Cleveland Browns: The Scho will not go on

The Cleveland Browns front office has told Joe Schobert’s agent that they will not meet the market price on a new contract and he will not be back

Joe Schobert’s social media buzz tends to confirm that he will not be back with the Cleveland Browns this year.

Mary Kay Cabot of The Plain Dealer broke the story that Joe Schobert, the fan-favorite middle linebacker, is not coming back to Cleveland this season.

In her piece, Cabot says the Browns met with Schobert’s representatives but a deal is not imment as the demands are more than the team is willing to pay.

"“Browns GM Andrew Berry met with linebacker Joe Schobert’s agent, Joe Panos, in Indianapolis, and the two sides parted with the belief that Schobert will not be back with the Browns because they’re not prepared to pay him the double-digit millions he stands to make on the open market.” — Cabot, The Plain Dealer"

Although Schobert is very careful about what he says in social media, he retweeted the link to Cabot’s article with a crying icon, indicating that the story is true. Mack Wilson, Christian Kirksey, and others have tweeted back their good-byes as well. Now that is not quite proof that it will definitely happen, but it is proof that the parties believe it will happen.

This means that there is apparently not simply a disagreement about his market value. The sense of Cabot’s report is that the Browns basically agree that Schobert is going to get a big contract, but that the Browns place a much lower value on his services. They’re not saying that they think their offer is the best offer.

Joe Schobert has been a class act throughout the entire process. He has been one of the most underpaid players in the NFL. The Browns could have extended him but did not. Many players would have blasted the Browns in social media, but Schobert has taken the high road.

Schobert and his agent are not greedy. It’s not like the Browns have been intensely negotiating and offering as much as they can. They sincerely believe that the rest of the league values him more than they do.

So why are the Browns disinterested in Schobert?

There are several factors that have gone into this decision, right or wrong. One reason could be that over the last two years they have been among the worst teams in the NFL at containing the run. They gave up 5.0 yards per carry last year, which was third-worst in the league. Meanwhile, they have Sheldon Richardson and Olivier Vernon paid at a premier level, and Myles Garrett maxed out on his rookie deal. How can all of these players be so good if they cannot stop the run?

Second, Schobert has put up great tackle numbers year after year, but also more than his share of missed tackles. Defensive statistics tend to be amplified on a bad team. If the defensive line is letting guys get through, the linebackers accumulate more tackles. Also, they stay on the field longer.  So perhaps being near the top of the leader board in tackles is not quite as impressive as it seems.

Third, their top priority needs to be keeping quarterback Baker Mayfield healthy. They need two offensive tackles, so perhaps they are positioning themselves to make a major investment in a higher priority than linebacker.

Fourth, Berry and the front office may be putting the team on a salary cap diet. Last year they overspent the annual cap allowance. Using estimates from Spotrac.com, the Browns spent $212,753,859 in 2019, versus the annual cap allowance of 188,200,000, meaning they overspent by $24,553,859 which they had to cover with saved-up carryover dollars from previous years. They may be underspending their cap allowance this year to compensate.

Fifth, the Browns may have confidence in young linebackers like Mack Wilson, Sione Takitaki, and Willie Harvey. Schobert will certainly be missed, but perhaps these players will improve enough in their second year to partially compensate.

Sixth, an often overlooked factor is that the Browns may be granted a compensatory draft pick in 2021 if Schobert moves to a new team and they sign fewer free agents than they lose. Because he was a fourth-round pick in 2016, the Browns would probably get a fifth or sixth-round pick in return.

None of this makes it easier for those who loved No. 53 to accept that the Scho will not go on. It’s just simply insight into what the thought process was o this tough decision.