Tag: maurice hurst

Browns Don’t Need A Total Rebuild

With the Browns sitting at 1-6 this season, the draftniks are out in full force. In their estimation, the best thing Cleveland can do is basically trade every player who has some value in order to get more picks next spring.

And that includes a great player like Myles Garrett, and very good ones such as TE David Njoku, and perhaps LB Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah. They forget several things.

First, it’s very possible if the Browns make the correct moves, they could be making a playoff push in a couple of years, and perhaps even next season.

The second thing is overcoming a losing culture. Many of these players have experienced a pair of playoff runs. We know it doesn’t look like it, but there is a knowledge of success for a lot of these guys, and the last thing you want to do is start showing everyone in the organization is it is okay to lose.

Because of this, it is also important for the front office and the coaching staff to show everyone that winning is the utmost goal.

There is no problem with GM Andrew Berry going out and getting draft picks for veterans who are on one-year deals and are unlikely to return in 2025. We are talking about players like Za’Darius Smith, Maurice Hurst, Rodney McLeod, etc.

We have already seen Amari Cooper, another player in that category moved for basically a third-round pick.

Avoiding a losing culture is a reason we are very curious about the movement to elevate Dorian Thompson-Robinson to starting quarterback.

We don’t know how the next couple of weeks play out, but if Jameis Winston shows he can move the Browns’ offense better than Deshaun Watson, it would be tough for the front office to trade Winston or bench him.

That would tell the entire locker room that the organization has no interest in winning games. Granted, it would be the long shot of long shots for Cleveland to climb back in the playoff race, but players don’t care about next season, and they certainly don’t care about draft picks.

Yes, we understand the negative salary cap situation the Browns are in. However, the cap will probably go up next season, which should help a little bit. And hopefully, the Browns can draft their next QB in April, and that player would be on a rookie contract.

Trading some of the veterans would allow young players to get some experience and perhaps allow them to flash. We are thinking of guys like DE Isaiah McGuire, DT Mike Hall Jr., CB Cam Mitchell, and even WR Cedric Tillman.

Perhaps with some playing time, they can claim starting positions entering the off-season.

As for Thompson-Robinson, even if Winston buoys the offense and makes it productive again, you can always play the second-year passer in the last two regular season games to see how he performs.

There is no question this has been a very disappointing season, but we aren’t even a year removed from an 11-6 record. There is talent on the roster, a lot of talent. Blowing up the roster wouldn’t be prudent. This hasn’t been a five-to-ten-year span without winning.

It’s been bad, but let’s not advocate for making things worse.

Free Agent Week For Browns? Meh.

Every year, Browns’ fans wait for the legal tampering period and beginning of the new league year to see if their football team will make a big splash in free agency. This year, those people were probably underwhelmed.

What GM Andrew Berry did this year was mostly under the heading of keeping the band together. The biggest move was keeping DE Za’Darius Smith, who was second to Myles Garrett in sacks last year for Cleveland at 5.5.

The Browns also kept DT Maurice Hurst and Shelby Harris, two key members of last year’s top ranked defense.

In terms of bringing in outside help, it was more like a plop in the bathtub than a big splash.

Before the period started, Berry traded two low draft picks to Denver for former first round pick Jerry Jeudy, who is more name than productive to date. He had a reputation in Denver for being a guy who was more proud of his draft status than having a willingness to work.

His high in yardage in his four years with the Broncos was 972 in 2022.

Look, it’s not a bad trade because giving up a 5th and 6th round pick for decent wide receiver isn’t a high price, but expectations that Jeudy will be a big threat for Deshaun Watson at this point are likely unfounded.

Jordan Elliott went to San Francisco in free agency, so the Browns signed Quinton Jefferson, who was with the Jets last season to fill that gap. As of right now, Jefferson is the likely starter with a career high six sacks last season. However, this is his fifth team in the last five years, so he would be considered a journeyman.

That doesn’t mean he isn’t productive, or can’t help.

Cleveland lost linebackers Sione Takitaki and Anthony Walker and replaced them with Jordan Hicks, who started 13 games for Minnesota last season (he’s 32-years-old) and former Steelers’ first round pick Devin Bush.

Probably the signing that received the most scrutiny though was bringing in QB Jameis Winston to back up Watson. Winston, a former Heisman Trophy winner and first overall draft pick, will replace the popular Joe Flacco as the top reserve.

Many people who cover the Browns have noted the team seemed to want to move on from Flacco because of his popularity with the fan base and quite frankly, the lack of that for Watson.

Winston isn’t a bad choice to be the backup though. He has started 80 games in his NFL career, and in 2019, threw for over 5000 yards and 33 touchdowns. Unfortunately, he also led the league with 30 interceptions, and has been prone to that in his pro career.

But in New Orleans, where he spent the last four seasons, he started 10 games and fired 20 TD passes against just 11 interceptions. Still, his INT rate didn’t drop drastically.

It is difficult to see where the Browns are a better football team than they were at the end of the 2023 season. Even though this time of the year gets a lot of press, there is still plenty of time before training camp starts at the end of July.

And don’t forget there is a little thing at the end of April called the NFL Draft, where moves can be made and of course, you can draft players out of college.

We also doubt Berry is done manipulating the salary cap either, so some “big splash” moves could still be made.

Also, remember, the Browns are already a good football team. They did win 11 games last season.

The most interesting move is hiring former Titans coach and Walsh Jesuit grad Mike Vrabel as a consultant. To us, you can never have enough smart football guys in an organization and Vrabel has shown to be one of the best coaches in the NFL.