After James Hudson III left on Day 1 of NFL free agency to sign with the NY Giants, it was made clear that the team would be on the market for veteran tackle help to either start or just add depth to their offenisve line. Jedrick Wills Jr. doesn't feel like a certainty to return to Cleveland, so they had to add back someone.
Enter Cornelius Lucas. The overwhelmingly tall tackle will be signing with the Browns once teams are allowed to formalize their deals with players. According to ESPN's Jeremy Fowler, who broke the deal, it's for 2 years and up to $10 million.
Cornelius Lucas comes in to compete for starting OT job
Hudson was far from a shoo-in to be a starter for the Browns headed into 2025. In fact, it feels like the team is likelier more trusting in Dawand Jones' ability to come back healthy and provide some decent snaps at tackle over Hudson's ability to do so. But, adding Lucas is huge to the Browns' need, or in this case non-need, to re-sign Wills out of desperation.
Given how big the deals have been for offensive linemen so far this offseason, this is also a major steal. Lucas is 33 years old, so you have to take age into play when considering how good this deal is for the Browns. But, he was one of the better pass blockers and overall blockers in the NFL in 2024. He finished up with a 74.1 overall PFF grade, and a 79.1 pass block grade.
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Hudson had an abysmal 50.4 overall grade, with Wills picking up a 52.9 overall grade. Clearly, despite his age, Lucas is going to be a ton more reliable with protecting the pocket, and that's key if Cleveland is aiming to get either an older quarterback who is less mobile or a rookie quarterback who'll need extra processing time in the pocket.
It would be nice to now see the Browns find help with their run blocking, which was pretty poor last season. While they have yet to re-sign Nick Chubb as of the start to Day 2 of free agency, if they did, they need to find help on their O-line to make re-signing the young but injury prone runner worth it. If he had help, it'd mean a world of a difference to the Browns' offense.