, when he finished with 1,002 yards and five touchdowns. He did this with Case Keenum and Jared Goff throwing him the ball, so it is impressive he was able to reach those marks.
He may not be a number one receiver, but he certainly serves as an upgrade over the recently released Andrew Hawkins as that veteran guy who can play well off of Corey Coleman, and hopefully Terrelle Pryor.
Pryor’s name is one that Browns fans hoped to see in the news this morning, but he still remains a free agent. Signing Britt is a solid deal, but it would be much better if Pryor can be retained as well. Losing Pryor would essentially mean the team stayed the same at the receiver position, as Britt is at about the same production level of Pryor.
Having both would give the Browns three solid receivers, which would be a huge upgrade over the talent put out on the field in 2016. It would also give whoever starts at quarterback more than one reliable target to throw to all season. Add in a healthy Gary Barnidge and the Browns could have some success on offense in 2017.
There is still time to sign Pryor, and him leaving is still not guaranteed. But fans will have a hard time seeing the Britt deal as a major success if the money used on him could have been used on the younger Pryor.
Next: Will free agency push Browns to draft QB
Being negative about signing Britt is not the right response, because he could be very good for the Browns over the course of his contract. It would just be hard to see another talented player in Pryor be let go due to a few million dollars.