3 things the Shelby Harris deal tells us about the Cleveland Browns
By Greg Newland
News broke late in the afternoon on Wednesday that Andrew Berry had struck again. The Cleveland Browns and veteran defensive tackle, Shelby Harris, agreed to a one-year deal worth just north of $5 million.
Harris has now been in the league for eight years with a majority of his time in Denver. If you are wondering about the type of player he is and how he fits on this roster, think of everything you wish Jordan Elliott was, and that's Harris.
He has the strength and leverage to engage at the line and shed blocks in the run game, and he also has the athleticism and technique to be effective at collapsing the pocket. At age 31, Harris is certainly on the outskirts of his prime, but the Browns are getting a starting quality player for not a whole lot of money.
This signing doesn’t just make the roster stronger, but it also tells us where this team is. Here are the three biggest takeaways after the Harris signing on Wednesday.
Cleveland Browns takeaway No. 3: There could be more surprise signings
I don’t want to say that this was a complete shock, but I am slightly surprised that Berry ended up pulling the trigger on this. The Cleveland Browns have a ton of depth at defensive tackle, the issue is that none of it is extremely talented.
If Berry was willing to bring in a veteran like this at defensive tackle, we may see this at another position like at linebacker or along the offensive line as well. Again, both of these spots appear to be in decent shape, but both have struggled in the past.
I love seeing Berry be aggressive, and I think the team will feed off trying to fill the holes on this roster.