I think we've actually referenced his value in these capacities quite a bit... Jarvis was perhaps the key contributor (outside of Baker) that changed the culture here. Nobody is denying that from what I can tell... I'm strictly looking at this from a GM standpoint. Juice is awesome in many ways for the Browns, but it's just not $16M awesome IMO. I'd love it if we can figure out a way to keep him, but I believe he will ultimately be a cap casualty. It's just my honest take on this situation. Not dissing the player.
Well, I guess this answers the RT question for 2022. Probably looking at a later round lineman now, rather than possibly that #13 overall.
On the contrary... the discussions thus far have been around bringing Jarvis back primarily to be that leader. Apologies if I haven't made my position clear enough as we have been dealing with a lot of hypotheticals, but here it is in a nutshell: bring Jarvis back on a 2-4 year extension at a market cost (which for his production and age would be somewhere in the neighborhood of $12 million a season). I'd convert his 2022 salary into signing bonus to get him paid immediately to show the good faith while also locking him up longer-term. Draft a wide reciever at #13 who will play his spot. Let Jarvis be the leader in that WR room and one of the leaders on the offense (if Jarvis and Rashard Higgins walk, the leader in the WR room is 22-year old Donovon Peoples-Jones). The biggest questions are: (1) whether Jarvis truly wants to be back here, and (2) what type of leadership he is going to display because in 2021, that leadership from him appeared to be lacking.
Kudos to the Browns... they didn't have to do this and Conklin's 2022 salary was competely non-guaranteed. And as you noted, #13 is not going to be used on a tackle. It'll be WR or DE... I don't think there's any exceptions. I think re-signing Chris Hubbard becomes even more critical now. Obviously, the Browns and Conklin's crew think there's a pretty good chance he's available later in the season. If Hubbard can hold down that RT spot until Jack's ready to come back, that would be tremendous. I had honestly ruled him out in 2022 and beyond, so the feels like good news all around!
The good news keeps on coming. Hard to believe giving Njoku "big money" means Austin Hooper is on the roster in 2022. To wit, check out his post-6/1 dead cap change: I think this changes the calculus a bit for the offseason, but here's a thought on offense: Sign (or tag) Njoku for 2022 Sign O.J. Howard (Spotrac estimates a $2 - $3.5 million a year valuation) Extend Jarvis Landry (convert his 2022 salary into a signing bonus, pay him out on the spot - extend him through 2024 @ $12 mill a season) Draft Garrett Wilson or Treylon Burks at #13 You go into preseason carrying four tight ends (Njoku, Bryant, Howard, and Hooper) -- Hooper will be cut/traded post 6/1 designation and maybe there's a chance they take a TE late in the draft, too -- they did have Stephen Carlson on the roster last season, too. Assuming Rashard Higgins walks, you have Jarvis, a rookie who plays Jarvis' position (Burks or Wilson), Donovan Peoples-Jones, Anthony Schwartz, and then probably a guy from some other teams' cuts. This would more accurate fit the offense Stefanski is going to run and give you the three tight ends with a lot of physical upside. You've got your boundary guy (Peoples-Jones), you've got your slot (Jarvis) who's also a key leader, and then you've got a very talented rookie behind Jarvis who can be put into the lineup in other spots, as well as spelling Landry at times. We've chatted at length about Stefanski's targets and what we should realistically expect from not just a rookie, but our receivers in general. Where we also do a little additional projection is on that rookie at #13 -- do we take Wilson who's ready-made for the slot but may (or may not) be as successful on the boundary, or do you get a guy like Burks who's also primarily a slot weapon but has the speed and size to fit that boundary? I think some of the organization's outlook on Peoples-Jones would inform that choice.
Per- Mary Kay (so you know it's gotta be true.); Conklin’s agent, Drew Rosenhaus, said a few weeks ago that Conklin is ahead of schedule in his rehab process and is on track for the start of the 2022 season.
link Kevin Stefanski on Jarvis Landry: There are situations that are hard - ProFootballTalk The writing is on the wall...
What do we do in the draft if we move on from Jarvis AND cannot re-sign Clowney AND we cannot sufficiently cover either in free agency? This is worse case scenario for me.
We'll get younger and better... Browns - OBJ - Juice = $30M...Not the end of the world. Sign Godwin, Sign Chark. Draft Olave. Draft Perrion Winfrey....
Interesting quotes from some of the top WR's at the NFL Combine "Greg Newsome, hands down. He definitely gave me the most trouble. He's with the Browns right now. I played him in the 2020 season, that COVID year. I'd definitely have to say he's the best defensive back I've faced so far. He was just patient. At that time, I didn't play against a patient DB. So going up against him, it was definitely something new for me and the things that I usually do to win against DBs, it didn't really work on him. So that's definitely a game that even up to this day that I still watch. It still haunts me that I let one slip away." - Purdue WR David Bell on the best defensive back he's ever faced. It would be great to link up with Baker. Baker's someone that, like I said, did all the things that I wanted to do. Being a Heisman winner, that's stuff you can only dream about. So watching him ball when I was younger, that was really awesome. Having that opportunity to maybe have that happen again would be awesome. - Ohio State WR Garrett Wilson on Browns QB Baker Mayfield It's a great organization. I definitely like the way they run things. Just to stay in the state of Ohio… I know the fanbase is crazy and is one of the best fanbases. I would definitely love that and enjoy that. - Ohio State WR Chris Olave on possibly playing with the Browns It's just like getting a rebound to me. When the ball is in the air, I'm gonna go get it. - USC WR Drake London on how his basketball background translates to contested catches in football In a sense it happened like on accident, I’d say. Not on accident, but I was recruited as a corner so I feel like my recruitment wasn’t that – I didn’t have a lot of recruitment coming out of high school. I remember Coach (Bill) Kenny calling me late in the season. He was saying like, oh, a scholarship got opened up. Would you still like to come to Western Michigan. And I accepted it, felt like it was the biggest stage for me and that’s how that happened. =Western Michigan WR Skyy Walker, who didn't start playing receiver until college, on his recruitment to the Broncos I think all the places I've lived, all the people I've been around is one of the biggest keys to who I am today. I think culture is one of the biggest keys to who I am today and diversity, just having lived around so many different types of people and adapted to so many cultures I've lived in definitely helped me become the man I am today. -Alabama WR John Metchie III, who was born in Taiwan and spent his childhood in both Africa and Canada before starting high school in the U.S.
Browns Rumors: Chris Godwin, Allen Robinson, WRs Interest CLE in Free Agency ROB GOLDBERGMARCH 4, 2022 Alerted 20h ago in the B/R App CLEVELAND BROWNS ALERTS The Cleveland Browns will look to upgrade at receiver in free agency, according to Jeff Howe and Zac Jackson of The Athletic. The team reportedly has interest in free agents Chris Godwin, Mike Williams and Allen Robinson, and it will keep an eye on Dallas Cowboys receiver Amari Cooper. ESPN's Adam Schefter reported Friday the Cowboys will likely release Cooper this offseason. This interest comes as part of an overhaul at the position for Cleveland. Howe and Jackson reported the Browns will not re-sign free agent Rashard Higgins, and they are "unlikely" to agree to a restructured contract with Jarvis Landry. The squad can instead save $14.9 million by releasing the veteran, per Spotrac. The team has $28.9 million in projected cap space to make changes that could help improve a passing attack that ranked just 27th in the NFL last season. Baker Mayfield was up-and-down at quarterback, but no one on the team finished with more than 600 receiving yards in 2021. Odell Beckham Jr. couldn't get in sync with Mayfield and was waived in November, while Landry set career lows with 52 catches for 570 yards and two touchdowns. It could leave Donovan Peoples-Jones and Anthony Schwartz as the only returning receivers going into 2022. The two have just 58 career receptions between them. This provides an opening for the team to sign a new No. 1 receiver. Godwin could be the best fit as someone who can make plays all over the field. The star set a career high with 98 receptions last season for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers—the 11th-best mark in the NFL—while adding 1,103 yards and five touchdowns. He has been a reliable weapon near the line of scrimmage while also excelling in the red zone with 28 touchdowns over the last four years. Williams is more of a deep threat with his 16.1 yards per reception ranking fourth among active players. He set a personal best with 1,146 yards in 2021 and can use his size at 6'4", 218 pounds to win 50/50 balls. Though Godwin and Williams have never been clear No. 1 options on their own team, they each have the talent to handle the role in Cleveland. Robinson and Cooper would be riskier moves as each are coming off disappointing seasons, but the Browns could end up getting great value for high-upside players.
I think it's likely....So far not many tags at all. I'm really surprised Green Bay hasn't tagged Adams yet.
Browns use franchise tag on David Njoku A recent report indicted that the Browns would do whatever was necessary to keep tight end David Njoku from leaving the team as a free agent and they’re using the biggest tool at their disposal to ensure he stays off the open market. According to multiple reports, the Browns have franchise tagged Njoku. The move sets Njoku up to make over $10.9 million for the 2022 season and would leave the door open for the two sides to talk about a longer deal until July 15. Njoku was the 29th pick of the 2017 draft and is coming off a season that saw him catch 36 passes for 475 yards and four touchdowns in 16 appearances. He has 148 catches for 1,754 yards and 15 touchdowns over his entire run in Cleveland. Teams have until 4 p.m. ET on March 8 to use franchise tags. Chiefs tackle Orlando Brown and Bengals safety Jessie Bates are also expected to be tagged before that deadline passes.
Browns tender Ja’Marcus Bradley, Michael Dunn and Blake Hance The Browns officially placed their franchise tag on tight end David Njoku on Monday and their announcement of that move included word of three other moves the team made ahead of the start of free agency. They have tendered wide receiver Ja'Marcus Bradley, guard Michael Dunn, and offensive lineman Blake Hance with contracts for the 2022 season. All three players were set to be exclusive rights free agents and the tenders block them from negotiating with any other teams once free agency gets underway next week. Bradley has nine catches for 124 yards in eight games over the last two seasons. Rashard Higgins is set for unrestriced free agency and the team may be asking Jarvis Landry to rework his contract, so there’s likely to be more moves coming at receiver. Dunn made two starts during the 2021 season and he’s played 20 games overall over the last two years. Hance started eight of the 17 games he played in 2021. PFT
Reminder: we need to keep Hooper on the roster through 6/1 to limit the dead cap hit. Post June-1 designation, he's gone. Still expect the Browns to pursue some options in free agency... I would love to have O.J. Howard in the lineup with Njoku and Harrison Bryant.
Rodgers signing 4 year $200M extension with Green Bay. And now the dominoes will start to fall. I'm sure they'll franchise Adams.
