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Cleveland Browns: 5 Free agents who won’t be back in 2021

By Randy Gurzi

BALTIMORE, MD - SEPTEMBER 13: Olivier Vernon #54 of the Cleveland Browns attempts to tackle Lamar Jackson #8 of the Baltimore Ravens during the second half at M&T Bank Stadium on September 13, 2020 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Scott Taetsch/Getty Images)
BALTIMORE, MD - SEPTEMBER 13: Olivier Vernon #54 of the Cleveland Browns attempts to tackle Lamar Jackson #8 of the Baltimore Ravens during the second half at M&T Bank Stadium on September 13, 2020 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Scott Taetsch/Getty Images) /
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Cleveland Browns. Mandatory Credit: Scott Galvin-USA TODAY Sports /

1. Larry Ogunjobi, Defensive Tackle

Heading into 2019, one player that was really coming into his own was defensive tackle Larry Ogunjobi. The former third-round pick had broken out in his second campaign, recording 52 tackles and 5.5 sacks. Then when the Browns added Sheldon Richardson and Olivier Vernon to the mix, it seemed as though Larry O would have even more one-on-one blocking matchups to exploit.

In the end, he had a season very familiar to the one prior —‚ finishing with nearly identical numbers of 50 tackles and 5.5 sacks. There were some signs of struggles though during the season, especially when it came to stopping the run.

Now, in the defense of Ogunjobi, he was having to play out of position. Both he and Richardson are better suited as three-technique defensive tackles rather than the run-stuffing nose role that he was being asked to perform. In 2020, he was supposed to do less of that when Andrew Billings was added to the roster but then the former Bengal opted out of the season.

This meant Ogunjobi would again be lining up at the nose and so far in 2020, he’s been having problems getting the job done. Ogunjobi isn’t playing at a high level right now and has just 23 tackles with no sacks. It’s fair to say rookie Jordan Elliott has shown more promise against the run right now than Ogunjobi and he could start to lose snaps to him in the second half of the season.

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It could also mean that Cleveland allows Ogunjobi to test the open market in the offseason. Given his talent, someone will clearly offer him more than the Browns will and it could even be in his best interest to move on and get into a defensive scheme that allows him to do what he does best.

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