The Cleveland Browns made some big moves on the first day of NFL free agency, inking TE Austin Hooper, RT Jack Conklin, and QB Case Keenum to big deals.
Hooper and Conklin are typical of the way GM Andrew Berry likes to handle free agency, signing proven, solid players coming off their rookie contracts. Barring injury, those types of players should still be improving.
We think about the year the Browns signed Karlos Dansby and Donte Whitner to big deals, only to have them play well for one season, and then regress in performance.
Berry and his front office and building not only for this season, but the next few years as well, even giving Hooper and Conklin deals weighted for this season, because he knows it will be time to pay Myles Garrett, Baker Mayfield, Denzel Ward, and perhaps Nick Chubb very soon.
The conservative, but aggressive approach continued the rest of the week. We’ll explain that term. The Browns are aggressive trying to fill holes, they’ve signed safeties, linebackers, defensive line depth, and even a kick returner.
However, the conservativeness comes in because they are signing these players to one year contracts. And we will repeat what we (and others) say all the time…there is no such thing as a bad one year contract.
Think about it. Even if the player signed is terrible, you can cut him and there are no ramifications beyond this season. You are done with the player and the contract. We say the same thing in baseball.
The oldest players Berry inked were 32-year-old S Andrew Sendejo, who was brought in not only for need, but for veteran leadership, and 28-year-old CB Kevin Johnson, a former first round pick in 2015 (16th overall from Wake Forest).
Cleveland also signed another former first rounder in Karl Joseph, the 14th overall pick in 2016 out of West Virginia.
Our opinion is the Browns are going to go heavy on defense in the upcoming NFL Draft, and the players they signed on that side of the football are basically on one year tryouts.
If they succeed, then the team can negotiate an extra year or two to keep them around, but if they aren’t impactful or if the rookie drafted to play the position looks like he’s a player, then they will be allowed to hit free agency in 2021.
When you think about it, that’s a win/win for the Browns. And that’s where analytics comes in. It makes you think about the percentages, and whether or not a player at a certain position is worth keeping at big money.
The big test will likely come with Chubb, when he is due to an extension. The effectiveness of running backs long term isn’t very good, so the Browns will have to ask themselves if they want to give a big extension to Chubb, as good as he has been for the Browns in his first two seasons.
All these moves have been made and the Browns still have almost $50 million under the cap. Remember, next year they have to pay Garrett, so they should be able to keep all of their key pieces and keep one of the game’s best pass rushers.
For those who were concerned about the “computer guys” running the Browns, the proof will come when they start playing games. Right now though, it seems like the Paul DePodesta/Andrew Berry combination has done a pretty solid job.
MW
Cleveland Sports Perspective 