Adding 3 former Cleveland Browns to playoff roster
With a record of 11-5, the 2020 Cleveland Browns clinched a spot in the NFL playoffs, and in the process, they ended the longest active drought in the league. Not since the 2002 season had a Browns team been in the playoffs, which means we no longer have that dark cloud hanging over our heads.
While it’s true there were a lot of bad teams during that stretch ‚— which included no winning seasons at all since 2007 — there were some good players during that time.
Here, we look back over the past 18 seasons and select three players who never made it to the playoffs with the Browns who we would love to add to this team’s playoff roster — assuming we could add them in the prime of their career that is.
3. Josh Cribbs, Kick Returner
Like every player who makes this list, Josh Cribbs did get to taste the playoffs later in his career, but it was never with Cleveland. Instead, he was in the postseason in 2014 with the Indianapolis Colts in what proved to be his final season in the NFL. By then, Cribbs wasn’t the same player but the 31-year old did average 29 yards on six kick returns for the Colts.
Still, he’s remembered for his days as the biggest playmaker on a terrible Cleveland franchise. Undrafted out of Kent State in 2005, Cribbs was with the Browns for eight seasons and had 11 special teams touchdowns (eight kickoff returns and three punt returns).
In all, he had 10,015 yards on kick returns and 2,154 on punt returns. As an offensive player, he had 753 yards and two touchdowns on the ground and another 1,161 and seven touchdowns as a receiver.
Should the Browns be able to use him in his prime now, he could be the type of player to flip field position and would be a welcome addition on offense in the team’s many wide receiver runs.
2. D’Qwell Jackson, Linebacker
There’s no one who will argue that the Cleveland Browns linebacker corps isn’t awful right now. They entered the season as one of the least experienced in the NFL and already had major questions about their ability. Then, Mack Wilson regressed and they struggled with durability across the board.
Heading into the playoff game, they are thankfully going to have B.J. Goodson, who has been their best player at the position all year, back as he was recently activated from the Covid/Reserve list. Even with him on the field, they need help and for that reason, D’Qwell Jackson is a player who would make quite the impact if he were able to return in his prime for a postseason run.
A second-round pick in 20006 out of Maryland, Jackson was a tackling machine for the Browns. As a rookie, he had 94 tackles in 13 games and then really came on over the next two seasons. In 2007, he had 101 tackles, a sack, and an interception but then really stood out in 2008. That year, he led the NFL with 154 tackles while recording three interceptions, breaking up six passes, and registering two sacks.
In five of his seven seasons with the Browns, Jackson had at least 100 tackles and finished with 826 in his career with the team. He added 11.5 sacks, eight picks, and 29 pass defenses before leaving for the Indianapolis Colts.
He was a teammate of Josh Cribbs in 2014, which somehow was his only Pro Bowl season as well. Jackson also played in three postseason games that year, but never got the chance to do so with the Browns.
1. Joe Haden, Cornerback
There’s a bit of irony here as the Cleveland Browns might actually see Joe Haden on Sunday since he’s now a member of the Pittsburgh Steelers — although he is currently on the COVID-19 list, so he might not be able to go. Even with him suiting up for the most hated team in the AFC North the past few seasons, Browns fans are still fond of Haden for his seven seasons in Northeast Ohio.
Haden was the seventh overall pick of the Browns back in 2010 out of Florida and he ended up being everything they hoped he would. He started 81 of 90 games played and had 19 interceptions and an astonishing 101 pass defenses during that span.
Sadly in 2017, Sashi Brown decided to part ways with Haden in a cap-saving move which infuriated fans since they didn’t need the space and he was still playing at a high level. It made it even worse when he joined the Steelers while still being paid by Cleveland. Additional salt has been thrown in the wound since he’s still playing well for the Steelers and has 10 picks and 48 pass break-ups in four seasons.
With all that being said, the Browns secondary right now is a mess. While they would take Haden as he is now, adding a prime Joe Haden to this roster would be exactly what Cleveland needed to improve their frustratingly bad secondary.
There are clearly more players who would do wonders for this Cleveland team in the playoffs, but these three in their prime would be the most impactful on this current roster.