5 mistakes the Browns can not afford to make in 2024

1. Overpaying Greg Newsome

By now, we have to hope Browns fans have learned that smoke is usually only present when there's a fire. we saw this when it came to issues brewing with Baker Mayfield, Odell Beckham, Jr., and Jarvis Landry. Yet with Greg Newsome, there seems to be a blind eye turned.

Newsome has had durability issues, which was a problem in college. He missed 40 percent of his games at Northwestern and while he's been better in the NFL, he's still missed 10 games in three seasons — which is 20 percent of the time. But that's not the most alarming concern.

The real problem with Newsome is a lack of awareness. He made waves when he claimed he didn't want to play in the slot and while he backed off that talk, there were also rumors he was wanted to be traded if he didn't get a better role. This was shrugged off but when was the last time a trade demand was rumored that didn't prove to have some merit?

He's also drawn the ire of fans for his non-stop and ill-timed celebrations. Newsome can get burnt time and again but then plops on the field and rows a dang boat when the quarterback overthrows a dude that ran past him by five yards. He took it to another level this year when he was torched by Nico Collins all day in the playoffs but then said he didn't play "too bad."

When called out for this, he attacked fans stating they don't know football. Look, not everyone who comments is a professional, but it also doesn't take one to see C.J. Stroud threw at him all day and was succesfull. That's not the end of the world but if the player can't admit this, they cannot grow.

With all this being said, the Browns have to be careful with Newsome. They can't overpay him because they're already locked into Denzel Ward and need to play Martin Emerson — who is a better boundary corner. This could even lead to them skipping out on his fifth-year deal, which might cause some drama. Despite the potential fallout, Cleveland cannot afford to overpay Newsome and risk losing better players down the road.

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