4 Moves Cleveland Browns Should Have Made This Offseason

Though some things will be changing for the Cleveland Browns between now and the Week 1 kickoff, most of those will revolve around tweaking and trimming down the roster to reach 53 men. Most of their major moves, though, have already taken place.

That means there is some unfinished business in Cleveland. Here are four offseason moves the Browns could or should have made but did not.

Not Signing S Tashaun Gipson to a Long-Term Deal

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The Browns chose to give a second-round restricted free-agent tender to safety Tashaun Gipson this offseason, worth $2.356 million in 2015, rather than sign him to a long-term contract despite their considerable cap space.

It's not just the decision to tender Gipson that is the problem but also the waterfall of consequences that have arisen as a result. Gipson opted to sit out the team's voluntary OTAs in protest of the tender and in hopes it would spur contract talks. But that didn't work, and Gipson had to report to the team for mid-June's minicamp and sign the tender.

But Gipson showed up with a strained hamstring he suffered while working out on his own in Texas and couldn't participate in minicamp, with Jordan Poyer taking his place with the first-team defense. Had he been in Cleveland, working with the Browns and their training staff, this injury might have been prevented, and he could have taken part in minicamp.

Now, Pettine isn't sure he wants to immediately take Poyer out of the starting lineup when training camp begins later in the month.

Though Pettine said, per Northeast Ohio Media Group's Mary Kay Cabot, he doesn't want to "punish a guy over a contract situation," he also expressed disappointment that Gipson showed up to minicamp hurt. He said, "He showed up here with an injury so we obviously held him out. It's disappointing when a guy's not here to show up with something."

This debacle could have been prevented had the Browns successfully negotiated a deal with Gipson in April or May. And it could lead to Poyer having the opportunity of a lifetime this summer.

Not Moving on Terrelle Pryor Sooner

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On May 5, the Kansas City Chiefs cut quarterback Terrelle Pryor. Five days later, after a tryout at rookie minicamp, the Cincinnati Bengals signed him. About a month later, they released him and the Browns picked him up off waivers a few days later. This came on the heels of Pryor's agent, Drew Rosenhaus, informing teams that Pryor would be switching positions to wide receiver, which likely prompted the Browns to pick him up—they said as much in their official press release announcing the signing.

But that means that Pryor will make his debut as a wide receiver in the Browns' late-July training camp and not before. The majority of the offseason was spent as a fourth-string quarterback in Cincinnati, and he didn't get any practice reps at wide receiver. He's clearly behind the learning curve heading into camp.

Now, for the Browns to have made a move earlier than they did to pick up the quarterback-turned-receiver, they would have had to know about his openness to change positions, and it's possible no inkling of that was making the rounds around the NFL's rumor mill before Rosenhaus himself contacted teams.

However, if it were possible that the Browns could have brought Pryor in and changed his position before the Bengals had a chance to work him out or sign him, that would have given Pryor time to work with Cleveland's quarterbacks and fellow receivers in order to improve his chances of sticking on the roster.

While it helps that Pryor is spending his time before training camp working with Randy Moss and Antonio Brown, nothing would substitute taking part in live receiver drills with his actual, new teammates. But, it's also possible that the Browns, like the rest of the NFL, didn't know Pryor was at all open to changing positions until Rosenhaus made it public in June.

Avoided Drafting so Many Injured Players

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The Browns came away from the 2015 NFL draft with 12 new players. With that many picks, the Browns could afford to make a few luxury selections. But taking three players with significant injuries may not have been the smartest move.

These players are receiver Vince Mayle, taken in Round 4, tight end Randall Telfer, taken in Round 6, and cornerback Ifo Ekpre-Olomu, taken in Round 7.

These players, the final two in particular, aren't huge risks because, again, the Browns had so many picks to begin with and because players drafted in Rounds 6 and 7 are never guaranteed to pan out when completely healthy. But still, it does seem like an excessive number of injured players selected.

Mayle is coming off offseason thumb surgery and has been taking mental reps during OTAs and minicamp. He's optimistic he will be ready for training camp and is the least risky of the three.

Telfer has a Lisfranc fracture in his foot, and he underwent surgery in February. Lisfranc issues have tricky recoveries. Plus Telfer has had a litany of injuries in the past—meniscus and MCL tears, two ankle injuries—that make him a risky player regardless of his foot.

Ekpre-Olomu, meanwhile, could have been a Round 1 or Round 2 pick this year if it weren't for his torn ACL and a dislocated knee. He might have to sit out his entire rookie season if his rehabilitation moves slowly.

Though the Browns had enough ammunition to take a few risks with their draft picks this year, selecting three players with pre-existing injuries may be two too many.

Drafting a WR Before Round 4

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In 2014, the Browns confounded practically everyone paying attention by not drafting a wide receiver at all. This year, they finally made the move, taking Vince Mayle in Round 4. Mayle was the first receiver drafted by the Browns since 2012, when they took Travis Benjamin in, yes, Round 4.

This year's draft class was much like 2014's in that it was deep at the wide receiver position, which allowed teams in need to put receiver off until later and still find quality talent. And that may be the case with Mayle, once his cast is off and he can practice and eventually play. 

But the Browns don't have a lot of homegrown talent at wide receiver and the promising players they do have—2014's undrafted Taylor Gabriel and 2015's undrafted Darius Jennings, both men are smaller in size and have limited skill sets as a result. Players such as Dwayne Bowe and Brian Hartline, meanwhile, are just veteran stopgaps at receiver and not long-term solutions.

The problem, though, with the Browns taking a receiver in Round 2 or Round 3 would mean they sacrifice outside linebacker Nate Orchard (taken in Round 2), running back Duke Johnson (Round 3) or defensive lineman Xavier Cooper (Round 3, as well).

Orchard meets a specific and glaring need on defense, Cooper will eventually work his way into the Browns' rotational defensive line. And Johnson could prove to be just as big a receiving threat as he is a productive runner.

So it could work out just fine that the Browns waited until Round 4 and for Mayle to draft a receiver. But the Browns could have used one of the draft's more elite wideouts, and they chose against bringing one aboard.