3 players Cleveland Browns should avoid extending in offseason
By Greg Newland
![Cleveland Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield (6) rushes for a short gain ahead of a host of Baltimore players during the second half of an NFL football game at FirstEnergy Stadium, Sunday, Dec. 12, 2021, in Cleveland, Ohio. [Jeff Lange/Beacon Journal]Browns 18](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_fill,w_1080,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/shape%2Fcover%2Fsport%2Fhttps-3A-2F-2Fdawgpounddaily-com-2Fwp-content-2Fuploads-2Fimagn-images-2F2018-2F08-2F17346656-850x560-2421a654e6ca9a8ed9a1336920a478903681e5790a29af9c03e7fa625cae2a7e.jpg "Cleveland Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield (6) rushes for a short gain ahead of a host of Baltimore players during the second half of an NFL football game at FirstEnergy Stadium, Sunday, Dec. 12, 2021, in Cleveland, Ohio. [Jeff Lange/Beacon Journal]Browns 18")
The Cleveland Browns find themselves in the heat of an AFC North title, but there are still a lot of holes on the roster that Andrew Berry must address.
The Cleveland Browns are coming off their best win of the season last Sunday vs. the Baltimore Ravens. It certainly wasn’t pretty, but a division win is a division win in the NFL, and the Browns now sit second in the AFC North with a 7-6 overall record and 2-2 in the division.
We knew all along it would take 4-2 in the division to get into the playoffs, we just didn’t know the AFC would be packed with so many good teams. It’s starting to look like the Browns may have a better chance at making the playoffs as a division winner vs. a wild card.
The game this Saturday vs. the Las Vegas Raiders is very winnable, and don’t forget the Ravens are set to host a very good Packers team and could be without Lamar Jackson once again.
A likely scenario could be that the Browns and Ravens are both 8-6 overall, 2-2 in the division, and 5-5 in the AFC. The next tiebreaker becomes the strength of schedule, which I’ll let the experts figure out. Remember, the Ravens have the Packers, Bengals, Rams, and Steelers left on the schedule. That is 3 games they could potentially lose.
If the Browns win on Saturday, the playoff opportunity is back. The Browns have a very tough game vs. the Packers on Christmas day, but that will likely be one they can afford to lose if they close the season with wins in Pittsburgh and at home vs. the Bengals.
There is a lot to be excited about right now, but let’s not forget this team still has a lot of issues. Andrew Berry must be careful to not extend these three players this offseason.