Cleveland Browns should definitely re-sign Rashard Higgins

Rashard Higgins came up big in 2020 for the Cleveland Browns

Last season, it was evident that Baker Mayfield hit a different level from about Week 7 onward for the Cleveland Browns. There were a few hiccups, sure, but Mayfield, by and large, got better as the season wore on.

When examining the Browns wide receiver situation, though, it does appear that Odell Beckham Jr. could end up being dealt during this upcoming offseason. Beckham did seem to show more effectiveness last season when he played with Mayfield, but factoring in recent injury history and trade rumors, to go with Jarvis Landry’s deal still, that seems reasonable.

It was nice to have seen Donovan Peoples-Jones come on some as a deep threat last season, though, which was encouraging.

Albeit clearly a player that stepped up with Beckham sidelined much of the year (ACL tear) was Rashard Higgins.

Higgins was a nonfactor in 2019, seemingly for various reasons and similarly, was not involved at all early on in 2020. The reasons were somewhat injury-related, but also not necessarily in that realm, but as was shown in 2018, Higgins and Mayfield have quite the connection when the opportunities arise. Higgins had a resurgent 2020, too, and hopefully, he’s back.

The Browns should definitely re-sign Higgins.

Higgins had career-highs in receiving yards (599), yards per catch (16.2), and tied a career-best with four receiving touchdowns. It’s also again, abundantly clear that Higgins and Mayfield have a terrific connection, as was touched on previously.

One would assume that trust factor played into why Higgins last offseason re-signed with Cleveland via a team-friendly one-year deal.

Moreover, Cleveland had a passer rating of 119.0 when targeting Higgins, and Higgins didn’t have a registered drop in 2020, according to Pro Football Reference. Granted, he did have three fumbles, which included two in the same drive in Cleveland’s close Monday Night Football loss versus the Baltimore Ravens (albeit neither were lost), but one shouldn’t read much into that.

Him previously being cited for drag racing last month, though it wasn’t ideal at the time, wasn’t anything to be worried about either, I don’t think.

Anyway, while he is set to be an unrestricted free agent, the Cleveland Browns should definitely re-sign Higgins. And for context, the Browns are currently set to have in the ballpark of $20.2 million in cap space, which is 10th in the league, per Over The Cap. But the Browns also have the highest cap carryover in the NFL this offseason, as DPD’s Randy Gurzi hit on, which is currently set to be $30.4 million.

And as far as a fairly realistic potential deal, DPD’s Cory Kinnan suggested a three-year, $21-24 million or so deal for Higgins being re-signed.

Point being, even while Cleveland could perhaps look to draft a vertical threat such as Louisville’s Tutu Atwell, as Kinnan noted, Minnesota’s Rashod Bateman, or North Carolina’s Dyami Brown, Higgins should absolutely be back.

As a WR3 or so, he’s a very solid piece to have, along with Cleveland’s tight ends (we’ll see in regards to David Njoku, in that realm, though).

The Browns would be wise to bring back the 26-year-old Higgins, who has stayed the course, even amid his share of adversity in his five-year career with Cleveland, the club that drafted him in 2016. And I’m not letting his postseason fumble at the Kansas City Chiefs, via the worst rule in sports out of the end zone, cast a black cloud over his potential re-signing, either, for the record.