Letting Joe Schobert leave would be a mistake of monumental proportions

The rumor around the Cleveland Browns is that they’re more than likely going to part ways with Joe Schobert, and that is a big mistake.

Here’s the problem with analytics, it only measures tangible stats and tries to equate value to those stats. The only reason that idea has come to sports is to justify not paying people a few bucks more than they’re asking. Joe Schobert is a Pro Bowl linebacker and should’ve made his second appearance for the upcoming 2020 event. He was snubbed.

The idea that the Browns could just walk away from Schobert with how much turmoil they have going on is asinine. The defense was wrecked during the back half of last season, and it wasn’t just because All-Pro defensive end Myles Garrett was suspended. Everyone seemed to fall apart, including Denzel Ward.

Now yes, everyone has a cost/benefit line you need to weigh. What’s Schobert’s cost to the benefit of retaining him? That needs to be assessed but like with the WAR stat in baseball, you can’t always measure what a guy brings to a team, and to presume you can is wrong. Players have different emotions, different ways of doing things. No one player is going to be just like someone else. Schobert is one of the better middle linebackers in the league and he’ll get his money because he is that good.

Some reading this may think that Schobert is a good player but is he that good that he’d warrant $10 million-plus a year? Maybe he’s only worth $8.5 or $9 million, but he’s a proven leader who has the team’s respect. The last thing the fanbase should want is another offseason like 2013, where the team lost tackle master and future Pro Bowler D’Qwell Jackson and maybe one of, if not the best safety the team had since returning to the league in 1999 with T.J. Ward and replaced them with older, more expensive options.

The two departing Browns were deemed “too expensive” but the team went out and dropped large deals on Karlos Dansby and Donte Whitner. Whitner was ok, but he wasn’t better than Ward.  Both Ward and Whitner made the Pro Bowl the following season when both were in the first year with their new teams in Denver and Cleveland respectively. Dansby on the other hand never replaced Jackson’s production and only lasted two of the four-year deal he signed.

Schobert is only 26, and with the right diet and recovery program, could play for nearly another ten years. This team lacks an identity and players with long term ties to the city. Men like Joe Thomas and Josh Cribbs have the love of the fanbase like they do because of their longevity with the franchise. That’s what this franchise isn’t accustomed to.

Let’s be honest, the only reason in-their-prime talent get let go is usually because of front-office change and those execs and coaches wanting their own set of guys. You can’t just replace talent that easily. Most people understand this, but pro sports execs feel they’re smarter than they are a lot of the time, and constantly make the same mistakes over and over.

Let’s hope that whoever comes in next realizes the value that Schobert brings beyond just dollars and cents.