The Browns made a bit of surprising news here on Sunday, by signing long-time Backup Quarterback, Drew Stanton. What this move tells you is: 1-Quarterback taken at #1 is almost guaranteed, and 2-Dorsey is making it damn clear that guy will not play for at least 1-2 seasons. I don’t necessarily have an issue with this signing, as the Browns go through QB’s like…………well I don”t know, they go through a lot.
As you can see, Stanton will come in handy next season. The Browns aren’t known for keeping Quarterback’s healthy, so adding a guy with experience is never a bad thing. Stanton will provide that insurance in case Tyrod goes down, and mentor whichever guy is picked at #1. This free’s up Tyrod to focus on solely on improving the actual team on the field, and focus on winning each week. I am not saying Tyrod should ignore the Rookie coming in, but I’d rather him focus on producing a few wins than mentoring a Rookie. A few interesting notes about Drew:
1-In 2009 Drew was the Backup for number 1 overall pick, Matt Stafford.
2-In 2012 Drew was the Backup for number 1 overall pick, Andrew Luck
3-Since 2013 Drew was the Backup for former number 1 overall pick, Carson Palmer.
That makes this signing a little more clear to me. This guy has a history of working with rookie QB’s, and more specifically rookie QB’s that went first overall. That seems like it will be valuable experience. The only issue I really have with this deal is the fact that we committed to a Backup Quarterback for over 1 season. I just think that is unnecessary to commit to any Backup for more than one year. I guess a two years would mean that Drew Stanton is considered a strong Backup? That’s great and all, why not just go year to year with him? Weird move going for two years.
One thing is for certain, this man is a fucking GIF machine, and I absolutely love it.
Hopefully we won’t have to see this guy play, but if we do I am sure there will be entertaining moments. Also, to be fair to Drew he is 4-1 in his last 5 starts, and that’s about as much as you can ask out of your Backup.
The Browns continued to add to their Roster yet again, as Free-Agency is slowly coming to a halt. Friday, they reached an agreement with former Bills and Rams Cornerback, E.J. Gaines. Gaines was originally drafted in the Sixth round of the 2014 NFL Draft by the Los Angeles Rams. Gaines was traded to Buffalo this past season for Wide Receiver, Sammy Watkins. When healthy, this dude has been a solid contributor to both the Rams and Bills.
ICYMI: The #Browns signed CB E.J. Gaines to a 1-year $4M deal yesterday. With their offseason overhaul of the secondary, does this mean no Minkah Fitzpatrick at No. 4? https://t.co/bCgQL8m7d2
Lovely! The Browns have added a young corner with the potential of being a number 1. At times he’s showed the ability to play up to that level. Injuries, and Tre’Davious White have prevented him from blossoming into a number 1. The money and term on the deal is just perfect too. Gaines missed all of 2015 with Lisfranc, and missed 5 games in 2016 with a Thigh Injury. 1 year at $4 million seems like a reasonable amount to pay. If he gets injured, or sucks they will move on, and it will be fairly easy. If he performs at a high level, then they’d probably look to an extension. Lets take a look at what Gaines brings on the field:
The nerds had E.J. scoring an average of 86.6 in 2017. That’s good for the 13th best average score among corners. But what does any of that really mean?
Last year, EJ Gaines in coverage
0.82 yards per cover snap – 11th BEST in NFL
Allowed QB rating of 74.8 when targeted….would have been best on CLE last year
Well that certainly means more to me. This guy appears to be one of the better cover corners in the league. He’s good at keeping guys quiet while going somewhat unnoticed, as E.J. only has 1 interception in his entire career. The Gaines signing makes it look like the three corners the Browns will go with next year are as follows: 1. Gaines 2. Carrie 3. Boddy-Calhoun. That seems like an upgrade from 2017. The Cornerback crew the Browns rocked with in 2017: 1. McCourty 2. Taylor 3. Boddy-Calhoun. Boddy-Calhoun has developed into a very good slot corner, and at times McCourty played like a true number one corner. Despite all this, the Browns clearly wanted to get younger and faster. Bringing in Carrie and Gaines likely means the end of Jamar Taylor in Cleveland. Taylor struggled last season with an increased workload. He was bumped to the number 2 corner spot after Joe Haden was released from the team. Taylor is most remembered for being completely emasculated by T.Y. Hilton this past season.
The Browns are continuing to add solid pieces to their roster. In the week and half since the league New Year began the Browns have added: Tyrod Taylor, Jarvis Landry, Damarious Randall, Donald Stephenson, Chris Hubbard, Chris Smith, Carlos Hyde, T.J. Carrie, Terrance Mitchell, E.J. Gaines, and Darren Fells. Some names are bigger than others on that list, but all have contributed to winning programs in the NFL. These are the players the Browns needed to fill out the roster, that way they are not relying on Rookies so often. They will use rookies to supplement the talent they already have, rather than force them to be starters right away. The Roster is substantially better than it was just two weeks ago, and we still have the draft to go. Go Browns.
We aren’t even in the first hour of Free Agency, and the Cleveland Browns continued to add to their Roster. There aren’t as many “WOW” names like we saw on Friday, but some solid additions overall. Going into Free Agency, I was hoping the Browns would address the Wide Receiver position, and Cornerback. Last year the Receiving Corps was up there as the worst in the league. Dorsey addressed this need via trade on Friday. The Defensive back that was acquired from Green Bay will be moved to Free Safety, so I was hoping Cornerback would be a priority.
As a flurry of shitty Quarterbacks, and mediocre Wide Receivers signed albatross contracts, the Browns made their first signing of the day:
Former Broncos OT Donald Stephenson headed to the Browns on a one-year, $2.5m deal, source says
Ah yes. A depth lineman. Not much to see here regarding this guy. Stephenson is a swing tackle, who isn’t going to start unless there are injuries. Can’t have enough lineman, especially those who have made 50 career starts, as Stephenson has.
The Browns continued to add to their offensive line depth with another signing. This time for some big money:
The #Browns are expected to sign OT Chris Hubbard to a 5-year deal worth $37.5M with nearly $18M guaranteed, source said. More help up front for Cleveland.
Interesting move as this guy was never really popped up on any rumors. There is the connection with Todd Haley, as Hubbard comes from the Pittsburgh Steelers. Hubbard is a Right Tackle who started 14 games total for Steelers since 2013. He appeared in 39 total. By all accounts , Hubbard is a versatile Right Tackle who deserves a chance to start. He started at Right Tackle for Haley’s Steelers last year after Marcus Gilbert was injured. Solid depth move, and will shore up the right side of the offensive line.
As we went along, the moves got a little bit sexier. Not really though. The Browns signed a depth Defensive Lineman formally of the Cincinnati Bengals. A nice binky for Hue Jackson:
DE Chris Smith expected to agree to terms with the Cleveland Browns.
Nice! Who’s that? Not going to pretend to know, but I do know 3 years at $14 million dollars is a lot of money. Seems like a lot for a guy with three career sacks. A guess a little depth hurt nobody, but man. Three fucking sacks? Theoretically this dude could’ve downed the QB by touching him 3 times, and he still got $14 million. The NFL is fucking stupid.
Tuesday evening saw the Browns news slow down, as most of the big names were off the board. The last piece of news we got was Isaiah Crowell departing the team after 4 seasons.
Isaiah Crowell intends to sign a 3-year deal with the NY Jets, per source.
Not a bad deal for the Jets. Crowell is coming off a disappointing year to say the least. It seemed the Browns were going to increase his workload coming off a career year. He touched the ball a career high 206 carries, but his yardage slipped to 853 after rushing for 952 in 2016. Part of the reason Crowell struggled this year was Hue Jackson refusing to run the football, so Jets fans have that.
Wednesday morning came, and the New Year STILL had yet to start. That didn’t stop the Browns from making another Free Agent signing.
The #Browns are expected to sign former #49ers RB Carlos Hyde, source said. He’s getting a three-year deal worth more than $15M, including $6M in year 1.
There we go! A football player I have heard of. Love the move by bringing in Hyde. It gives us a good 1-2 punch with Hyde and Johnson. Add a third bruiser, and we could have a competent offense. I would rather take this approach than draft a Running Back in the first round. This team has bigger fish to fry.
Hyde has been a solid contributor to a rotten 49ers team for the past few years. He’s rushed for 938 and 988 yards the past two seasons, while rushing for 14 touchdowns in that same time. Hyde isn’t much of a weapon in the passing game, but his yardage is slowly increasing each year. He’s only caught 3 total touchdown passes since 2014.
In the afternoon more defensive dominos fell as the Brown signed two AFC West Cornerback’s.
Former Chiefs’ CB Terrance Mitchell intends to sign a 3-year, $12 million deal with the Cleveland Browns, per source.
Terrance Mitchell formally of the Chiefs signed a 3 year $12 deal with the club that wears turd colored pants. Mitchell was a 7th round draft pick in 2014. He is coming off a career year with Kansas City, where he registered 53 tackles and nabbed 4 interceptions.
#Browns and former #Raiders CB T.J. Carrie agreed on a 4-year, $31m deal ($7.75m APY). Includes $10m fully gtd at signing.
Another depth Cornerback signing in Carrie. Comes at a very hefty price for a supposed “depth” signing. Carrie was a seventh round draft pick in 2014, much like Mitchell. Carrie was a solid contributor in Oakland starting 15 games in 2017, and 36 total over 4 seasons. Based off research, Carrie can play either Nickel Corner, or safety.
Sandwiched in between these moves was the signing of former Lions Tight End, Darren Fells to a 3 year $12 million dollar contract. Not much to see here other than Fells being lauded as one of the premier blocking TE’s. Always need a good blocking Tight End, as almost all good teams have one.
Last year he showed he could do some things in the passing game, as he caught 17 passes for 177 yards and 3 scores.
Decent two days for big John Dorsey. Some of the money handed out was a bit excessive for some marginal starters, but that’s what the Browns have to do to sign people. He seems to be filling depth throughout the roster, which helps the overall quality of the roster top to bottom.
I would hope the checkbook would shut for a bit here, and we move on to the draft. There is only one player I’d like to see the Browns bring in if they can….
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