6 Cleveland Browns offensive linemen that got away

If the Cleveland Browns are short on depth, they have only themselves to blame. These 6 linemen were allowed to leave but are still starting in the NFL.

The Cleveland Browns offensive line has been much weaker this season than the past year, but some of it is their own doing because they have had several players who they let get away. Believe it or not, there are six starting linemen in the NFL who were once under contract to the Browns, but were allowed to sign with another team, or were traded or flat-out cut.

That doesn’t count players like Alex Mack, who wanted to leave the Browns and took less money to go elsewhere, back in the tenure of Ray Farmer.

Cleveland’s offensive line took some steps backward in 2019, given the way they played in the second half of 2018. That line allowed only five sacks of Baker Mayfield, plus 11 hits allowed, compared to the first half totals of 33 sacks and 62 hits allowed. That turnaround in one season is astounding.

This year’s team has actually been better than average, with 34 sacks allowed through 15 games, which is 13th in the NFL. There have been only 56 hits allowed, which is fourth-best in the NFL.

Part of that is due to Baker Mayfield’s elusiveness combined with play calls designed to get the ball airborne quickly (oops — I just complimented Freddie Kitchens and Todd Monken. Forgive me). The Browns also have the league’s top rusher, in Nick Chubb.

The offensive line is not the disaster area that some make it out to be, but it is nowhere near the level it was in the second half of 2018.

The Browns are totally happy with left guard Joel Bitonio and center J.C. Tretter, who have been outstanding. Neither Bitonio or Tretter has missed a single snap since 2016. Bitonio has been to one Pro Bowl and though Tretter has never made it, it would be fair to say he has been consistently close to that level.

The other positions represent some form of compromise. Left tackle Greg Robinson is graded below average at 36th overall. Robinson has hurt the team with untimely penalties, including the infamous episode against the Titans in which he was ejected and fined for kicking a player in the face.

That same game, Kendall Lamm went down with an injury and the team had to use a player who had been on the roster for less than two weeks. The Browns lost control of the line of scrimmage and could not come back. That kind of undisciplined behavior makes it hard to trust him going forward. Robinson is on a one-year deal and thus may or may not be back.

At right guard, Wyatt Teller (53rd) has come in for Eric Kush (71st) and has been an upgrade. Teller is below average but improving. Kush is good enough to play in the NFL but probably has not done enough to deserve a starting gig. Rookie Drew Forbes is also lurking in the background.

At right tackle, Justin McCray and Chris Hubbard are graded 76th and 79th overall, which is decent for a backup but unacceptable for a starter. Hubbard is being paid the seventh-highest salary among offensive tackles.

McCray is probably better at guard, and although Hubbard has never been tried there in his Cleveland career, maybe that is where he should be also. In limited snaps, Kendall Lamm has a similar ranking to Greg Robinson (average) but has been injured twice, raising questions about whether he can stay healthy.