Cleveland Browns: Revisiting moves that have worked at the bye

CLEVELAND, OH - NOVEMBER 04: Baker Mayfield #6 of the Cleveland Browns signals during the first quarter against the Kansas City Chiefs at FirstEnergy Stadium on November 4, 2018 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo by Jason Miller/Getty Images)
CLEVELAND, OH - NOVEMBER 04: Baker Mayfield #6 of the Cleveland Browns signals during the first quarter against the Kansas City Chiefs at FirstEnergy Stadium on November 4, 2018 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo by Jason Miller/Getty Images) /
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NEW ORLEANS, LA – SEPTEMBER 16: T.J. Carrie #38 of the Cleveland Browns celebrates sacking Drew Brees #9 of the New Orleans Saints during the fourth quarter at Mercedes-Benz Superdome on September 16, 2018 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images)
NEW ORLEANS, LA – SEPTEMBER 16: T.J. Carrie #38 of the Cleveland Browns celebrates sacking Drew Brees #9 of the New Orleans Saints during the fourth quarter at Mercedes-Benz Superdome on September 16, 2018 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images) /

The cornerback moves

Maybe not every move they made at cornerback has been great. For instance, trading away Jason McCourty seemed like a move they shouldn’t have made, but it really wouldn’t have hurt them if not for some unfortunate injuries at the position. That’s because Dorsey did a good job bringing in guys who can play corner.

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In the offseason, he signed T.J. Carrie, Terrance Mitchell, and E.J. Gaines — all of whom are starting caliber players in the NFL. Of the three, Mitchell was having the best season. He spent training camp shadowing Jarvis Landry and frustrated him with his coverage ability and physicality.

Gaines had experience with defensive coach Gregg Williams (now the interim) and also looked ready to perform in this system. Unfortunately, both have been plagued with injuries and are now on the I.R.

They still have done well thanks to rookie Denzel Ward and their other free agent pick up, T.J. Carrie. In his last outing, Carrie drew the assignment of covering Julio Jones. While Jones had a good game, he did have to work for every yard and Carrie stepped up to force a fumble out of Mohamed Sanu that helped the Browns keep Atlanta at bay.

They may not be shut down caliber yet, but the guys Dorsey brought in here have been scrappy and hard to beat. And when players like Mitchell return from injury next season, they will only look better.