Browns: What a perfect free agency would look like
By Chad Porto
Sign Matt Milano
Length: 4 years (opt-out after two)
Salary: $40 million across the life of the deal
(Base of $7 million per year, the rest being incentives, first two years fully guaranteed)
The Browns foolishly didn’t upgrade any of their linebackers last year. Considering the Browns asked their linebackers to do mostly coverage stuff on passing downs, and the Browns had the best coverage linebacker in the league in Joe Schobert in 2019, you would’ve thought that he’d be a nice fit. Instead, he’s in Jacksonville and the Browns are scratching their heads after a terrible year of linebacker play.
Enter Matt Milano, an outside linebacker for the Bills who may price himself out of returning to Buffalo. There’s always a chance he gets franchised, but NFL experts believe that he’s unlikely to get the money he wants, and since he’s been a bit banged up (missed 10 games in three years), the Bills might not see him as worth the money.
The Browns should absolutely see him as worth the money because the other options are B.J. Goodson and Sione Takitaki. It might be a bit of an overpay but he’s versatile and fast.