Cleveland Browns Could Face Tough Competition In Signing A.J. Bouye
By Ryan Rosko
The Cleveland Browns have a need at cornerback but they may have to look elsewhere if they cannot land the top corner that is expected to be on the free agent market.
Cornerback play is not great or even consistent at the moment for the Cleveland Browns. Veteran Joe Haden is another year older and has been unable to live up to his contract extension that he signed back in 2014.
Luckily, Briean Boddy-Calhoun, a UDFA last season has helped the position, but there is still plenty of room for improvement. Cleveland should sign a cornerback in free agent but also draft at least one in late April.
If the Browns can sign the best, then that is current Houston Texans’ star A.J. Bouye. Fellow FoS Site Expert Nick Dudukovich recently listed Bouye as a free agent target Cleveland should go after and why he would be a fit.
The need at cornerback is not going to be viewed as a high if Cleveland can land a corner in free agent, preferably Bouye.
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Even with more than $105 million available, Bouye is far from a guarantee to end up in Cleveland. The four-year veteran out of the University of Central Florida is expected to have a number of interested teams vying for his long-term commitment.
Among those teams that could seriously compete with the Browns are the Texans, Jacksonville Jaguars, and the Green Bay Packers. There may be others who eventually could make their interest known to the public, but for now, each of those teams have some realistic chance of signing him.
Bouye has been with Houston since he was signed as a UDFA. During his time there, Bouye accumulated six interceptions, one touchdown, and 116 tackles.
Without Bouye, Houston would rely on Kevin Johnson and Johnathan Joseph atop the depth chart. I doubt they would prefer to go that route.
Meanwhile in Jacksonville, outside of Jalen Ramsey, they have a top corner in Jalen Ramsey. On the other hand, there is not a player on their roster that can start regularly opposite Ramsey as the second cornerback.
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As far as Green Bay goes, they recently released their top corner, Sam Shields. In addition to Shields, running back James Starks was also let go and there will be more adjustments to their roster as the offseason progresses.
Given their track record, the Packers do not often sign top free agents, but could a talent like Bouye at a key position of need be too much not to offer him a deal? Time will tell.
Regardless of where Bouye ends up, he is going to get paid a significant amount of money. Should Cleveland be able to land him, Bouye would be starting opposite of Haden. If Haden were to get injured again and miss more time, Bouye would become the Browns’ top cornerback.
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Assuming everyone is healthy, Cleveland could have a very solid, and possibly very good group of corners being led by Haden, Bouye, and Boddy-Calhoun. After those three, the strong likelihood of a rookie or two being drafted as well makes Cleveland’s cornerback group an improved and very intriguing group.