Best and Worst Moves the Cleveland Browns Have Made in Free Agency
With the bulk of the Cleveland Browns' free-agency moves taken care of, we can now look back and see which seem good for the team and which seem less so. Though we won't feel the full impact of these signings and other moves until the season begins—and thus we won't know which ones are truly good and bad—there are hints as to how these moves will play out already.
So, here are the Browns' three best and three worst free-agency decisions they have made thus far.
Best: Addressing Special Teams
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Some of the Browns' earliest moves were to lock down free agents who do most or all of their work on special teams. They re-signed a trio of them, in fact—punter Spencer Lanning, running back and return specialist Shaun Draughn and receiver and special teams contributor Marlon Moore, who both returned kickoffs last year as well as worked on the punt coverage team.
These may not seem like exciting moves. Draughn and Moore, though they also moonlight as offensive skill-position players, didn't see a single touch outside of the return game last year. And Lanning is a punter—certainly not the most head-turning signing during free agency.
However, field position determines how an offense approaches its drives and how the defense chooses to attack its opponent. The Browns ensured that three major components of their special teams unit aren't question marks heading into 2015.
Worst: Giving an RFA Tender to S Tashaun Gipson
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In a vacuum, giving a second-round restricted free-agent tender to safety Tashaun Gipson, worth $2.356 million this year, isn't a bad move. It's not even that bad outside of the vacuum, if only because no other team has come calling with an offer sheet. But the threat of that being a possibility is why it was a bad idea.
The goal here is likely to give Gipson, who is coming off his career-best season that featured six interceptions though he missed the final third of the season with a knee injury, a tender in lieu of a long-term contract. And it's likely that the Browns tried to get that deal done before having to resort to the tender.
However, another team can swoop in and offer Gipson a contract that the Browns would have to match or beat in order to keep him. Sure, if that fails, they get a second-round pick in the 2015 draft, but that pick won't make up for the services of one of the NFL's better safeties—especially in a year when safeties in the draft are sorely lacking.
It may all be moot. If no other team makes Gipson an offer by April 24, he will remain in Cleveland for at least 2015. And if that is the case, a long-term agreement is almost a given. But for now, Gipson is in limbo. It would have been better for the Browns to find a way to get a contract done without the tender coming into play.
Best: Signing QB Thaddeus Lewis
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Quarterback Thaddeus Lewis may not be on the roster come Week 1. In fact, he may not make it all the way to the start of training camp in the summer. But for now, he serves a necessary purpose—an insurance policy at backup quarterback in case Johnny Manziel isn't ready for OTAs or minicamp.
In a perfect world, Manziel wouldn't have had to enter treatment or at least would have done so with a return date in mind. But the goal is to get him to where he needs to be, mentally and physically, and there's no timetable for that process to reach completion just yet. Should he not be ready for offseason activities, the Browns would have gone into those practices with only two quarterbacks on the roster—Josh McCown and Connor Shaw.
Two quarterbacks are not enough to install an offense and evaluate players on a 90-man roster. Three are necessary in that situation. Thus, Lewis is there to provide that emergency third, should Cleveland need him. Given the circumstances, the Browns are better off having too many quarterbacks this spring than not enough.
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Worst: Extending the Contract of DT John Hughes
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The Browns chose to extend the contract of defensive tackle John Hughes during the early days of free agency, giving him a four-year deal worth $14.4 million. He went into the 2015 season with one year left on his contract.
Hughes, a 2012 third-round Browns draft pick, recorded four sacks and 68 total combined tackles in his first two seasons. He played just five games for the Browns in 2014, ultimately being placed on the injured reserve-recall list with a knee injury in late October and not returning until Week 17.
Though the Browns may be enthusiastic about Hughes—the length and value of the contract indicates he'll have an expanded role moving forward—it might have been wiser to let him earn top-20 defensive lineman cash in 2015 than assume that he has that type of production in him.
Hughes is still mostly unproven and missed most of 2014 with an injury. The Browns would have been better off waiting a year to make sure that he is worth such a lucrative contract.
Best: Signing CB Tramon Williams
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Among the Browns' free-agency signings this year, cornerback Tramon Williams may just be the best. An eight-year veteran of the Green Bay Packers, Williams has a career total of 28 interceptions, 395 combined tackles and 114 passes defensed in his career. Though 32 years old, he still totaled three interceptions, 14 passes defensed and 65 tackles in 2014. He's been a full-time starter for the past three years.
Williams can immediately take over the starting boundary corner job that belonged to Buster Skrine last year, allowing Justin Gilbert, K'Waun Williams and Pierre Desir to continue honing their skills. He, alongside Joe Haden, can also assist with that honing, whether in practices, meetings or the locker room.
His contract even reflects this. Though its full value is three years and $21 million, only $10 million of that is guaranteed—his 2015 salary, his 2015 roster bonus, his signing bonus and just $2.8 million of his $6.2 million salary for 2016. Williams provides a high-quality starting bridge cornerback who can mentor the Browns' young players, and when Cleveland no longer requires his services, the team won't take a huge cap hit.
Worst: Making No Additions at TE
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The Browns knew they would be a long shot to retain the services of tight end Jordan Cameron, despite making a last-minute push. He ultimately chose the Miami Dolphins. In turn, the Buffalo Bills signed Charles Clay to a five-year, $38 million contract in order to wrest the transition-tagged player away from Miami.
It was a three-way dance that the Browns weren't true participants in. And they didn't seem to make any other serious pushes for a tight end beyond their attempts to keep Cameron in Cleveland. Julius Thomas, Lance Kendricks, Owen Daniels—one by one, tight ends chose other teams without the Browns batting an eye.
Perhaps Jermaine Gresham was their target all along, but now they will have to wait, as he has undergone surgery for a herniated disc in his back. He's their last best hope in terms of signing a veteran pass-catching tight end, but it's unknown when he'll be able to pass a physical and sign with a team.
The pickings were slim when it came to free-agent tight ends, and they are similarly as slim in the draft. Though the Browns cannot control when a player chooses another team over their own, they weren't as aggressive as necessary given the state of the tight end position, which now comes down to Jim Dray and Gary Barnidge.
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