5 Free Agent safeties the Cleveland Browns could target in 2023
By John Suchan
The Cleveland Browns will be searching the free agent market again this season for some help at safety and these five players could be targeted
The safety situation for the Cleveland Browns these past seasons hasn’t been the best. The team brought in veteran John Johnson III in a big free agent signing back in 2021 and he was looked at as being a potential difference maker. To date, he’s been a disappointing signing, to say the least.
He’s still under contract, but he could be traded or released in the coming months. Right now, the Browns are in the red in terms of cap space going into the free agency market which starts March 16th.
Grant Delpit, one of the other safeties is coming into his own and had a very nice end to the season. Ronnie Harrison is a free agent again and will likely be looking for a new team. So, with doors opening and shutting at the safety position, let’s look at five free agents that could make their way to Cleveland.
Cleveland Browns FA Safety Target No. 5: Taylor Rapp, Los Angeles Rams
Taylor Rapp has played with the Los Angeles Rams since he was drafted by them back in 2019 from the University of Washington. He’s had a steady career in terms of statistics. However, the Rams have let him play out his contract and the discussion in Los Angeles is that they expect him to be allowed to walk in free agency.
Cleveland’s current safety John Johnson also came from the Rams and was able to walk as well in free agency a couple of years back. L.A. doesn’t seem to make a habit of keeping their safeties around long-term.
When you read the negatives about Rapp’s game, they suggest that he gets lost in coverage, which sounds like the same criticism for Johnson. Rapp is only 25 years old and had a solid season in terms of tackles with 92 this year. He’s also collected a couple more interceptions this year and has a total of nine in his four-year career. The market value for him is projected somewhere between $6 to $10 million a season which is a little bit on the high-end, especially if the Browns are looking to lower their cap.
However, if Cleveland parts ways with Johnson, they could bring in Rapp at a low-end deal that may be in the ballpark of $5 to 6 million a year. The fact that Rapp is young and still growing as a player is positive and despite the negative criticism of his work in the secondary, maybe a change of scenery in Cleveland would do him some good for his game.