Tracking Cleveland Browns free agent adds and losses
Who’s coming and going from Berea this offseason? Here’s a look at the Cleveland Browns additions and losses in free agency
This article takes an inventory of which players have left the Cleveland Browns and which players are coming to town this season. One way to measure whether the team is getting better or worse is to check whether more talent is coming in than is leaving town. Are the Browns still building? Or have they peaked and are they ready to decline?
To answer that question, your humble correspondent has summarized the veteran personnel comings and goings in free agency with a convenient table so you can look and see where the Browns have improved and where they have sustained some losses. You have to look at both sides of the ledger.
If you just read about the free-agent signings this offseason and ignore the talent that is leaving town, it would be tempting to think the Browns are going to wrap up the Super Bowl easily. It seems like they are going to have stars at every position now.
For example, Jadeveon Clowney is a former Pro Bowl defensive end, most recently making the team in 2018. But then you realize that Olivier Vernon was on that same Pro Bowl squad that same year and the Browns are losing him this season. Indeed, Pro Football Focus grades the two players about the same. So they added a very good defensive end, but subtracted a good defensive end also.
Digging deeper, the way PFF grades, in theory, they don’t cut the player any slack if they are double-teamed. Their grade is about carrying out their assignments, and if you are double-teamed like Clowney and getting harder assignments than Vernon, who was less likely to be double-teamed, the grading system might give a distorted view of the value of the player.
Nevertheless, the point remains that Vernon was a very good player and was not exactly a hole in the lineup prior to his devastating Achilles injury. Clowney is probably an upgrade but not a massive upgrade.
Writers sometimes overhype players returning from the Injured Reserve, and new rookie draftees. But let’s take into account that all NFL teams have players returning from IR and they all have draftees (with the possible exception of the Houston Texans).
So this does not necessarily separate your team from the rest of the NFL. Injuries are basically unpredictable. Nevertheless, in the table below, both Grant Delpit and Greedy Williams are treated as if they are new players added to the squad because they were not part of the active roster last season. So we are very happy they are back but remember that other teams are also welcoming back some good players and this does not mean the Browns are going to be vastly improved health-wise compared to the rest of the NFL.
What’s different about 2021 is that there are players coming off the Covid-19 opt-out list, which never existed before. Hence, Andrew Billings and Drew Forbes are considered to be newcomers in the table below. Likewise, other teams have players coming off Covid-19 opt-out as well. The Patriots are notable for the number of quality players they lost last season, by the way.
As for the draft, the general sense is that the Ivy League connection is drafting better players than the pure jocks employed by other teams. Hence the Browns might have stolen a few players this season compared to the Bengals, say. But other good teams probably had good drafts also.
Free agents provide the most direct comparison between incoming and leaving talent. So, in one table, you can see laid out the major free agents, plus returning IR players and returning Covid Opt-out players. You can make your own judgment whether the Browns have improved a little or a lot or perhaps you may even feel that they are going in the wrong direction.
Comparisons can be made all up and down the Browns lineup, position by position, man for man. The largest upgrades are definitely safety John Johnson, defensive end Jadeveon Clowney (especially if you add Takkarist McKinely to the equation), and cornerback Troy Hill.
The Browns have made three veteran upgrades at first string, and start two rookies on defense in cornerback Greg Newsome and linebacker Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah. Tommy Togiai may get snaps at defensive tackle and might also start as a rookie.
On the other hand, the view here is that Sheldon Richardson, though not living up to the price tag of his bloated contract, has not been replaced by a player with equivalent talent and skill. Whoever replaces Richardson will have to step up to be an upgrade.
However, the Browns have brought in sufficient depth at defensive tackle that overall the position group is probably about the same or even better than last season, when they were very dependent on Richardson and Larry Ogunjobi and were much weaker when forced to substitute.
Browns add Browns subtract Comment
Safety
John Johnson Karl Joseph Strong upgrade
Grant Delpit* Anything Delpit contributes is awesome.
Defensive End
Jadeveon Clowney Olivier Vernon PFF ranks Clowney and Vernon even.
Takkarist McKinley McKinley is probably going to be healthy
Corner
Troy Hill Terrance Mitchell Strong upgrade
Greedy Williams* Kevin Johnson Greedy coming back; KJ capable starter
_ Tavierre Thomas TT Special teams ace, extra DB
Defensive Tackle
Malik Jackson Sheldon Richardson Richardson will be missed
Damion Square Larry Ogunjobi Square, Billings replace Ogunjobi
Andrew Billings**
Linebacker
Anthony Walker PFF ranks AW about the same as Mack Wilson
Offensive Tackle
_ Kendall Lamm Swing tackle can start if he stays healthy
Guard
Drew Forbes** A year to learn under star OL coach Bill Callahan
*injured in 2021.
* * Covid opt-out list in 2022.
In summary, this fan believes the Browns did upgrade just about every position group with the veterans via free agency, and they also had a good draft.
dark. Next. Browns should change course on Julio Jones if price drops
They are not the 1985 Chicago Bears, but they are trending in that direction.