Cleveland Browns: Grading the first two days of 2023 free agency
By Greg Newland
Cleveland Browns Signing No. 2: Obo Okoronkwo
The first outside signing for the Cleveland Browns was the three-year, $19 million deal given to pass rusher Obo Okoronkwo who won a Super Bowl with the Los Angeles Rams and spent last season with the Houston Texans.
There's no doubt this is a value signing where Berry sees the potential. It appears that Okoronkwo was brought in to start alongside Myles Garrett. And while he has had some success in the league, his best season still only brought five sacks and 32 tackles.
Sources: Obo Okoronkwo is siging with the #Browns, getting a 3-year deal worth $19M with a chance to make $22M. He gets $12.5M guaranteed.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) March 13, 2023
This is a great depth signing for the money, but I do have some fear with him being the legit No. 2 edge rusher on this roster. First of all, he is a bit of a one-trick pony right now. Okoronkwo struggles to defend the run and is mainly known as a pass-rushing specialist.
Rushing the QB is where the Browns need the most help, but it’s tough to sign a guy that you know will struggle to stay on the field. To me, either Berry has faith in Alex Wright to play a lot of snaps in his second year, or he is not done adding defensive ends this offseason.
Wright showed a lot of promise as a rookie (especially vs. the run), but I’m not sure he’s ready to be on the field for 20-25 snaps per game.
Again, for the money of this contract, Berry hit a grand slam. However, if the plan is for Okoronkwo to be the Robin to Garrett, I do have concerns that he is ready to make that leap in 2023.