Mike Holmgren: Evaluating the Cleveland Browns Offseason Moves

It’s been a very busy offseason for the Cleveland Browns, and in fairness to past regimes, it’s time to grade the moves made so far with as dispassionate an eye as possible.

Eric Mangini’s every move last year was held up to multiple levels of scrutiny, sometimes unfairly, and he never was given the benefit of the doubt.

With team president Mike Holmgren in charge this year, there is a lot of “In Holmgren We Trust” being reverently recited.

While it’s nice to have more faith than last year, the fan base has swung from one extreme to the other. While not defending Mangini, because a lot of his moves were questionable, giving Holmgren a free pass really isn’t the proper response, either.

Starting with the most recent trade, the Browns acquired Sheldon Brown and Chris Gocong for Alex Hall and two low-round draft picks.

Even if Sheldon Brown breaks down, and Gocong doesn’t develop, this still is a good trade because the Browns didn’t give up anything of real value for them.

However, Brown is 31 years old and Gocong still is developing, so this trade can’t be properly evaluated until the end of the season.

The Browns also signed linebacker Scott Fujita, offensive lineman Tony Pashos, and tight end Ben Watson.

Watson was signed to a three-year, $12 million contract; Fujita signed a three-year, $14 million contract; and Pashos signed a three-year, $10.3 million contract.

These were all good signings because every player adds some depth to the roster, the money wasn’t outrageous and there’s little downside.

The Kamerion Wimbley trade should have gotten a lot more scrutiny because it really was a case of selling low. Wimbley was given up for a low third-round draft pick. A second rounder should have been the asking price.

Wimbley had been a solid player, and it is understandable the front office had no sacred cows, but the Wimbley deal was bad. He was worth a second-rounder, not a low third-round pick.

The front office, knowing the deal wasn’t a very good one, sent head coach Eric Mangini out to the public to try and explain this one away as all a part of the process, basically.

But if they were going to use Wimbley to get another draft pick, they needed to get what he was worth, not whatever was being offered at the time.

Now to the quarterback situation.

Derek Anderson: There was nothing that could be done with Anderson from a constructive standpoint. His time in Cleveland was over.

Phil Savage created this mess and all the new front office could do was clean it up.

Brady Quinn: The team needed to move on, that was made perfectly clear by Holmgren, and he should be given credit for explaining that because he wasn’t obligated to.

That being said, the Browns didn’t get enough for him in the trade. With only 12 starts, the Browns should’ve gotten more than a backup running back, a sixth-round pick, and a conditional pick for a draft that isn’t even officially on the books yet.

Perhaps Heckert is taking a page from the Eagles offseason playbook for dumping a quarterback for a song and a dance.

Jake Delhomme: This signing makes the least amount of sense because of the contract numbers. Delhomme is being paid $7 million. He’s 35 years old and was so bad last season that he got benched.

The Browns already have gone down the road of "aging veteran leading the team" with Ty Detmer, Jeff Garcia, and Trent Dilfer. None of those trips ended well.

Seneca Wallace: The deal for Wallace wasn’t bad, but nothing about the move makes the team significantly better. He adds depth and wasn’t too costly, so it isn’t a bad deal, but raise your hand if you think Wallace still will be on the roster in three years.

In conclusion, the Browns have had a good offseason, but not a great one.

First, the bad: The Browns got rid of an unproven quarterback and one who is prone to throwing interceptions and replaced them with an unproven quarterback and one prone to throwing interceptions, only they’re older.

These moves are tempered by the knowledge the Browns will be drafting a quarterback.

However, they dumped a solid linebacker for less than he was worth and didn’t get great value for Quinn.

The good: Fujita, Pashos, and Watson are all solid free agent signings that didn’t break the bank and should make the team better.

The Brown and Gocong trade didn’t really cost the team anything significant, and barring horrific injuries or unexpected breakdowns, also should make the team better.

Overall offseason grade for moves made so far: B-