"With the 13th pick in the 2022 NFL Draft, the Cleveland Browns select... a new medical and training staff." Seriously. Who TF was letting these players walk back out there with these injuries? Presumably, medical staff was signing off okay and coaches weren't challenging it, so it's gotta start there, but our injury management last season was horrific and with all the litany of injuries sustained, it's a wonder we finished with seven wins.
Especially with a fanbase that has had nothing but negative for 20 straight years. They don’t know any other way, so they relate to that better.
Zagura is actually employed by the Browns. The others have different agenda's for sure. But even Nathan ended up pissing off Mayfield this year. That was one of Mayfield's biggest gripes was when media members that were employed by the team were criticizing his on field performance.... Anyway, Grossi and Mary Kay have been doing this crap in Cleveland since I was a kid. It would be so refreshing to get some new blood in the Browns media scene...One of the most glaring examples I can ever remember was when we had the greatest coach in NFL history. Unfortunately Mary Kay and Grossi despised him, presumably mainly for the way he conducted his press conferences. Which btw, never really changed at all, even after all the success and championships in New England. Pats media never seemed to have an issue...So that's how it was. Everything rained negative during the Belichick era in Cleveland, and naturally many fans grew to despise him as well. It was Belichick that told everyone the truth about the diminishing skills of Bernie Kosar, and that went over like a lead balloon. Even though Belichick was right, and Bernie never started anywhere in the NFL again, the media led by MK and TG was merciless.
I think for a guy who's usually pretty guarded to come out point-blank and say "I want to be here", it definitely is putting the F/O on blast (in a good way) to ensure that he sticks around. A healthy Jarvis can help Baker get back to his 2020 form and beyond. If this organization is truly committed to Mayfield, it sure feels like letting go of Jarvis and Rashard Higgins (among others) and setting him up with a rookie as the premier guy for 2022 isn't exactly a best foot forward kind of move. I'm optimistic there's still a middle ground to be reached. Convert at lot of his 2022 salary into a one-time bonus, give him a 2-3 year extension deal and pay him appropriately.
I just want to go into next month knowing Njoku is done. Whether that is a new contract or the tag makes no difference. The tag for a TE is $10.83M.. Well worth it to make sure that position is shored up. If Landry is gone, that leaves a RB as our best receiver.
There he goes being Top 5 again. Also worth noting, since he played like hot cat shit in 2021, that passer rating in 2020 must have been north of 120.
Valid point. I get it, and I'd love to see Cleveland keep Landry... WR's are stepping into the league these days ready made true #1's though. I suppose my favorite plan for Browns WR's group this year would be to find a way to keep Jarvis Landry in the mix. Sign Godwin in Free Agency for roughly similar to what we were paying OBJ, and then draft Drake London in round one, and give Baker a true big, and true #1. Problem solved.
Just a hypothetical. Suppose the Browns trade down in rd 1, and wind up obtaining/stockpiling a valuable pick or two for the 2023 draft. Is that going to send a message that the team is not all in on Baker? I think it could, even if it might not necessarily be true. The Mayfield camp has already proven to be a bit sensitive, and surely the media would spin it that way regardless.
For sure, and what I think you'd see is a more determined Baker (not necessarily a good thing, we'll get into that in a minute) and if he has a successful 2022 campaign, an increased contract demand from the team. And why wouldn't he? Not only is there the slight - intended or otherwise - from the trade back to position yourself for a QB, but he's had nothing but instability since being drafted by the team. As a result, his individual performance is likewise all over the spectrum. He's had four head coaches, five offensive coordinators, two front offices... at some point it has to stop. Now, why is a more determined Baker perhaps a bad thing? That 63.6 grade in Year 4 in the tweet above... Baker pushed himself way too hard through an injury that, quite frankly, should have ended his season and instead ended the Browns. Yes, the coaches didn't step in and the coaches/front office put $6 million into a backup who at 100% wasn't worth a 15% Baker, so that's an organizational failure... but let's say Bake gets injured again in 2022. He's not about to pull himself out -- not during a contract season and a redemption tour. 2021 showed us the team doesn't have a plan behind him and whether or not we retain Keenum, the free agent market isn't brimming with a lot of quality options out there. Likewise, 2021 showed us the coaches not only won't pull an injured Baker, but they won't adjust the gameplan to help him out either and that cost (or will cost) the team yards, points, and ultimately wins. All that's a lot to say: who cares? Andrew Berry has to do what's best for the Cleveland Browns, not Baker Mayfield, or Kevin Stefanski, or Jarvis Landry. His job is to put the best roster on the field in the short term and set th team up for the best, sustained long-term success. I still wholly endorse the trade back approach and there may not be a bigger Baker guy out there. I think hedging yourself against an unfavorable outcome is a smart move. And hypothetically, if we: Extend Ward Re-sign Clowney Re-sign Hubbard Sign the top RT in free agency And Garrett Wilson goes #10 to the Jets? Believe I'm fielding all calls for teams who want to move up and I'm eyeing that late 20 territory.
He's told us via social media he wants to come back - reading between the lines, he's telling Browns management that he's not taking a paycut. It also stands to reason that they've approached him about that. It's a tough spot. I think what's best for all parties is again, converting that 2022 salary into a one-time bonus and extending him 2-3 more seasons on a more "realistic" pricetag. $10 - $12 million a season versus $14 - $16. And again, that may be what they've already approached him about and what got him tweeting out of character the other day, in which case it sounds like the break-up is coming. Regarding the second point about the ready-made receivers, that definitely does appear to be the case. Up until a few years ago, having a 1,000 yard season as a rookie was incredibly rare, now it's becoming routine. However, to all the points made about Stefanski's offense... I don't know that we'd see that same thing translate when we're running to set up the pass and lining up in three tight-end formation at a rate 2x the next nearest team and 4x the NFL average. Beyond that, it takes the targets and Stefanski is more of a "spread it around" guy. Lastly, the landscape of the NFL has changed, too. Ja'Marr Chase is a rare dude because most analysts were ready to write him off after what might be the worst pre-season in WR history but he turned that around quick. What we're seeing today is the proliferation of the slot receiver - Cooper Kupp (#1), Justin Jefferson (#2), Tyreek Hill (#6), Tyler Lockett (#8), Keenan Allen (#12), Chris Godwin (#13), CeeDee Lamb (#14), and Tee Higgins (#15) were all Top 15 wide receivers playing primarily the slot role. Slot receivers made up more Top 15 spots (8) than boundry guys (7). For us, that's primarily Jarvis Landry. If they re-sign him or even bring him back for a farewell tour at his $16.4 million cap number he's probably going to see the lion's share of targets which would mean any rookie receiver is taking third-billing behind Landry and Donovan Peoples-Jones. Unless Stefanski revamps the offense to a 70/30 pass-run split, it's highly unlikely we have a rookie WR with 1,000+ yards... even if he's the first one off the board in April.
Agreed on all. It's the nature of the business. He's made over $40M dollars in his tenure here. If the Browns cut Jarvis Landry, what could he get on the open market, coming off an unproductive and injury plagued season, and about to hit the wrong side of 30? Nowhere near $16M per. Not even close. There's no way he's going to make that playing for the Browns this year. Cut and try to resign is a possibility. Cleveland has every right to ask him to take a pay cut and I hope they can come to a mutual agreement. Juice's OTC valuation estimation for the coming season is less than $3M...The writing on the wall says he's played his last game for the Browns.
Well.. I'm not sure I agree with you on this TD... He had an injury off year, BUT the top tier WRs are going to be pulling $20M+/ year deals moving forward. Keenan Allen (same age as Landry) signed his $20M/yr contract in 2020 at the age of 28. That was a 5 year deal, similar to Landry. The new contracts coming this year will most likely be in the $22-24M range for top tier WRs like Mike Williams, who has a similar output to Jarvis career averages, but is younger. I wouldn't be surprised in the least for a receiver, who before last season had only missed 1 game in the previous 7 seasons. He is 30, but he has another 3 productive seasons left. In another system, he is catching 100 balls easily out of the slot. If he is cut, he will get his $16M this year somewhere else from a team in need OR he can give a discount to a team he feels he has the best chance of getting a ring with. He is just to the age of getting a 1-3 year deal, no more 5 year contracts with big money in the first 3 years. (edit If you cut him, you can forget about re-signing him to a lower deal. He will take less to sign elsewhere on pride alone. I've had a lot of time to think about the WR situation and I have come to the conclusion that letting Jarvis play out his contract at $16M (restructured as a signing bonus) is the most obvious and beneficial play for the Browns. He can be a high contributor to this team and spreading out the cost over two years at $8M ea, while getting not one, but two rookies ready for 2023 would be a wise move.
In fact.. IF/WHEN the Browns make the decision to move on from Jarvis, that shows me an even greater definition of just how much Andrew Berry devalues the WR position and it also tells me that we need to be thinking about OT or Dline for the #13 pick, cause it isn't going to be a receiver....unless they make a move down the board before picking one.
You said it already @SAS , It isn't the responsability of the player to pull themselves out of a game, or hold them out of game(s), that is on the training staff and coaches to make a decision that is best for the team. NOW, I can't fault them for the decision they made in 2021. I truly believe that Keenum is a very smart and efficient QB, but his skillset is limiting enough that they still have a better chance against higher caliber opponents with a 70% Baker Mayfield. In the end, Baker digressed more than I would like to see and it will be hard to come back fully from the beating his body took over the course of the season. I hope they didn't break his will... Keenum is the guy who steps in when Baker goes down in the 3rd quarter and you need to hold onto a lead. He is not the guy who steps in week 6 to finish out the last 12 games of a season and expect to be a playoff caliber offense. I still believe many are jumping off the deep end with Baker. I want to see his recovery and evaluate him on 2022, not 2021. This draft class isn't impressive, I want to put every weapon I can afford around Mayfield and see where this team goes. If he is still playing 2021 form after recovery, then everyone can tell me "I told you so" and we can move on. I'm ok with this... Just because I am a Baker apologist doesn't mean I want to be caught with my pants down if he fails. I would be ok with trading down if the right offer is made. Getting future assets in 2023 in case there is an opportunity to move up in the draft or trade for the right veteran guy to get us to that next level. I've been running some trade down mocks and they really haven't turned out too bad. I'll run another one and post the results here shortly.
Yep. But Landry is nowhere near top tier. Seriously. If you even think he's remotely close to Keenan Allen in regards to current ability, then we are on different planets.
Good for him if that's what he chooses. He's not worth $16M. I know that much.... I grant that it's unlikely, but In a situation like this, I believe a cut and re-sign could be possible. If not, it's certainly not the end of the world for the Browns...
