The Cleveland Browns have signed a lot of defensive players to one-year deals last week. That is important for the draft.
The Cleveland Browns have added a ton of depth to its defensive roster and we are only less than a week into free agency. Signing players such as B.J. Goodson, Karl Joseph, Andrew Billings, Kevin Johnson, Andrew Sendejo and Donovan Olumba have helped create a roster that can hopefully withstand some injuries.
That is very important in todays NFL and we as Browns fans have seen it year in and year out that teams must have quality depth behind their starters. By signing these seven players who have all seen a good amount of playing action, GM Andrew Berry has ensured that quality depth will not be an issue.
The best part of signing these seven depth pieces is that they did not break the bank in order to get them. All of them are on one-year deal that are not worth a lot of money. The Browns still have a ton of cap room to add other pieces or to lock up current players such as Myles Garrett or Larry Ogunjobi to long-term deals.
Including the $2.5 million in base salary, new Browns safety Karl Joseph has a roster bonus of $31,250 per game on the 48-man roster. Could add up to another $1 million in NLTBEs via interceptions and playing time.
— Jake Trotter (@Jake_Trotter) March 21, 2020
And this also opens up so many more opportunities for Cleveland once the NFL Draft kicks off. These moves allow them to take the best available player or the top-rated left tackle on Andrew Berry’s board. It also allows them to draft defensive players without the worry of having to rush them into the starting lineup right away.
With time on Cleveland’s side, the Browns can now sit back and wait for some other players in free agency who are not getting the offers that they thought they would thus leading to another quality depth piece or two
And as the Browns continue to add these pieces, this roster could be as deep as any that we have ever seen since the return of the franchise in 1999.