The biggest news involving the Cleveland Browns this offseason is clear as day: who will be backing up and helping Dawand Jones at left tackle to start the 2025 season?
With the likely departure of Jed Wills Jr. in free agency, and a question mark hanging over the health of Jones longterm for Cleveland at the position, they need to look to free agency and to the draft to address the hole that exists at LT.
Their offensive line, overall, will need some shoring up with a few key players like Michael Dunn, Joel Bitonio, Wyatt Teller, and Jack Conklin feeling like reliable but aging linemen that'll need extra support added to the depth chart this season. After a rough 2024, they can use a bounceback. Managing to add versatility to the line this offseason will help with that goal.
One free agent the Browns should be in on, according to CBS Sports
CBS Sports' Jordan Dajani wrote up a free agency piece going over each team in the NFL's needs in free agency, selecting one player that each team had to prioritize signing ahead of the 2025 season.
For Cleveland, instead of focusing on probably their biggest need at quarterback, Dajani went the practical route and named OT Cam Robinson as the player the Browns should be looking to sign this free agency.
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"Most imagine Cleveland will allow Jed Wills Jr. to walk, and it's unknown if Dawand Jones is the long-term answer on the left side. Robinson could be an option for the Browns if Minnesota allows him to leave, but price matters with the Browns' cap situation being one of the worst in the league," explained Dajani in his write up on Robinson.
According to PFF, Robinson finished up his season wth the Minnesota Vikings ranked 56th overall amongst all tackles in both pass and run blocking proficiency, grading out to a 64.7 score. His pass blocking specifically stood out, earning a grade of 70.4 on the year. But, he was only graded 59.9 in his run blocking, which is something Cleveland desperately needs for their offense to hum again in 2025.
As Dajani mentioned, it's hard to speculate about any actually decent free agents landing with Cleveland given their dire cap situation. According to Over the Cap, the team is second to last in cap space as they're in the red to the tune of $30 million headed into the offseason. It's hard to see how they remedy that without some pretty big trades and cuts.
But, if they are able to snag Robinson, it'd go a long way to ensure that Jones isn't pressured too much to be the be all, end all starting tackle for the team. He could share snaps with Robinson pretty easily, and that'd help to boost Cleveland's run game.