Tom Brady’s retirement could help the Cleveland Browns

The Cleveland Browns could wind up benefiting from Tom Brady’s retirement. Hopefully, the Browns could pluck a player from the Bucs’ roster. 

Tom Brady officially retired on Wednesday, and it could wind up helping the Cleveland Browns. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are expected to go into a full rebuild and they will have a number of players who could instantly help the Browns.

Andrew Brandt took to Twitter and mentioned that the Bucs are about to enter salary cap hell so the need for them to shed contracts and get younger, cheaper players via the draft would probably suit them well. Unfortunately for the Browns, they won’t have all their draft capital at their disposal due to the Deshaun Watson trade. But they can still maybe find a way to grab a player that can help them next season.

At the top of that list might have to be defensive tackle Vita Vea, who is an excellent run stuffer, something the Browns desperately need. Vea also had seven sacks last season so putting him in Jim Schwartz’s defensive line-friendly scheme might make total sense for both parties involved. Vea signed a four-year contract extension last offseason so he would be under team control for another three seasons.

Another player that might interest the Browns is wide receiver Chris Godwin. Godwin has had an excellent career in Tampa Bay and was one of Tom Brady’s favorite targets catching 104 passes last season for 1,023 yards and three scores.

Godwin did tear his ACL in 2021 but came back strong and should only get better next season. His cap number is expected to soar to $23,750,000 this season so the need to trade him might be high for the Buccaneers.

Lastly, edge rusher Shaquil Barrett might be a good player to try and pair with Myles Garrett. Barrett will be on essentially a one-year deal in 2023 as there is an out in his contract in 2024. Barrett’s trade value shouldn’t be crazy high as he only played in eight games last season and registered just three sacks. Maybe a change in scenery would do him wonders.

Tom Brady’s retirement could possibly force a quality player to land the Cleveland Browns way as they look to upgrade their roster and make a run at the playoffs in 2023.