The Cleveland Browns made an interesting move yesterday by the way of an addition to the team. Cleveland claimed pass rusher James Houston off waivers after he was cut by the Detroit Lions.
Bringing in Houston makes sense for the Browns with where they are at. Cleveland is 3-8 on the season and building for the future. Part of building for the future was trading defensive end Za’Darius Smith to the Lions.
Cleveland is in a position to evaluate young talent for their future and to find out who is sticking around. The Browns don’t need to go through a whole rebuild, but they do have changes that need to be made, as well as areas on the roster that need to improve.
James Houston’s time with the Detroit Lions
“Houston was a shocker for Detroit his rookie year. He was cut initially and then brought up on Thanksgiving and had eight sacks in seven games. He has a crazy bend to get around pass rushers, the problem is that he hasn’t been able to develop other moves and he’s struggled against the run. The Lions spent three years trying to make him a SAM linebacker and he just never nailed it down. Positional versatility was super important to Detroit and he showed he couldn’t bring that.” - Mike Payton, A to Z Detroit
Where James Houston fits in with the Cleveland Browns
Houston broke onto the scene in his rookie season with eight sacks but has not done much of anything since then. After moving around with the Lions to try another position, it just did not work. A system like Jim Schwartz’s where he is just asked to get downhill after the passer could be a fit. Houston can not be an every-down player due to his play in the run, but he could be a pass-rush specialist.
Cleveland is relying on Isaiah McGuire and Ogbo Okoronkwo to handle the duties opposite of Myles Garrett. Alex Wright would be the starter there, but he was lost for the season with a triceps injury. Cleveland is looking to continue to get more out of McGuire in his second season, and Okoronkwo has shown to be a nice rotational pass rusher.
Houston is an exclusive rights free agent after this season, so the Browns are not tied to keeping him. That is why this is a low-risk move. It is not a multi-year contract the Browns picked up. If Houston shows some promise, the Browns can keep him around on a one-year contract since he is an exclusive rights free agent.
Andrew Berry has taken another small swing here that could potentially work out for the Browns if Houston can contribute. These kinds of moves are nothing new to Berry in Cleveland, especially in a season where they are looking forward.
