Now that the Super Bowl is over, it’s on to 2022. As for the final game, like I said last week, I can’t root for a divisional rival, so I’m pleased with the outcome. Am I happy OBJ won a ring? Hell no. I just didn’t want the Browns to be the only team in the AFC North to not win a Super Bowl. The narrative is the Rams went all in to win a championship. Not quite. Yes, they traded for an upgrade at quarterback, but the two difference makers for the Rams, Copper Kupp and Aaron Donald where home grown talent. Last year’s Tampa team went all in and tried to do it again but fell short in 2021. As for the Bengals, we’ll now see how the “Super Bowl Hangover” will affect them. They weren’t a powerhouse team, they lost seven games and twice to the Browns. Of their ten wins, five were decided by a game winning field goal. They escaped the injury and Covid bug all year and got hot at the right time. Tampa was that team last year, winning every game after their bye week and the Titans were hot went it counted the year before. Cincinnati needs to fix their offensive line, Burrow was sacked 70 times last year.
The narrative by Al Michaels and Cris Collinsworth about OBJ during the game was the dumbest thing I ever heard. Beckham, according to Jay Glazer, never wanted to be in Cleveland and told potential free agents not to be signed by the Browns. He stabbed the Browns in the back by not giving 100% on the field. To say he was thrown out on the street by Cleveland is revisionist history. GM Andrew Berry did OBJ a favor by releasing him and allowing his to go to the team he wanted, the L.A. Rams. I had very little respect for Al Michaels before this and now I have none. As for Collinsworth, he’s Pro football’s announcing version of Booger McFarland.
So, what’s next for the Browns? They are probably cleaning up the salary cap. According to https://overthecap.com/ they are currently $25 million under the cap, with the potential to add another $28 million with some cuts (Landry, Tretter & Keenum). Free agent priority resigning’s are Clowney, Ward, Njoku and Stewart. Next up for the draft is the NFL combine March 1 thru March 7. I can’t wait to find out who they interview, because that’s the most important part of the combine. The legal tampering period for signing free agents begins on March 14 and the league starts on March 16. A trade could happen before March 16, but it doesn’t become official until the start of the new league year. The teams to watch who are over the cap the most are, the 49ers, the Falcons, the Titans, the Giants, the Rams, the Vikings, the Cowboys, the Packers and the Saints, these team will be looking to trim roster spots. Just remember, GM Andrew Berry goes after one big free agent a year in a position of need and the player is usually young and coming off their first contract. In 2020 it was Jack Conklin to stabilize the offensive line and last year it was John Johnson, III to stabilize the secondary. Finally, it won’t be a big-name free agent wide receiver. It’s not how this offense works. Everyone stay safe and Go Browns.