With the first wave of free agency officially behind us, it feels like the Cleveland Browns won’t be adding any more starting-caliber players until the 2024 NFL Draft. Andrew Berry was active early and often making trades and signing free agents, but it’s certainly calmed down the last week, especially with the annual coaches and owners’ meetings going on in Orlando.
2024 will be pivotal for this organization as it’s year three of the Deshaun Watson experiment. And while the winning has been great the last four years (compared to the prior four), there's no doubt the pressure is on for this to be the year. Knowing that we have seen Berry be more aggressive than in the past to get this roster in tip-top shape.
As the Browns prepare to fight for a Super Bowl in 2024, here are five players fighting for their jobs after the first wave of free agency.
5. Jerome Ford, Running Back
Jerome Ford was given a real opportunity last year when Nick Chubb went down with a knee injury, and unfortunately, he failed to capitalize. Part of this was the lack of performance from the banged-up offensive line, but in this business, those factors don’t really come into play in this business.
With the additions of Nyheim Hines and D’Onta Foreman, it looks less and less likely that he will be seeing the field this season. Foreman will likely be in position for most of the carries, with Hines brought in for passing downs and when Foreman needs a break.
I’m not saying that Ford will get blanked on snaps or be cut from the team in 2024, but it appears to be a long shot for him to be one or two on the depth chart even before Chubb returns from injury.
4. David Bell and 3. Cedric Tillman, Wide Receiver
When news of the Jerry Jeudy trade broke, it was a clear representation of exactly how Berry felt about this wide receiver room. While the money he's paying Amari Cooper and Jeudy goes against every grain in his body, he knows he needs to upgrade the position to give Watson the best chance to be successful.
Bell and Tillman are both third-round picks from the 2022 and 2023 draft respectively, and to this point, we have yet to see the production. Bell has two seasons under his belt and the only thing we’ve seen to this point is a couple of garbage touchdowns in a week 18 game last year that meant absolutely nothing.
Bell was a tremendous collegiate player who stuffed the stat sheet even against the best competition, but unfortunately, his game hasn’t translated. His lack of speed and athleticism limits what he can do and I would not be surprised if he is cut this offseason.
Tillman has had less time on the field but has still shown me nothing to even get the slightest bit excited. His college teammate, Jaylin Hyatt went the pick before him to the New York Giants, and it’s a well-known fact at this point that Hyatt is who Berry wanted.
In all of Berry’s moves thus far, taking Tillman is the only one I’ll call emotional. It felt like he was so set on a wide receiver he settled on the injury-riddled teammate of the guy he really wanted. Tillman will likely get another shot on the roster, but won’t see a lot of playing time.
2. Siaki Ika, Defensive Tackle
There was a lot of excitement about Siaki Ika last offseason, he was a massive body taken in the third round of the 2023 NFL Draft a position that was desperately needed. Some warned us that he was a massive body and nothing more, and that’s starting to come more and more to fruition.
It wasn’t shocking last year when Dalvin Tomlinson, Maurice Hurst, and Shelby Harris were brought in to fill a huge void, but the fact that all three will be back next year (Hurst and Harris re-signed) shows exactly where Berry stands on him.
Truthfully, we may see him get a few more snaps this year than last year as Ika was inactive almost every single week, but I would not expect to see him on the field much more than five snaps per game.
I wouldn’t typically be too concerned about a move like this, but seeing a third-round pick struggle to get on the field and Berry stockpile at the position is not a great look.
1. Dorian Thompson-Robinson, Quarterback
Perhaps no one was on more of a roller coaster last year than Dorian Thompson-Robinson. The fifth-round pick last year was brutally thrown in as the starter after a last-second scratch to Watson where he struggled mightily. That was followed up by a few quality starts that led to an injury that eventually led to Joe Flacco taking over.
Not only is Watson currently on the roster, but we’ve also seen Berry bring in Jameis Winston and Tyler Huntley as backups. DTR showed enough to me to keep him on this roster, but there's no way the Browns head into the season with four quarterbacks on the roster.
Watson and Winston aren’t going anywhere with the contracts they signed, and Browns fans have personally seen how effective Huntley can be when he started for the Ravens. Is Berry ready to throw in the towel early on DTR with all the pressure on this season?
I think there is a chance DTR rides the bench on the practice squad for most of this season, but I’m not sure we will ever see him active, let alone take a meaningful snap.