Browns free agency: 3 safeties to replace John Johnson
By Greg Newland
With the Cleveland Browns planning to move on from John Johnson, here are three free agents they could replace him.
It was no shock at all when news broke that John Johnson would be released by the Cleveland Browns when the league year starts on March 15th. Johnson signed a three-year deal back in 2021, and never quite lived up to expectations.
The biggest reason that Johnson was so inconsistent, he was asked to play out of position. Ronnie Harrison and Grant Delpit were the ones moving around the box, and Johnson was asked to be the ball hawker which is not his specialty.
With Harrison likely out and now Johnson released, the Browns will certainly be looking to add another safety. Luckily Jim Schwartz won’t focus on having three safeties on the field, so just finding one player would suffice. Here are three free agents that could make sense.
Free Agent No. 3 – M.J. Stewart
M.J. Stewart would not be a flashy signing, but he has spent a good amount of time in Cleveland which could be good or bad. Steward left the Browns in 2022 to go to Houston on a one-year deal where he thought he may get the opportunity to start.
Stewart played in all 17 games, but never did make a start for Houston and finished the 2022 season with 41 tackles, one pass deflected, and one forced fumble. Signing Stewart likely wouldn't fully fill the void at safety, but it could be a great move to add some depth and strengthen the special teams.
Stewart is smaller at 5-foot, 11-inches, but has strong ball skills. We can’t forget, in the 2018 draft, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers drafted Steward in Round 2, meaning his ceiling could still be high.