After what seems like forever, the NFL season is finally picking back up with Free Agency! Teams have been lining up deals to either retain their best players, or pick up new talent long before things officially got underway, but now the fun really starts!
The Cleveland Browns have been very active ever since the market to sign free agents officially opened up on March 13th at 4 PM. But before we look at the new faces joining this year’s team for the upcoming season, there are a few guys who decided to look elsewhere for their next opportunity to play football. The good news is, it’s a relatively short list with few major losses.
Key Departures
QB Joe Flacco (signed with Colts on a one-year deal worth up to $8 Million)
LB Sione Takitaki (signed with Patriots on a two-year deal worth $6.5 Million)
LB Anthony Walker Jr. (signed with Dolphins on a one-year deal, details unknown)
DT Jordan Elliott (signed with Niners on a two-year deal worth $10 Million)
CB Mike Ford (signed with Texans on a two-year deal worth $4.5 Million)
TE Harrison Bryant (signed with Raiders on a one-year deal worth $3.25 Million)
C Nick Harris (signed with Seahawks on a one-year deal worth $2.51 Million)
The good thing for the Browns is, they were able to retain a lot of their free agents who were key players in 2023, including all but one of the free agents who were key contributors on the defensive front. That’s a great sign for Jim Schwartz and this Browns defense as they try to get even better in 2024! Here are all the re-signed free agents as well as some interesting new pickups:
Key Retentions/Additions
QB Jameis Winston (one-year deal, $4 Million)
DE Za’Darius Smith (two-year deal, $23.5 Million)
LB Jordan Hicks (two-year deal, $8 Million)
P Corey Bojorquez (two-year deal, details unknown)
DT Maurice Hurst (one-year deal, details unknown)
RB Nyheim Hines (one-year deal, $3.5 Million)
DT Quinton Jefferson (one-year deal, details unknown)
OT Hakeem Adeniji (one-year deal, details unknown)
DT Shelby Harris (two-year deal, $9 Million)
OL Michael Dunn (one-year deal, $1.4 Million)
TE Giovanni Ricci (one-year deal, details unknown)
WR Jerry Jeudy (acquired from Broncos for 5th and 6th round pick, Browns pick up $12.99 Million on his fifth-year option)
Thoughts
The Browns may be very active thus far in Free Agency, but they have been mostly under the radar. Their biggest move so far has been the trade for Jerry Jeudy. But other than that? Andrew Berry and Co. seem to be keeping things quiet in Berea.
While every fan around the NFL obviously wants to see their team make a huge splash to push toward being a legitimate Super Bowl contender, the Browns largely seem focused on keeping most of the 2023 team together. This makes me feel good. They’re confident that the guys they had last year can still compete. Cleveland isn’t close to being a true Super Bowl contender yet, but the moves by Browns brass seem to send the message that they believe in their core group. That’s the start of a Championship-caliber team. The Browns have had so much turnover for so many years. It feels good to finally have a little continuity.
I didn’t particularly understand the Jameis Winston signing though. It doesn’t really seem like that much of an upgrade from Joe Flacco. Plus, Winston has not even come close to playing a full season since 2019, when he went 9-7 as a starter, but he threw 33 touchdowns and 30 interceptions. He’s had injury problems.
If Winston is going to be a good replacement for Flacco, he needs to be a solid game manager and not turn the ball over so much. He’s thrown 99 interceptions over the course of his career. In a perfect world Jameis Winston wouldn’t have to play a single game in 2024. But we all know that probably isn’t going to happen, given what happened to Deshaun Watson last year. Winston will likely have to suit up and play for the Browns at some point. I just hope he’s ready when that time comes.
Maintaining the team
A couple of these signings are pickups that help with offensive depth. Nyheim Hines will likely be another serviceable option at running back behind Jerome Ford until Nick Chubb is ready to come back. He could also be a solid special teamer and return man if Browns Special Teams Coach Bubba Ventrone wants to use him in that role.
Offensive tackle Hakeem Adeniji is a versatile lineman, capable of playing as a tackle or guard. Like the Michael Dunn re-signing, the Browns are trying their best to protect their offensive line against another potential injury bug in 2024. Starters Jedrick Wills, Dawand Jones and Jack Conklin all got hammered by injuries last year. And in a grueling 17-game regular season, there’s no such thing as too much depth.
As for the other new players signed in Free Agency? Most of them were straight-up replacements of players who decided to leave, which is fine with me. Sometimes teams lose a lot of free agents, scramble to find new guys to fill those spots, and they end up not being able to fill all those spots with quality players. Lord knows the Browns have been in that position before!
The new free agent signings/pickups I’m most interested to see in action are wide receiver Jerry Jeudy and linebacker Jordan Hicks. Jerry Jeudy is an intriguing pickup. He’s another low risk/high reward type of move. At his best? He could potentially be the Browns top deep threat for 2024, since he’s supposedly faster than Amari Cooper, Cleveland’s current top wideout.
Jordan Hicks replaces veteran linebacker Anthony Walker Jr., who took a deal and went home to Miami to play for the Dolphins. Hicks has registered 100+ tackles over the past five seasons playing for the Cardinals and Vikings. The only downside? Hicks will be 32 years old by the time the season starts in September. But if he’s registered 500+ tackles over the last five years, that tells me one thing: This guy has a nose for the football. The best linebackers are great at diagnosing plays quickly, and are always in the vicinity close to the ball.
What do the new players mean for the Browns heading into 2024?
Right now, it’s still too early to tell what kind of team the Browns will be in 2024. We haven’t even gotten to the Draft yet. But minus the Jameis Winston signing, these moves in Free Agency have made sense to me so far. If Cleveland has a good Draft next month, I’ll be cautiously optimistic about what the Browns can do this upcoming season. Grade: B
The main thing for the Browns right now is this: They got better. They retained most of their key free agents, and added a few others for what seemed like very logical reasons. But we won’t begin to find out how much better the Browns are compared to 2023 until Week 1.
Until then, keep the faith Dawg Pound. And as always, GO BROWNS!
Sources: boston.com, cleveland.com, ESPN, Miami Herald, Pro Football Network, Cleveland Plain Dealer, gridironheroics.com, cbssports.com
Picture Credit: sciotopost.com
