After a pretty quiet week from the Cleveland Browns, it's time to look back on the few, but solid, signings the team made. There's a few important things to keep in mind when talking about why the Browns' free agency has been so noneventful this year, and as we approach an important draft.
First, they have limited cap space to manipulate, move around, and use to sign players. Sure, they restructured Jack Conklin's contract, cut Dalvin Tomlinson, and restructured Deshaun Watson's albatross of a deal. And yet, they're only left with $13.7 million. And, that's before the wonderful folks at Over The Cap have been able to update the Browns' page to reflect their free agent signings.
Secondly, with Myles Garrett's trade request and the subsequent public reaction to it, Cleveland doesn't look like an awesome team to try and sign with - the culture needs a reviving, and it's not going to happen in one season.
Thirdly, the team has no starting quarterback. Seriously, not one. And no, we will not be seriously counting Kenny Pickett as the QB1 unless he remains the only quarterback on the roster heading into the season. That's unlikely, so again, they have no starting quarterback. That's not attractive to free agent receivers, running backs, tight ends, or really, anyone.
So, now that we've laid the groundwork for such a quiet offseason, let's dive into the grades for each signing.
Grading each Browns signing (and their one trade) in free agency
Maliek Collins - Grade: B
Collins was signed as an immediate replacement to the loss of Dalvin Tomlinson in free agency. Collins, formerly with the San Francisco 49ers, finished up with 45 pressures - that was good for 15th out of 219 eligible defensive tackles according to PFF. Collins and Garrett can end up becoming a pretty formidable duo together on the line.
Collins is a low risk, high reward signing for Cleveland. We're not talking about Collins becoming a Defensive Player of the Year nominee here, but he can at least be a disruptive addition to the line as well as a younger one.
Joe Tryon-Shoyinka - Grade: C+
Tryon-Shoykinka is a former first round pick for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers who, despite some success as a pass rusher, has yet to piece together a truly great season. That's probably because of how he was being utilized in the Buccaneers' system, so there's definitely room for growth as a part of the Browns' defensive front.
His 2023 season with Tampa Bay, where he had five sacks, 45 tackles, and 4.5 stuffs is what the Browns defense should hope to get from him in their system. He's another high floor edge rusher who'll surely help lighten the load on Garrett in their pass rushing game.
Cornelius Lucas - Grade: B+
Lucas, a veteran offensive lineman and tackle who'll be brought on to help both Jack Conklin at right tackle as well as add depth to a left tackle position that includes Dawand Jones and a prayer.
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In his 2024 season, he allowed just one sack, and had an overall pass blocking grade of 79.1 from PFF. While his run blocking leaves something to be desired, it's an immediate upgrade from what Cleveland had with James Hudson III and Jedrick Wills Jr. His experience and reliability will hopefully help to establish a better pass and run game in 2025.
Kenny Pickett (traded by PHI Eagles to CLE Browns for Dorian Thompson-Robinson and 5th round pick) - Grade: C-
It feels premature to say that Pickett will be some failure for the Browns in 2025. He's shown some flashes of reliability at quarterback, but he's never been an explosive playmaker. That's a must in the Browns' offense right now, and it's just not his style. The former pick for the Pittsburgh Steelers bounced from there to the Eagles to be Jalen Hurts' backup before now landing with the Browns.
This trade is graded the lowest out of all free agent transactions so far for Cleveland because it's the only quarterback move they've made. That's bad. They have to secure a much more reliable option at signal caller than Pickett if they want to keep on keeping on this free agency, but knowing Pickett is their only rostered quarterback isn't exactly keeping their phones ringing.