Cleveland Browns: 3 free agents the team needs to sign now
By Chad Porto
The Cleveland Browns should sign these three players to bolster the team.
This is not an “either-or” situation. The Cleveland Browns skimped on bringing in proven veterans with miles left in their gas tank and instead settled on bargain-basement free agents that are injury-prone and came in on one-year deals. The team didn’t make any defensive splashes in a free agency or in the NFL Draft.
No, third-round picks aren’t “splashes”. They’re hopeful projections.
Their “biggest” acquisitions defensively were rookie safety Grant Delpit and veteran defensive tackle Andrew Billings. Neither player will be suiting up for the Cleveland Browns in 2020. Which hurts even worse, due to the team letting several key veterans go on defense. Two of whom, Joe Schobert and Damarious Randall, would have made this issue a moot point already.
Fans squawked about the abilities of Mack Wilson being able to replace Schobert’s production but now Wilson is possibly done for the entire year, making the decision to let Schobert go look even worse now. Plus no safety brought in is as good as Randall was.
The defensive line didn’t get better this off-season either, it simply brought back everyone who struggled to make an impact last year. Players like Sheldon Richardson and Olivier Vernon are back despite sub-par years and despite rumors attaching the Browns to upgrades via free agency and the trade market, the Browns were never able to bring in one of the bigger free agents to fortify the line.
Management sacrificed defensive talent for offensive flexibility and it’s proven to be a problem. While the offense should be much improved, the defense may be in serious trouble, especially with the fact that most of the team’s quality cornerbacks are now injured.
These are three moves the Browns need to make before the season starts. Not one of three, but all three.