3 Worst Offseason Moves From the Browns' AFC North Rivals

The Cleveland Browns are coming off a successful 2023 season despite getting blown out by the Houston Texans in the playoffs. 

The Browns had one of the best defenses in the NFL, which played a large part in them winning 11 games and clinching a wild card spot. Cleveland also had five quarterbacks take snaps for them in 2023 and caught lightning in the bottle with veteran Joe Flacco. 

This offseason, the Browns haven’t made a ton of huge moves, outside of trading for former Denver Broncos wide receiver Jerry Jeudy as they emphasized bringing back most of their free agents from last year’s squad. 

However, the three other teams in the AFC North were busy this offseason, with a couple of teams making questionable decisions. Below, we’ll look at one head-scratching move each team in the AFC North made this offseason.

3. Ravens lose Patrick Queen in free agency to the Steelers

The Baltimore Ravens bolstered their offense in a big way, signing star running back Derrick Henry, who seemed destined to play with Lamar Jackson.

However, the Ravens lost a few notable free agents on the defensive side of the ball, including linebacker Patrick Queen. Queen stayed in the AFC North as he signed a lucrative three-year, $41 million deal with the Pittsburgh Steelers.

This is a great move on paper for the Steelers and bad for the Ravens, even though Baltimore still has Roquan Smith. However, Pittsburgh is getting one of the better young linebackers in the NFL and weakening one of their rivals.

The 24-year-old Queen posted 133 combined tackles (career-high), nine tackles for loss, six quarterback hits, and six pass deflections. It was the second-straight year that Queen had 100 or more tackles and the third in his career he accomplished this feat. 

Baltimore will likely try to replace Queen’s impact with Trenton Simpson, who they drafted in the third round of the 2023 draft. However, it will not be easy for him to fill that void left by Queen.