Do any of the top ten remaining NFL free agents fit with the Cleveland Browns?
Do the top ten remaining NFL free agents have a fit with the Cleveland Browns, be it the position, monetary, or some other x-factor? The following ten names are still free agents as of July 28, 2020, and according to NFL Trade Rumors, are the top-ten still unsigned talents for the NFL. With training camp so close, some may wonder why the team would even consider adding new talent to the roster at this stage in the offseason.
Well, firstly there’s the fact that Andrew Berry himself said the team won’t stop adding pieces throughout the season if they fit. Berry made it clear that he wasn’t going to handcuff himself to only making moves at any specific point in the season. With situations changing every day in the NFL and the Browns needing to fill gaps to be competitive, this seems like a sound strategy.
Then there’s the fact the team is still rumored to be interested in bringing in a second defensive end, with rumors of the team looking at a trade with the Jacksonville Jaguars for the disgruntled defensive end Yannick Ngakoue. Ngakoue is allegedly committed to sitting out the season if the Jaguars don’t move him. The Browns have been rumored to have made inquiries for the end.
There’s also the fact that not everyone under contract is going to be on the team when the end of training camp arrives. Players get cut all the time, even big-name players, and the Browns would be wise to look for bargains even as late into the season as of October should there be names available.
So that’s why we’re looking at the top ten remaining free agents and if they fit on the Browns.
No. 10 – Dre Kirkpatrick (CB)
The former Cinncinatti Bengal cornerback is still unsigned heading into August. The former first-round pick spent eight seasons in Cinncinati where he never truly lived up to the expectations as a top-20 NFL draft pick. Not being a regular starter until his fourth season with the Bengals, Kirkpatrick started to perform well under then-head coach Marvin Lewis but never made a Pro Bowl or an All-Pro team.
Kirkpatrick, an Alabama alum, won two National Championships with the Crimson Tide but never found the same success in the NFL as he did in college. The cornerback was considered elite in college but his skills never transferred to the next level with the Bengals..
The Browns are in a position of need with the cornerback spot but the question has to be asked if Kirkpatrick is better than what the Browns have? That’s a tricky question because the answer is both yes and no. Yes, Kirkpatrick as a nickel or dime corner is absolutely an upgrade over some of the names on the roster but to bring him in for that position, you’d argue that no more than a year or two deal should be offered with, at best, $4 million in total cash going to the NFL veteran. Is that enough to sway him to come in and bolster the 3rd-down defense? Probably not.
As for if he’s good enough to start? It’d be safe to say no. He’s been injury-prone most of his career and his late addition to the starting lineup as a former first-round pick shows that he has trouble adapting. While incumbent starter Greedy Williams was far from consistent, it’s still best to ride with the younger, healthier option than it is to take a risk on an aging, injured pro.
Does He Fit?
Yes, but only as a nickel/dime player on a cheap deal, with minimal years
Tied No. 8 – Damon Harrison (DT) and Mike Daniels (DE)
Both men are coming off of down years for the Detroit Lions. Damon Harrison, compatibly more a nose tackle than anything came over from the New York Giants in 2018. He was largely healthy his entire career and was even able to play 17 total regular-season games in 2018 due to the trade. Mike Daniels was a defensive end for the Lions after moving from Green Bay to their divisional rivals.
As far as both players go, neither appear to be starters in the NFL anymore. Both men have some accolades to their names, with Harrison being named an All-Pro with the Giants, and Daniels earning a Pro Bowl spot. Both men were fantastic against the rush during their careers in Green Bay and New York respectively, yet the Lions were only 21st against the rush in 2019. While they shouldn’t carry all the blame, it does reflect poorly on them.
As far as where they fit in the Browns? Neither man really has any position as of right now. The Browns brought in two new tackles in Jordan Elliot and Andrew Billing, both of whom should be able to help plug the interior of the line. As for the defensive end spot, they’re clearly not set with Olivier Vernon, and Adrian Clayborn, hence the rumored discussions about Yannick Ngakoue.
Do they fit?
Outside of filling in for someone that went down for the season due to injuries, no there appears to be no real fit for the pair from Detroit.
No. 7 – Eric Reid (SAF)
While some people will view Eric Reid with a bit of controversy, the fact is he had his best season to date with the Carolina Panthers. While the rest of the Panthers’ defense was not up to par as it has been in the past, Reid did make sure to show up every single week. He had 130 tackles, 97 of which were solo and had four sacks; all of which were career highs. Unlike say the NBA where you can have great stats that are deemed “hollow”, that’s much harder to do in the NFL. Stats are stats usually.
Sure, you can go into a deeper analysis of stats, and expand into the advanced stuff, but generally speaking bad players on defense don’t get 100 tackles. They absolutely don’t as a safety. The stats may not paint a picture of Reid as an absolute force to be reckoned with, as it more accurately depicts a front seven that couldn’t do their job but the fact that he has so many tackles means he was stopping guys from getting further down the field.
His career-high in sacks and tackles-for-a-loss also show that he’s really good at getting depth against linemen, and could be a problem in blitz packages.
While the Cleveland Browns reworked their secondary with Grant Delpit, Andrew Sendejo, and Karl Joseph, they aren’t as good as Reid. At least they aren’t as consistent as Reid is. Sendejo fell off a bit due to injury but may return to form with the Browns. Delpit’s a rookie and is an unknown quantity and Joseph was a first-round pick that the Raiders opted not to bring back despite having a fifth-year option available to them.
Does he fit?
Long story short, yes. Reid is an upgrade over every safety the team has, his contract would be the only reason to not bring him.
No. 6 – Darqueze Dennard (CB)
Darqueze Dennard is not a fight for the Cleveland Browns, let’s just get that out there right now. The former first-round pick by the Cinncinati Bengals has done next to nothing to warrant being signed by any team, let alone being considered a “top ten free agent”. Dennard has been in the league since 2014, has played in 77 games, and only started 24 of them. Yes, he’s relatively young, at 28, but he’s also never shown to be a consistent enough player to warrant a contract of any length.
Beyond his inconsistency, he’s injury-prone to the point he’s unreliable. If he started to rack up the injuries over 30, you could still make the case that he brings a veteran presence and the ability to make an impact on special teams if needed. Yet, Dennard has been unable to stay on the field for one reason or another for most of his career. He’s got talent, sure, but he’s got no real upside or x-factor that warrants a need to get him specifically over someone else.
The Browns already have a handful of young(er) and streaky cornerbacks, and with Dennard’s former teammate Kirkpatrick being a better option in every way, except age, the idea of bringing in Dennard makes no real sense at all.
In his one year of complete health, 2016, he did rack up 85 total tackles, a nice number for a team that couldn’t find more than seven wins. Unless every cornerback on the team gets hurt and the squad needs four or five new corners, there’s no reason to call Dennard for 2020.
Does he fit?
No. He’s too old to be a prospect and too young to be a veteran influence. He’s injury-prone, inconsistent, and a bust.
No. 5 – Josh Gordon (WR)
Oh, this is a tricky one. Yes, on one hand, Josh Gordon is a fit just in terms of need, depth, and likely contract demands. Gordon would be an absolute upgrade in the slot over the revolving door of players that have come in and out over the years and the scrap heap additions the team has acquired to fill the hole.
Gordon is still super talented.
Yet, he’s an addict and has largely been unreliable. Whether it’s his offseason training, his ability to pass a drug test, or his general inability to be counted on, Gordon has made it clear to everyone that you can’t trust him. He’s been suspended five times by the NFL, all for some sort of substance abuse. Despite Gordon’s incredible talents, he’s unable to stay clean or simply doesn’t want to.
That alone makes him someone the Browns should never call. There’s already too much uncertainty with the Browns without Gordon being involved. Adding him back would make a very volatile receivers room even worse. Imagine the egos and issues of Gordon and Odell Beckham Jr. co-mingling? That’s just too much diva.
The Seattle Seahawks are apparently still interested in Gordon and frankly, no one knows why. Should Roger Goddell re-instate Gordon for the sixth time, he’ll most certainly fail another drug test. So why bother?
Does he fit?
Hell no.
No. 4 – Everson Griffen (DE)
Every Browns fan wants Everson Griffen it seems. He’s everyone’s safety-school pick, and the Browns had an interest at one point, allegedly, but that’s unclear if there is still some there. Griffen has apparently narrowed his choices down, and the Green Bay Packers appear to be one of the teams very interested in the former Minnesota Viking defensive end.
Griffen, a four-time Pro Bowler, would be the perfect compliment to Jadeveon Clowney and would give the Browns a great run-stuffer as well from the end position. Yet, for whatever reason, the Browns have been more focused on another player on this list that isn’t Griffen.
Griffen had a natural tie to Kevin Stefanski, as Griffen played his entire career with Stefanski as a coach in some form or facet. Yet the number of ex-Viking players to go to Cleveland isn’t that deep. Andrew Sendejo was one and QB-turned-FB Johnny Stanton was another but that’s largely been it as of right now. Arguably more coaches and front office staff came over than talent.
So would Griffen be a guy that the Browns could use? Absolutely. For the right price. It’s unclear if the Browns have gotten that far with Griffen, where they offered him a contract, or if their talks (if they had any) were only just superficial. Griffen is an obvious upgrade for the foreseeable future and his addition would allow the Browns to play Olivier Vernon in a more roamer-like role.
That said his addition to the team seems highly suspect, considering the Browns spent five months chasing Jadeveon Clowney and are now more likely to try and trade for Yannick Ngakoue than sign Griffen.
Does he fit?
He does but the Browns don’t seem to agree.
No. 3 – Logan Ryan (CB)
Logan Ryan being unsigned is really shocking. He’s open to a short-term deal, he’s extremely efficient and he’s a rare cornerback with great tackling talents. Every team he’s on has been one of the best in the league usually, and he’s shown to be someone that you can rely on to not just cover some of the best in the game, but tackle some of the best in the game.
There aren’t any big issues with him as a teammate or getting into trouble in the offseason. He’s married, with kids, and runs a dog rescue outfit. There’s no real sense that Ryan remains unsigned other than the fact he’s 29-years-old. He’s a tackling machine with a penchant for sacks (8.5 in the last two years), and can be relied on to actually be at work and do his job.
Is Ryan a fit for the Cleveland Browns? Absolutely. Sure, his contract demands might be why he’s unsigned. The Browns in this specific case only have so much money left to spend on free agents, so it’s not like the Browns can just roll up and give him $15 million to get him to sign. It’d have to be a win/win deal for both parties. The team could probably give him $7-10 million for one season, but would that be enough to get him to come in?
The Browns also need to worry about how signing Ryan would affect the development of Greedy Williams. Ryan is a one, maybe two year player for the Browns as a starter, and hindering the development of Williams for that length of time may not be worth it. Yet, Williams hasn’t proven he’s the future yet, so would it really matter if you bring Ryan in to go opposite of Denzel Ward?
That’s the big question.
Does he fit?
If the money is right, absolutely.
No. 2 – Larry Warford (OG)
The New Orlean Saints shocked everyone when they cut Larry Warford to save money. Warford, only 29-years-old, has been to three-straight Pro Bowls since joining the Saints in 2017. He became one of Drew Brees’ most consistent protectors and helped the Saints develop a brutal running game that took the NFL by storm.
Warford is a natural fit for any team, regardless of the nitpicking that some want to do with Warford. He’s quick enough to play in any scheme and strong enough to bulldoze any defensive tackle who lines up over him. The only reason he remains unsigned is because he was cut so late in the offseason. Had he been a free agent when everything started, Warford would’ve been one of the first names off the board.
Yet, now he waits, looking at various teams in the NFL to see who gets cut next so they can call him. This is the time of year that teams start finding out what they have in their new additions, that’s when players like Warford usually get called. If a team has a bunch of young players and no real guarantee any of them will be a starter, guys like Warford get called on finally.
The Cleveland Browns have a need for him, as their right guard spot is arguably the weakest on the entire team, let alone the offensive line. Warford wasn’t making a lot in New Orleans, about $8 million a year, and if he’s willing to take that then the Browns would absolutely be wise to go get him.
The only reason he doesn’t fit is if he’s asking for huge money. Anywhere under $9 million a year is a steal for a talent of his caliber.
Does he fit?
Absolutely, especially with a rededicated focus on the rushing game in 2020.
No. 1 – Jadeveon Clowney (DE)
Jadeveon Clowney seemed like the perfect fit for so many teams when free agency began. Considered one of the best players in the league, Clowney brought a great attack against the run. Yet, was not the pass rusher so many college scouts touted him to be coming out of South Carolina. Now, Clowney is looking to join his third team in as many years and without a long term deal to boot.
Despite so many people hyping up Clowney, he had to cut his yearly salary demands and has yet to receive a deal that he likes. The Browns were the team that offered him the “best” contract so far, but he doesn’t seem interested. Whether it’s because he doesn’t like Cleveland or because he doesn’t like the contract, but either way Clowney has no interest in the alleged best deal on the table.
Clowney has yet to record double-digit sacks and that’s a sign that he may not be the pass rusher so many thought he would be. Beyond that, a lot of Clowney’s free agency seems to be that of people fawning over the best available player and not the best player at the position. He’s not the date everyone wants for prom, he’s just the last one everyone knows is still available.
That theory is compounded even further with the fact that Everson Griffen could be signed before him and more and more teams opting to talk to Jacksonville about Yannick Ngakoue than continue negotiating with Clowney.
The Cleveland Browns could use his talents but not at the price he’s asking for. Even though he’ll face more one on one’s with the Browns than maybe with any other team, he’s still not someone who you can count on to get to the quarterback. Just look at how he did while playing across from J.J. Watt. Watt demanded triple-teams at times, yet now Clowney couldn’t match his expectations with the best defensive player of the last decade playing on his side. Yet now he’ll crack ten-sacks? Seems unlikely.
Does he fit?
If you need him to. Ngakoue and Griffen are better fits for the team.