The Cleveland Browns will more than likely see some guys regress or fall off during the 2020 season and these are the three we’re worried about.
There’s every possibility that someone, anyone sees their play fall off for the Cleveland Browns in 2020. That’s the beast that is the NFL. It’s unforgiving. It takes whatever it wants from players. Prime playing years, with endless talent and athleticism? That’s when a torn ligament in a knee is most likely to pop up. The best tackler in the NFL? Not for long if you have issues with concussions. A first-round talent that falls to the second? There’s something wrong there. Injuries, age, and overvalued prospects are usually the reason why guys fall off. So when looking at the aging veterans like Joel Bitonio, Sheldon Richardson, J.C. Tretter, Olivier Vernon, or others, it’s not hard to assume that someone may fall off overnight. It happens all the time.
Then you have guys who are injury-plagued, your Odell Beckham Jr’s and such. Guys who can’t seem to avoid leaving with one or two major injuries every year. It would be easy enough to see Beckham and Jarvis Landry make this list, after all both men are coming off of pretty severe injuries. Landry more so than Beckham but Beckham has had more injuries in total.
Then of course there are the rookie and second-year players. Guys like Jedrick Wills, Sione Takitaki, or Greedy Williams. Hyped up young players that may or may not have what it takes to play in the NFL.
That’s why it’s important to continually develop talent. You never know what injury is going to take away what player, or what player has reached the end of his career, no matter his age. You need to be able to replace failed prospects at a drop of a hat in the modern NFL. People don’t get three or four years anymore to get good.
So the pressures on, and these are three of the players who could be finding themselves having a down 2020 for whatever reason.
Joel Bitonio
There isn’t anything going on for Joel Bitonio to reasonably make this list. He’s only 29-years-old, he’s coming off of two great seasons on two very bad offensive lines and he’s probably the best linemen the team has. He’s also been relatively healthy, playing every game in four of six seasons in the NFL. He’s solid, dependable, and reliable. He’s a Cleveland Brown through and through. That’s why he’s on this list, however, because it feels like he’s due.
It’s not that the Browns are cursed, but they probably are. Bitonio is a fantastic guard and a great guy by all accounts yet there’s this feeling of “something has to break”. Will it be Bitonio as an elite guard in the NFL? What if he gets hurt? What if Jedrick Wills fails to live up to his hype as advertised and Bitonio gets blown up along with him?
Bitonio is getting older, and he did have some issues with injuries. It’s not crazy to think he regresses or loses a step in his age-29 season. Just look at Eric Steinbach, he fell off overnight and was cut after his age-30 season. Peyton Manning went from one of the best quarterbacks in the world to getting benched the following year. It’s never clear when it’s someone’s time. The Browns haven’t had to worry about Bitonio and that’s exactly why the football gods may smite his excellence because he hasn’t been a problem. It’s like Joe Thomas. We came to just expect Thomas to be there. Then the year before the team finally shows life, he gets hurt and retires.
That’s just what you expect as a Browns fan, that when pieces finally fall into place someone doesn’t get to enjoy it. To be cleary, this is in no way shape or form a declaration that anything should happen to him or that he’s been anything other than marvelous over the last three years. It’s merely an admission of fear for him. Will the injury bug bite Bitonio in 2020 or worse, will those old injuries finally start to take its toll?
It’d be the most Browns thing ever, rebuild an offensive line and the lynchpin regresses. The team and its stadium weren’t dubbed the Factory of Sadness for no reason.
Sheldon Richardson
Unlike one player on this list, Sheldon Richardson earned his place here. Richardson had a down 2019 and frankly, has had a down career. Taken 13th overall in the 2013 NFL Draft by the New York Jets, Richardson peaked in year two when he went to the Pro Bowl. He had 67 tackles, with 11 for a loss on top of eight sacks. A modest year for a defensive tackle. He’s never replicated that success again.
Last year he had 62 tackles, four for a loss, and only three sacks. He got bullied by the interior offensive lines a lot and never really had much of an impact in stopping the run. His poor play even exposed the linebackers at times, causing a lot of tackles to be made five, six, and even seven yards downfield due to the linebacking corp having to deal with guards who had reached the second level.
This issue continues a trend for Richardson. An underperforming tackle his entire career, this should mark the end of Richardson’s time with the Browns. Sure, it’s always possible he’s a cheaper option than what’s available and is brought back or he has a monster year and earns a new deal but those both seem unlikely.
Made worse for Richardson is the fact the team drafted Jordan Elliot to play defensive tackle. It was going to be hard enough to fend off Andrew Billing from taking Richardson’s spot and that was a scenario where Billings and Elliot would take a lot of time from one another. Now that Billing is out of the running, Elliot will have more opportunities to see if he can crack the starting lineup.
Greedy Williams
It’s not even a debate, Greedy Wiliams had a bad 2019. Sure, there were flashes of hope but an injury, missed time, and then a bad second half showed Williams had a lot of areas to improve on. It’s entirely possible that Joe Woods and Kevin Stefanski can get the most out of Williams and turn him into a viable NFL starter or even a potential Pro Bowler.
It’s also likely that there’s a valid reason why six other corners went before Williams did in the 2019 NFL Draft.
Sooner or later, people are going to have accepted that a player doesn’t just fall for no reason and that often times these guys who look like steals end up just being disappointments. There are always exceptions, looking at you D.K. Metcalf, but most times they’re just not the guy they were pumped up by NFL Draft “experts” to be.
Sure, Williams could rebound, become the guy and make everyone take notice. It’s just not the likeliest thing to happen. Wiliams was a problem at times last year and with a group of new safeties looking to start behind him, he has to show he’s a more steady defender. They’re going to rely on him to execute well as they integrate themselves into the team. If he can’t keep up again, it may result in the secondary falling apart. Hopefully, Williams has taken the offseason seriously and gotten himself ready.
Fans and media alike want him to succeed. He just has to prove to everyone that he can be better than his rookie year.