Cleveland Browns will need to trim players to sign free agents

Browns may lose 8 unrestricted free agents

The Browns will be hit hard with free-agent losses, namely Joe Schobert, Damarious Randall, Greg Robinson, Drew Stanton, Rashard Higgins, Eric Murray, Juston Burris, and Justin McCray.

There’s a chance that some can still be re-signed, but more than likely the Browns are going to lose some talented players. All eight contributed in some way in 2020 except for perhaps Drew Stanton, who was on IR.

But Stanton remains a viable backup, and the Browns liked his presence in the quarterback room, so it is not like he has zero value.

The Browns also have Restricted Free Agents (RFA) including Kareem Hunt. There’s no need to worry about Hunt and other RFA’s however. Cleveland has the ability to match any contract offers they receive from other teams, so they control his destiny. He, along with other RFA’s, will either belong to the Browns or will be traded in a deal that the Browns will approve.

Joe Schobert is a top linebacker who went to the Pro Bowl two years ago. Is he as good as Demario Davis, who played for the Browns? If so, Davis has a cap charge this year in the range of $10 million a year which would be ten times what he was getting with the Browns.

Damarious Randall is probably not going to make the money that he’s used to. His high 2019 salary results from the fifth-year option given to former first-round draft picks. His real value is quite a bit lower.

Greg Robinson generally did not seem to have the same year in 2019 that he did in the second half of 2018. However, the Browns pay him like a journeyman rather than a superstar. Put another way, if the Browns take his salary ($6.4 million) and use it to pay someone else, they are unlikely to get someone who is much better.

What they are more likely to do is to up the ante. Most fans, including this one, want the Browns to invest in a top left tackle, perhaps trading for Washington’s disgruntled Pro Bowler, Trent Williams who will pull down $13.6 million in 2020 (and remember, he feels strongly that he is worth more). They also need help at cornerback, wide receiver, and defensive line

Rashard Higgins earned respect from the Dawg Pound in 2018, when he hooked up with Baker Mayfield on several clutch catches and seemed to have developed a great rapport with his quarterback. In 2019, however, he feuded with Freddie Kitchens and allegedly refused to go in the game when ordered onto the field. Consequently, he was unused and sat on the bench the rest of the season.

Strong safety Eric Murray started four games and played well, though he missed time with injuries. Fellow safety Juston Burris was also a good performer in limited snaps this year.

Justin McCray played a little on the offensive line as well as special teams. He will be in the NFL next year, but very likely will not be re-signed by Cleveland.

The Browns would like to resign some of these players, and especially Joe Schobert. However, the 2020 cap allowance is not large enough to re-sign the players they want and certainly not

But never fear, there are ways for the Browns to clear $30 million worth cap space without harming the team. That’s enough to re-sign or replace Schobert, Murray, Burris and maybe Higgins depending on how mad he is at the way Freddie treated him last year, plus add a few star players.