The Cleveland Browns’ five biggest under-the-radar winners of free agency, as the team looks poised to make a run at the playoffs in 2020.
The major free agents, and even the second wave have come and gone, and the Cleveland Browns were no strangers to the transaction wire.
By most accounts, the Browns improved their roster, as it’s clear that new GM Andrew Berry and first-year head coach Kevin Stefanski are making a run for the playoffs in year one.
This list of players doesn’t mean that newly players are winners. I mean, of course they’re winners.
Here’s a look at the Browns’ five biggest winners from the free agency period of the offseason.
1. Chris Hubbard, RT
Chris Hubbard lost his starting job at right tackle following the Browns’ signing of Titans’ free agent Jack Conklin. How could a guy who got demoted and took a paycut be a free agency winner? For starters, he could be unemployed at the moment.
Instead, the Browns signaled they’d like to keep the veteran tackle, and rather than cutting him lose, re-worked his contract.
Keeping Hubbard in mix is a huge win for the position group, because a player who started the past two years is now the sixth or seventh lineman in the rotation. Hubbard has some job security, plus, if he plays 90 percent of the snaps, he’ll be able to opt out of his contract and hit the open market where a more lucrative offer may be waiting.
Hubbard carries a base salary of $2.1 million, while his cap hit rings in at $3.6 million. Had the Browns not restructured the deal, the 28-year-old would’ve carried a cap hit of $7.268 million.
That’s the way it goes with NFL contracts. Few see the end of a deal, as the money usually comes in the first the first year or two by way of guarantee.
2. Nick Chubb
Nick Chubb came within an eyelash of winning the NFL rushing title a season ago, against what many fans deemed an inferior offensive line.
Now, the Browns have bolstered the trenches with the addition of Jack Conklin at right tackle, while the organization is expected to add to the line during next month’s draft.
Not only did the Browns improve the talent on the offensive line, GM Andrew Berry went out and traded for Denver fullback Andy Janovich.
Throw it all into a pot, stir it around and blend in the zone blocking scheme engineered by new coach Kevin Stefanski, and Chubb may very well put himself into the MVP conversation in 2020.
Naturally, everyone wants to talk about what the line upgrades will do for Baker Mayfield, and rightfully so. In theory, the former Heisman winner should enjoy a bounce-back season if 2020 actually gets played.
Don’t forget Chubb, though. He was an elite talent with what many perceived as poor help around him. That’s going to change and it should be very noticeable from the onset.
3. Olivier Vernon
It was a forgone conclusion Olivier Vernon would be a salary cap casualty heading into the offseason. If you would predicted this outcome, it wasn’t insane. Vernon makes a lot of money and routinely gets hurt. That doesn’t seem to mix with the analytics crew at Browns’ HQ.
Well, Vernon’s still here, and pending a major surprise in the NFL Draft where the Browns pass on a tackle to take an edge rusher, it looks like the former Giant will have a job in Cleveland next season.
Imagine for a moment that the Browns did cut Vernon just before the onset of free agency. Remember how much of fuss the talking heads made about releasing Christian Kirksey.
“The Browns are now have another HUGE hole to fill,” many of them said.
What would they would be saying about Vernon? Who’s going to step up and start? Chad Thomas.
Cleveland entered the offseason in need of two tackles, a tight end, a safety and a linebacker. They’ve got two of those things, with the draft yet to come. Perhaps it’s just too much to ask to find pass rusher, as well.
Vernon will make $15 million, which has Cleveland.com’s Terry Pluto believing the Browns are looking to acquire another defensive end via trade.
If it happens, it will likely go down around the draft. If not, Vernon gets a shot to redeem his lackluster 2019 season this fall.
4. Case Keenum
Before Tom Brady and Phillip Rivers had new homes, the Browns locked down Case Keenum to a three-year, $18 million contract to be the backup quarterback.
Easy money to wear the headset and hold the clipboard. Seriously though, Keenum got a nice contract and will serve as Kevin Stefanski’s safety valve should Mayfield implode in year.
While Mayfield struggled mightily, I think most fans are willing to giving him another chance, casting the former No. 1 overall pick’s poor performance on the inablity of a new coach to rise the challenges of his new job.
Mayfield played in all 16 games a season ago, but as Browns’ fan know, that’s the exception, not the rule. With Keenum in the fold, Stefanski can lean on someone he knows from his Vikings’ days, and the season won’t be lost.
Back in 2017, while Stefanski was an offensive assistant, Keenum posted a grade of 81.4 for the Vikings, which was the seventh-best mark by a quarterback that season.
5. Andrew Berry’s defensive signings
For Berry’s first time in free agency, the 32-year-old GM did what many consider to be a great job.
On this site, Berry was lauded for being a smart spender. Sure he spent a lot on Jack Conklin, but that money is tied into Conklin’s first two years. Austin Hooper as the highest paid tight end? Better than dropping $90 million on a defensive end.
He fortified the backup quarterback position, as mentioned previously with Keenum, and then he made wise decisions with his other contracts, particularly on the defensive side of the ball.
In signing Andrew Billings, Berry signed a 25-year-old who has already logged over 600 defensive snaps. Plus, the former Bengal is able to bring in pressure from the interior. All this costs the Browns was $3.5 million. Not a shabby price to pay for a rotational defensive tackle who will play plenty.
He signed two young 2016 draft picks who didn’t pan out with their original teams to one year prove-it deals. Karl Joseph doesn’t fill the need at free safety, but should be able to help against the run.
Johnson will be counted on to play the side, which is what he did when revived his career with the Bills a season ago.
The bottom line: Berry found two contributors in the defensive backfield that will earn a combined $6 million.