This time of year, Browns fans tend to get a little silly. It’s their right if you write articles, blogs or have podcasts. And some of the stuff on social media is out there. But let’s all take a breath and think about it logically.
Outrageous trades. Sure, propose a trade of a Browns player. Just remember, the Browns, because of the Deshaun Watson trade, are in a win now mode. So, trading away core players really isn’t an option. Especially proposing trade that isn’t financial logical. Here’s an example, defensive end Myles Garrett. A trade of Garrett would result in $35 million in dead cap space. Just a reminder, the Browns are currently $9 million over the cap. Another example is left tackle Jedrick Wills. Yes, he had a down year, but if the team is in a win now window, you don’t create holes at key positions without having a legitimate replacement. I expect the Browns to pick up his fifth-year option.
Paul DePodesta. Browns fans always have to have a scapegoat and I thought it was DC Joe Woods. Yes, he deserved to be fired. But wanting to fire the Chief Strategy Officer is just weird. DePodesta does not run the team, he does not design plays and he does not call plays. He helps the front office on personnel decisions. No GM is perfect, Andrew Berry wasn’t perfect this last off-season. He totally missed on the defensive tackle position. He hit on his first pick last year, cornerback Martin Emerson was a steal. Just a reminder, GM John Dorsey, no fan of analytics, picked DE Chad Thomas with DE Sam Hubbard still on the board.
Jim Schwartz. Schwartz was hired by head coach Kevin Stefanski. Again, the Browns are in a win now mode, so the defense needs to be fixed NOW and he is the perfect hire. He was not hired as a backup plan if they fire Stefanski. Think about this logically, why would Stefanski hire his replacement? Why would Schwartz take a job, move his wife to Cleveland only to be an interim head coach for part of a season and be fired in January? And yes, he’s going to hire his own assistants and have a say in the players he wants to keep and add.
Free Agents. The Browns will need to create cap space as explained in this article https://clesportstalk.com/fixing-the-browns-2023-salary-cap/ I wrote for the website. Two Browns players they have to resign in my opinion are center Ethan Pocic and linebacker Anthony Walker. Make Pocic the starter and Nick Harris as the backup. Pocic was a top five center in the league when he played. The defense started to go downhill after Walker got hurt. I would like to see them resign LB Sione Takitaki, but he got injured so late in the season, he might not be ready. Bring back LB Reggie Rageland as LB five or six. As for the glaring hole in the defense, defensive line, be realistic in the players you want to sign. The Browns already have seven players making over ten million dollars on the roster, they won’t be adding any more. Javon Hargrave and Daron Payne would be great additions, however unrealistic. Think more like Dre’Mont Jones, Sheldon Rankins, David Onyemata or Matt Ioannidis. The Browns will need to sign two.
All Browns fans, except the “Baker Bros” want the Browns to succeed. This off-season is very important, especially because of how good the Bengals are playing right now. Fix the defense, take the off-season to bring Watson back to his 2020 form and challenge for the division and the playoffs. Make it happen Browns. Stay safe and Go Browns.