Cleveland Browns: 3 free agents the team needs to sign now
By Chad Porto
Mark Barron
He’s not going to be a Hall of Famer but Mark Barron has shown the ability to play any defensive back spot on a pro field as well as the ability to lineup as a linebacker. Barron’s flexibility and versatility is his biggest selling point. No different than Logan Ryan.
The Browns probably won’t have Mack Wilson for the year and having someone like Barron will help the team get by without him. While the team did just acquire Malcolm Smith, Barron’s an improvement over not just Smith, but over B.J. Goodson and potentially Jacob Phillips and Sione Takitaki as well.
The Browns currently have zero proven linebackers and guys like Goodson and Smith aren’t options you want to build the center of your defense around. This isn’t even something people disagree with. Which makes it all the more confusing that the team is going in this direction.
It’s also entirely possible that the Browns may have the linebackers on staff already. If that’s the case, Barron can move back to defensive back. He could line up as a linebacker on first and ten and then slide to a third safety on third and long’s.
The Browns still have $38.6 million to spend. So why isn’t GM Andrew Berry living up to his promise to improve the roster no matter when in the season we are? The defense looked bad coming out of the NFL draft and free agency already, and now with guys like Billings opting out and injuries galore over the back two-thirds of the defense, the time is now to prove that you meant what you said. Barron is too dynamic to not be a Brown for 2020.
Contract offer: $2.5 million across one year