Ranking Cleveland Browns' Best Remaining Free-Agency Options
The first week of free agency has wrapped with the majority of the higher-profile players already inking deals with new teams. Very few of those high-profile signings were with the Cleveland Browns, who, despite their considerable salary-cap space have seen a number of players they targeted slip through their fingers.
Still, the Browns have roster needs and cash to spend. Though they are likely to end up far less active in free agency than their cap space would indicate, it's still quite possible there are more signings to come. Here are five free agents still on the market who may interest the Browns in the coming days or months.
5. C Brian De La Puente
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The Browns expect starting center Alex Mack to be ready for Week 1 after suffering a broken leg in the midway point of the 2014 season. They also have backups Ryan Seymour and Nick McDonald on the roster. But given how the offense, and the run game in particular, dropped off so significantly after Mack's injury, the Browns may want to add additional veteran insurance at the position.
That's where Brian De La Puente comes in. De La Puente started all 16 games at center for the New Orleans Saints from 2011 through 2013 before signing with the Chicago Bears on a one-year deal in 2014. He played eight games for the Bears at both center and left guard, including six starts, before being placed on injured reserve in November with an ankle injury.
De La Puente has more experience than Seymour and McDonald and comes from a high-volume passing attack in New Orleans and a run-heavy offensive approach in Chicago. Though Mack is clearly the Browns' starter, adding De La Puente would give them additional insurance should Mack succumb to injury again.
4. WR Reggie Wayne
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The Browns brought in a veteran wideout, former Miami Dolphin Brian Hartline, at the start of free agency. But they shouldn't stop there in adding experience at the position to the locker room. And a little high-level leadership wouldn't hurt, either. That's what makes Reggie Wayne an intriguing target for the Browns in free agency.
Wayne spent 14 years with the Indianapolis Colts before being released earlier this month. He totaled 1,070 receptions for over 14,000 yards and 82 touchdowns in that span. However, a torn ACL suffered in 2013 and the inevitable effects of age held Wayne to just 64 receptions for 779 yards and two scores in 2014.
Wayne may be 36 years old, but he could have one good season left in him—that is, if he still wants to play, something he was unsure of in February. Further, he might want to wrap his career with a Super Bowl contender, which would rule out the Browns as an option. But the leadership value of Wayne in Cleveland's locker room cannot be underestimated, which is why they should look into what it would take to sign him.
3. TE Jermaine Gresham
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A number of the Browns' Week 1 free-agent targets are still available on the market, meaning the Browns still have a chance of landing them. One such player is tight end Jermaine Gresham, who becomes an even higher priority now that Jordan Cameron has agreed to sign with the Miami Dolphins.
Gresham, a five-year veteran of the Cincinnati Bengals, has 280 career catches on 416 targets, for 2,722 yards and 24 touchdowns. He totaled 62 catches on 79 targets in 2014, for 460 yards and five scores. He also missed regular-season and playoff games that year with toe and back injuries.
As a pass-catching tight end with considerable blocking ability, it makes sense that the Browns would be interested in Gresham to replace Cameron. However, there are some risks. Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis described Gresham as "at a crossroads" at the NFL Scouting Combine last month, adding, "It's, what's Jermaine want next? When he commits to whatever he wants next, then things will work out."
So if the Browns are serious about courting Gresham, they need to know what they are getting—a player who needs to be properly motivated in order to give his best on the football field. If the Browns can draw that out of him, then Gresham is a good player to sign; if not, he's simply a waste of money.
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2. CB Tramon Williams
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The Browns need to find a cornerback to replace departed free agent Buster Skrine. While that man may be on the roster, whether it be Justin Gilbert, K'Waun Williams or Pierre Desir or if he could be found in April's draft, it also appears that a veteran free agent could be an option. The main one appears to be Tramon Williams, who met with the Browns on Sunday, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter.
Williams has spent the last eight years with the Green Bay Packers, appearing in 127 games with 99 starts, including starting for all 16 games over the past three seasons. He has a total of 395 tackles, 114 passes defensed, 28 interceptions (one returned for a touchdown) and 4.5 sacks. He had 65 tackles, three interceptions and 14 passes defensed in 2014.
Williams would be a huge boost to the Browns' cornerbacks room. He'd help Joe Haden mentor the younger players while stepping in to replace Skrine as a starter. This would be one of the Browns' smartest free-agent signings of the year—if they can land him.
Update: The Browns signed Williams to a three-year, $21 million contract on Monday, according to the NFL Network's Ian Rapoport.
1. WR Dwayne Bowe
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Though the Browns added free-agent receiver Brian Hartline to its roster last week, the Browns still need a true, No. 1 deep threat to replace Josh Gordon, who is suspended for at least one year. And it looks like the Browns currently have their sights set on Dwayne Bowe to be that man.
Bowe spent the weekend with the Browns, who are "determined not to let him leave without a new deal," according to NFL Media Insider Ian Rapoport ( via NFL.com's Dan Hanzus). ESPN's Adam Caplan says the visit "went very well," with both the Browns and Bowe interested in pairing up.
Bowe, a 2007 first-round pick of the Kansas City Chiefs, spent eight years with the team before being released last week. He played in 118 games with 112 starts, catching 532 passes on 947 targets for 7,155 yards and 44 touchdowns, averaging 13.4 yards per reception.
His skill as a deep threat was (by no fault of his own) his undoing in dink-and-dunk Kansas City, with Chiefs quarterback Alex Smith targeting him 95 times last year, leading to 60 receptions for just 754 yards and no scores. It's quite possible he'll be used properly in Cleveland, though of course that depends on the starting quarterback.
Because the Browns have been so aggressive in their pursuit of Bowe, it instantly makes him the team's top free-agent target among those players who remain on the market. It's possible that he'll be on the roster later this week.
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