What a freaking weekend it has been throughout the NFL. The NFL league year starts tomorrow, when free agent signings/trades can be finalized. Yesterday saw the legal tampering period open. That means we have plenty of contract agreements, trades, and players getting cut. It is truly fantastic, and this year the Browns were in the forefront.
The Cleveland Browns fired three trades in succession. They traded a 4th round pick in 2018, and a 7th in 2019. Absolute peanuts compared to Unrestricted-Free Agents who are signing mega deals.
Not a bad deal at all! Shows the Browns are serious about adding some play makers. Landry will play one season on the $16 million dollar franchise tag. I really liked this trade even more once the following broke:
Tyrod! Welcome aboard, guy. Love this trade, because it enhances the Jarvis Landry deal. Landry is a 5-8 yard pass catcher, who lead the league in catches this past season with 112. These two seem like they were born to play together, and I am hoping this may help Taylor expand his game.
Still not done, the Browns made a THIRD trade right after the Tyrod Taylor trade was announced:
This one came at a complete shock. The Browns shipped off second year Quarterback, DeShone Kizer for Green Bay Corner, Damarious Randall. Sad to give up on Kizer, but he will be given a better chance to win out in Green Bay. He won’t have to deal with Hue Jackson on a daily basis. The Packers are getting an athletic specimen of a Quarterback. The dude is a cardboard cutout of what you want in a Franchise Quarterback. Kizer is a freaking oak tree standing at 6’4, 233 lbs. He’s got the body to with stand NFL punishment, and can run with the best of Quarterbacks. DeShone will need time and coaching to fix his footwork, and woeful accuracy.
To the Browns end of the deal we go. Damarious Randall was drafted in the first round, 30th overall in the 2015 NFL Draft. Randall came out of college as a Free-Safety, but had been playing corner with Green Bay. He has nabbed 10 interceptions through two seasons, regular season, and playoffs.
As was reported by numerous outlets over the weekend, the Browns will be moving Randall back to his natural position. This allows Jabrill Peppers to play in a more natural spot, which is strong safety closer to the line of scrimmage. Last season Peppers was hardly able to make plays, because he was lined up a million fucking miles away from the line of scrimmage. It was one of few decisions Williams made that I hated. Glad to see they may have learned from that.
The Browns were still NOT done. On Saturday morning they fired off their fourth and final trade of the Weekend:
Danny Shelton was shipped off to New England, and the two teams swapped mid-round draft picks. Not a bad trade for either team here. Danny Shelton isn’t a star lineman by any means, but he is a valuable piece to your defensive line rotation. His role is limited to clogging A gap during the run game. Don’t expect Shelton to improve your pass rush, as he’s only been able to record 1.5 sacks in his three seasons.
This all before any of the other teams made real significant moves. This past evening saw free agents agree to terms with new teams. There have been a shitload, so I am just going to highlight a few:
Interesting move from the Bears here. They are starting to add outside skill players to compliment the running attack. Robinson is coming off a year in which he was out for the whole year with a torn ACL. The Penn State product has had success in the past (1400 yards in 2016), but down years and injuries have plagued him. If he and Cam Meredith can return to form, that forms a nice duo on the outside for Mitch Trubisky.
Another Wide Receiver choose his destination fairly quickly:
Sammy Watkins sucks. This guy is a fucking joke. Hyped up heavily his draft year, he’s never fulfilled expectations. Guess that makes him a perfect fit for the Kansas City Chiefs? The writing is on the wall for this guy. The Buffalo Bills decided to get rid of their only outside receiving threat for pennies on the dollar this off-season. Watkins was a solid option in Los Angeles, but had the franchise tag rescinded. Have fun with Andy Reid.
Finally to the big boys. The Quarterbacks. We had a slew of shitty Quarterbacks sign some atrocious contracts today. First and foremost our man, Kirk Cousins.
This deal right here will be applauded by many players. Kirk gambled on himself the previous two seasons in Washington. That gambled played off as he now has a fully guaranteed contract worth $84 million dollars with the Minnesota Vikings. Congrats Kirk Cousins, and god speed to the Vikings. If it don’t work out, well that really sucks. Have fun!
(I can easily see this not working out)
The funny part is, Kirk wasn’t even the first QB to pick a landing spot:
Case Keenum agreed to a 2 year, $36 million dollar contract with the Denver Broncos. $18 million?!? You’re going to give Case Keemun $18 million dollars?! This is a brutal move by Elway and the Broncos. Case Keenum played WAY over his head in 2017-18. Even if this contract is only two years, that is still a shitload of money to pay a Quarterback. That’s a shitload to pay a Quarterback who you will be replacing in draft night. John Elway has to be one of the most overrated executives in professional football.
Last but not least we have Sam Bradford and Teddy Bridgewater. Teddy signed with the J-E-Ts. He is coming off a brutal knee injury which saw him miss the past two seasons. If we’re being honest, Teddy Bridgewater sucked before the injury.
Many other domino’s fell on Tuesday, and we’re STILL not at the league new year. The Browns are poised to make some moves to bolster their roster. Get er done, John.
Go Browns!
Office Chatter 