The Cleveland Browns Don't Spend In Free Agency, Is That A Bad Thing - news247.cafex.biz_7045

During this Cleveland Browns roster building and contract series I will be looking one position room per week and going deep into several different factors. If there is something in particular you would like me to cover then please let me know and I will try and work it in during this series or down the line.

Cleveland Browns' Schedule 2024-2025: Dates, Times, TV Channels, Strength of Schedule, and More

Contracts
Looking at every contract the Cleveland Browns currently have as well as when extension might be due for particular players.
QB - RB - WR - TE - T - G - C

2024 Roster Prediction
Giving you an idea of who the most likely players are to make the team in 2024 and then discussing the runners and riders for the practice squad as well.
QB - RB - WR - TE - T - G - C

2025 & 2026 Roster Prediction (OBR VIP)
Why stop at just looking at 2024, what does the future of the position room look like over the next two years. Who could be departing and which position rooms are they most likely to change.
QB - RB - WR - TE - T - G - C

Andrew Berry Roster Building Strategy & Philosophy (OBR VIP)
We now have a significant sample when it comes to Andrew Berry and building the roster, looking at how he has operated over the years from the team before he took over to where it is now.
QB - RB - WR - TE - T - G

Contract Article (OBR VIP)
A lot of these articles will be looking at what someone's future extension could look like if the Cleveland Browns decide to extend them.
Watson - Chubb - Cooper - Njoku - Wills - Teller

Positional Spending Under Andrew Berry (OBR VIP)
Going back over each season to see how much Andrew Berry has spent on the position and then using my cash formula to project what it could look like moving forward if Jimmy Haslam keeps investing in the team.
QB - RB - WR - TE - T - G/C

Bonus Articles
Some articles just don't fit in any of the above categories so I will link them here.
Move On From Watson - DePodesta's Guardrails - Positional Spending Vs NFL - Which Positions Markets Have Stagnated - Proven Performance Escalator

WHAT IS THE PREMISE?

Everyone who has reads my work will be aware the Cleveland Browns are record spenders when it comes to how much cash they spend year on year making sure they have the best possible roster to compete. The one surprise for many people is how little of that money is actually spend on free agents.

What I wanted to do in this piece is look through each of Andrew Berry's free agency classes and see how much he has spent and look at how these players have performed. The numbers I am quoting will be focused on the cash particular players are paid. I'm going to set the bar at anyone earning over $4m will be included. Also with free agents I am looking at new players they are adding rather than the re-signing of players who have departed that same off season then rejoined the team.

Before we get started here is the cash spend by teams around the league using NFLPA data:

2020 FREE AGENCY

QB Keenum
2020 - $5.5m
2021 - $6m

It was an awful lot of money for a backup quarterback but when you have a new first time head coach I can see some value in an extra head within the team at a key position who can keep everything heading in the right direction.

TE Hooper
2020 - $11.5m
2021 - $11.5m

In Atlanta he had deeper weapons that created lots of space in the short range for him to thrive and inflated his production. Then they brought him to Cleveland and asked him to play in the same space that they already had Landry playing. He could have been a nice signing but it wasn't the right fit at all.

T Conklin
2020 - $20m
2021 - $10m
2022 - $12m

He was fantastic in 2020 and earned first team All-Pro honors. Then he got injured again partway through the 2021 season before bouncing back in 2022. While I never liked the extension the initial signing was a great deal by Andrew Berry and one of those rare times large spending in free agency works.

2021 FREE AGENCY

ED Clowney
2021 - $9m

The first season of Clowney in Cleveland was electric as he generated pressure at a fantastic rate and easily provided value based on what he was paid.

CB Hill
2021 - $4.5m

This was a signing I was really excited with when they made it. He was one of if not the best slot corner around the league coming into free agency and gave them a solid addition in a secondary that was crying out for help and looking for someone to help stop them being gashed at this position. It didn't work out and he was replaced a year later by Emerson in the draft which turned out to be a masterstroke.

S Johnson
2021 - $13.25m
2022 - $10.75m

This move reminds me of what the Cleveland Browns tried to do with Peppers, getting a dynamic player who can allow you to do lots of creative things and then forcing him to do something that doesn't fit his skillset. This could have been the outcome of losing Delpit to injury forcing their hand. Either way it is a disaster and reminds us that secondary is the hardest position to watch someone succeeding in the league but then try and workout if that would work on your team.

2022 FREE AGENCY

QB Brissett
2022 - $4.9m

He was a great player to bring in and provide a years cover for the team when they knew they were likely to lose Watson for some games.

DT Bryan
2022 - $4m

He started with two good years in Jacksonville but then had two seasons where he struggled. They bet on upside but it didn't come. He wasn't as bad as many people remember him as but he was the only roster worthy player in potentially the worst defensive tackle rotation ever. They have had more of a focus on pressure rate since by their signings which has lead to better results.

2023 FREE AGENCY

ED Okoronkwo
2023 - $6.58m
2024 - $6.42m
2025 - $6m

He is in an elite tier of third edge players on a depth chart, he is quite expensive for the role but at the same time he is seeing a significant number of snaps in effect giving them a three man rotation at edge with Wright just providing occasional support.

DT Tomlinson
2023 - $16.415m
2024 - $11.585m
2025 - $14.5m
2026 - $14.5m

While he has improved the defensive tackle room he didn't play up to the level of his contract. It is always going to be a running theme of free agency where you regularly need to overpay to get the desired outcome.

S Thornhill
2023 - $7m
2024 - $7m
2025 - $7m

He has been good but nothing special at the same time, the hope is with a second season in the scheme and hopefully paired with Delpit for a full year things will get better else he will be out of Cleveland before the third and final season.

2024 FREE AGENCY

QB Winston
2024 - $4m

DT Jefferson
2024 - $4m

LB Hicks
2024 - $4.5m
2025 - $3.5m

It is certainly the cheapest year of free agency moves for the Cleveland Browns as they move away from taking risky swings and look to get solid players who can come in and do the role they are required.

CONCLUSION

The average career of a player signing in free agency goes along a very simple formula:

- Signed to a three or four year contract with two seasons guaranteed.

- Fans are over the moon that their team has invested and shown they want to win.

- Year one passes and they realise they have overpaid and the player they paid well over the odds for isn't as good as they believe.

- They have to wait until the end of year two when the contract is no longer guaranteed and they then move on.

This isn't just some edge cases this is the vast majority of free agency signings and sites such as Over The Cap have done numerous studies to show this.

That is why it isn't a surprise to see a smart forward thinking front office like the Cleveland Browns avoiding this style of roster building, looking at trades instead as route to add talent and with most deals even the Cooper one maintaining the flexibility to get out if it didn't work out.

Andrew Berry isn't shy to add free agent talent though, but he would rather do this by adding lots of older cheap veterans who are battling for a roster spot rather than having guaranteed deals and acquired by overpaying.

Next time people are banging the drum for the team to waste money, it could be $29.5m on Christian Wilkins, best to remember why Andrew Berry is smarter to avoid that type of window shopping.

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