The Browns moving on from JC Tretter would be a massive disaster

The Cleveland Browns should not move on from JC Tretter.

The Browns have two players who are on the chopping block this offseason due to their contracts and the possibility of saving some dollars. One of them, Jarvis Landry, we already discussed previously. The other is JC Tretter, the Cleveland Browns starting center and linchpin to the team’s offensive line.

There are some who believe he could be cut due to his contract, there are others who think this is a good idea. That latter group should not be listened to. Losing Tretter, especially when he had arguably the best season of his career, would be a tough pill to swallow.

The reasons for cutting him also don’t make a lot of sense. Yes, he makes $10 million a  year, but he’s in the final year of his contract but cutting him is only going to save you about $8 million of that. It’d make sense if the team was in Cap Hell like the Packers, but the Browns have $24 million in cap space for the upcoming year and that’s if the Browns don’t re-work Landry’s deal.

In fact, the Browns can save $20+ million if they just cut Case Keenum and Landry. While cutting Landry may upset fans, he’s not a fit in this offense. He’s just too slow to contribute as the primary target. That’s a sad truth, but it is exactly that; the truth.

Tretter, unlike Landry, has not declined in play and he’s still as viable as a player as ever. Tretter doesn’t need to have talent around him bolstered for him to be effective at his job, Landry does.

Cleveland Browns fans should not think replacing JC Tretter would be easy

Have Cleveland Browns fans forgotten the offensive line nightmare that was the post-Alex Mack years? Or the pre-Alex Mack years? Heck of a nice guy, but when Dave Wohlabaugh was your best center for nearly a decade, you aren’t exactly dealing with the cream of the crop.

How do you replace him with? Nick Harris? A fifth-round pick with one good game to his credit? You better hope he’s capable if you’re going to lean on him. Jedrick Wills hasn’t quite worked out and he was a much more vaunted prospect. Are you really going to place the entire season on his shoulders and knees?

Here’s the truth about football, the most important position isn’t a quarterback. That’s a lie. The Bengals lost the Super Bowl because they didn’t have one. The Browns fell apart when they lost Jack Conklin. The offensive line is so important and the fact that people think replacing Tretter would be so easy have no idea how hard it is to find a guy as consistently great as he is.

This is not a team that should be leaning on unproven talent going forward. If it works, keep it. Making changes for the sake of change is a foolish notion.