3 players that could follow Jim Schwartz to the Cleveland Browns
By Greg Newland
2. David Long, Jr., Linebacker
The Cleveland Browns have a lot of talent at linebacker, but injuries have continued to be an issue. It feels more and more like Anthony Walker, Jr. will be gone, and Deion Jones and Sione Takitaki are both pending free agents as well.
All three of those guys have played well at times, but with Takitaki and Walker both coming off serious injuries, I don’t see Berry bringing either back — unless it’s a crazy hometown discount. Jones showed signs of being a former first-round pick last season, but he still had his share of struggles. In his defense, he arrived midseason and got thrown into a mess with all the injuries.
The Titans will likely want to keep Long as he had his best season in 2022 with 86 tackles, seven tackles for loss, and two interceptions. Long is the rare guy that is very tough against the run, but also can drop in coverage and have success.
My biggest fear with Long is he is slightly undersized at only 227 pounds. The Browns already have Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah who is 221 pounds soaking wet, it will be interesting to see if Schwartz wants to beef up that group or stay with the athletic guys.
A potential trio of linebackers for the Browns could be Jones, JOK, and Long with Tony Fields as the fourth guy. Not only would that be a strong group of linebackers, but it would also likely be one of the more athletic groups in the league which has become the popular choice.