I don’t say, wait till next year, not this team with this front office. It’s time to reload. As for the game Saturday, the Browns ran into the better team on that day. There’s no one player to blame and there’s no conspiracy by the league against the Browns. What I saw was a team with a rookie head coach and a rookie quarterback execute and perform better than the other team. To be honest, I thought the Browns looked a little tight. Since Flacco has been the starting quarterback, the Browns have marched down the field on their first possession and scored a touchdown. Not Saturday. They were three-and-out. The moment was too great. After the game, I wasn’t mad, only because I had more than a quarter of football to decompress. The game was over at the end of the third. My only question after the game was is how in the hell did The Ohio State not win a national championship with C.J. Stroud. I bet the Carolina Panthers are kicking themselves right now. Bottom line, on offense the Texans took advantage of what the Browns defense did well, aggressiveness. On offense, a team’s offensive line always looks better when your QB throws the ball in about two seconds. Stroud got rid of the ball in 2.4 seconds, Flacco held the ball longer. It showed how bad the Browns fourth and fifth string offensive tackles are and the Texans pass rush took advantage.
Don’t get me wrong, the 2023 Browns season was one wild ride. Most fans said wait till next year when Nick Chubb was hurt, or when Deshaun Watson was put on IR for the season. Injury after injury every week. If I had to pick one week when things started to get bad, (thank you CLEology, @CLEology for posting this) it would be the week 14. Prior to the Jacksonville game it was announced RT Dawand Jones was placed on season ending IR. Then pregame, S Juan Thornhill started down the injury road with a calf injury that would not heal. Finally, during the game, LB Anthony Walker injured, out for the season, DT Maurise Hurst, injured, out for the season and S Grant Delpit, injured out for the season. The team had the players to beat Trevor Lawrence, Case Keenum and Trevor Siemian, but not a motivated Stoud and Texans team.
I have faith in GM Andrew Berry to return the Browns to the playoffs next season. Next year they’re going to have to win the division. No more road wildcard games, playoff home games, please. Look at the moves he made in 2023. Dustin Hopkins, Kareem Hunt, Joe Flacco, Dawand Jones, Ogbo Okoronkwo, Mo Hurst, Shelby Harris, Dalvin Tomlinson, Ronnie Hickman and Duron Harmon. Looking forward to the 2024 season, according to https://overthecap.com/ the estimated salary cap will be $242 million. As of right now, the Browns are $13 million over the cap. With restructures, Cleveland can trim over $60 million off the payroll, starting with around $30 million of Watson’s contract. I’m sure in the coming weeks, local and national media will use the phrase “cap hell” to describe the 2024 Browns. Don’t believe them, they’re only looking for clicks.
Next up are contract extensions for head coach Kevin Stefanski and GM Andrew Berry and yes, they deserve extensions. Stefanski mentioned there would be some tweaking of the coaching staff and I don’t expect anything major. The Browns are set at the most important coaching positions, defensive coordinator, offensive coordinator, special teams coach and offensive line coach. I also feel JOK and Grant Delpit deserve contract extensions. In future blogs, I’ll express my opinion on which Browns free agents I would like to see return. Finally, some important dates moving forward. February 3, Senior Bowl, February 27 through March 3, NFL combine, March 11 through March 13, legal tampering period, March 13, 4:00pm EST the 2024 league begins and April 25 through April 27 the NFL draft. Stay safe and Go Browns.