6 Free agent safeties Cleveland Browns should consider
The Cleveland Browns need help at safety and it’s available
The Cleveland Browns are so thin at the safety position, that it may be time to push the panic button. It turns out that there are actually panic buttons that might be worth pushing. Sheldrick Redwine has played well. That’s the good news and that is where it stops.
Grant Delpit is out for the season. Currently, Ronnie Harris is in concussion protocol, and Karl Joseph is out with a hamstring pull. Andrew Sendejo has not played well as the every-down safety and would probably benefit from being part of a rotation. By the way, if any of you readers can play safety, you might want to stop by 100 Alfred Lerner Way, and there might be a job for you.
There are several free-agent safeties out there who are legitimate players.
Normally players who are unsigned in October are only those who are too old, way overweight, and no longer able to actually play. But 2020 is not a normal year. Back in March, free agents were being signed as usual, but suddenly in mid-March, the NFL world realized that a worldwide pandemic was striking and suddenly no one could be sure what the salary cap would be in 2021.
That caused teams to freeze their budgets and become much more cautious about over-committing. Suddenly free agent money dried up, and veterans started getting cut and were just not picked up by new teams. Some are still out there, finding it hard to believe that the dollars being offered are much smaller than expected.
At this point, the Browns are not necessarily looking for top players. They just really need someone who can play the position and become part of a rotation or become a quality backup. They may not even be “top 50” at the position. They need NFL players.
Yet, the safety position has some surprising depth to it, and it is possible that a 2021 starter could emerge in some cases. The Browns are not going to throw millions of cap dollars at a safety, but could possibly invest $1-$2 million in the right player. General manager Andrew Berry and the Browns front office have done a great job managing the salary cap this year, and have accumulated some $31 million dollars to carry over into 2021 and beyond.
Remember, however, they need to be thinking about extending players like Baker Mayfield, Nick Chubb, Denzel Ward and others, so they are not free to blow multimillion dollar sums on short term needs. However a modest investment to plug a hole is in order, or a two-year deal for the right player might be possible.
At strong safety, Eric Reid is the most complete player at the safety position, but comes with some baggage due to his friendship with Colin Kaepernick.
Earl Thomas is physically not the same player who was All-Universe with Seattle a few years ago, but was still good enough to make the Pro Bowl last year. He was dismissed from the Ravens in the preseason after an altercation with a teammate.
Ha Ha Clinton-Dix was signed and then cut by the Dallas Cowboys. That’s really a horrible sign because it is abundantly clear by now that the Cowboys cannot play defense. At all. Thus getting cut by Dallas really is a disgrace. Nevertheless, Dix is healthy but just did not display the same talent level as a few years ago.
Tony Jefferson is coming off ACL surgery, followed by Covid-19 and is about ready to play. He is a starting caliber safety.
J.T. Hassell impressed this untalented scout with his ability to pursue and tackle last season in spot duty. Really, he should be retained just for the Baltimore game, to use his 4.3 speed on Lamar Jackson. He does not have full use of his left hand, which is why teams do not take a chance on him. However, he has compensating abilities.
DPD also checked on veteran star Reshad Jones, but concluded he is probably not available to play.