Those who already know about me know that the Browns are my favorite team of the three home Cleveland franchises. It’s no surprise then that the start of Free Agency is first and foremost on my mind right now.
As the Browns have tried to shed their horrible past since their rebirth under General Manager Phil Savage, the start of Free Agency has always been something to remember. His first season in town, he spent a lot on wiley veterans like Joe Andruzzi and made a big splash by signing Gary Baxter.
The following offseason, he trumped that by breaking the bank on stud Center LeCharles Bentley, while signing a host of other veterans like Willie McGinest.
The fruits of those two Free Agency periods did not pay off for Phil. His two prized Free Agents Bentley and Baxter may never play again, and barely played here. Others were just too old to really contribute.
That didn’t stop Savage in his 3rd Free Agent foray last offseason. He paid through the nose on top Free Agent Guard Eric Steinbach as well as signing some other players like Jamal Lewis.
Apparently, the third time was the charm for Savage as Lewis and Steinbach played key roles in turning the Browns’ offense from a complete joke into one of the more dynamic offenses in the league in 2007.
Needless to say, Savage won’t take it easy this offseason. Savage has already struck a big deal with Green Bay to acquire talented DL Corey Williams for what is being reported as a 2nd round pick in this year’s draft.
Williams was considered one of the top DL in this year’s Free Agent class although he was franchised by Green Bay for 6.3 million. Instead of negotiating a long term deal though, Packers’ GM Ted Thompson decided to shop the player for a high draft pick. He made out big by acquiring Cleveland’s 2nd rounder (57th overall) for a player that many thought would have left Green Bay anyway. The deal will most likely be complete provided the Browns give Williams a hefty long-term deal, which will most likely resemble the deal that Tommy Kelly received in Oakland (7 years 50 million).
Cleveland hopes Green Bay’s gain is trumped by the addition of Williams who is going to help a very weak 3-4 Defensive Line. Right now, only the two Smiths, Robaire and Shaun are penciled in on the line, which has been one of the biggest reasons for the Browns’ failures on defense over the last few years.
Williams will most likely fill one of the starting End spots. He’s an athletic D-Lineman who can make his way to the QB. He had 14 Sacks over the last two years with Green Bay. At 27, he’s entering his prime and should be a great upgrade on the line. He’ll fill the vacated role that you could argue has been vacant for nearly two seasons as long-time Brown Orpheus Roye (recently released) battled injuries.
That leaves the Browns with both Smiths and Williams starting on the line. Not a bad combination, but the Browns can’t be done with the line, nor the rest of the defense. More depth is needed in their front 7 and many names have been rumored as Free Agency is officially under way. Lance Briggs has been mentioned at LB, who will be looking for beau-coup bucks. Other LBs such as Clark Haggins from our enemy and Landon Johnson from Cincy have been mentioned.
Signing more players will certainly be done, but as we look forward, there’s a much bigger story developing with QB Derek Anderson and this all ties in with the Browns willingness to give up a 2nd rounder to Green Bay despite not having a 1st rounder in this year’s draft either.
As many are already aware, Anderson was given the high tender by Cleveland for a restricted Free Agent at $2.5 million. Meanwhile they stood their ground on a 3 year offer for $20 million dollars with 10 of that gauranteed for the surprise player of the last year’s NFL season as the deal reached yesterday’s deadline.
Anderson declined the 3 year offer and will either play one more year with the Browns or will be going elsewhere to a team like Minnesota THIS year who would be giving up 1st and 3rd round draft picks to gain his services.
In my opinion, the Browns handled this situation perfectly. For most people, the jury is still out on Anderson. It was well documented that the Pro Bowl QB’s season went downhill with the weather in Cleveland. He can be partially blamed for two crucial late season losses to Arizona and Cincinnati as he threw a combined 6 interceptions in those games.
So it’s not certain whether his stellar overall 2007 season would merit big money over a long term deal, especially with Brady Quinn waiting in the wings. The Browns have a good problem with two good QBs on the roster, and Quinn has had plenty of time to learn and prepare for the starting role with this team unlike other rookie QBs in the past.
The argument can be made that the Browns don’t know what they have with Brady Quinn, but he’ll be in good hands if he takes over this team. The Browns’ O-Line has gone from poor to great in one season with Joe Thomas and Eric Steinbach sealing off the QB’s blindside. Jamal Lewis is going to at least have enough gas left in his tank to get 1 more good season under his new 3 year deal. Braylon Edwards and Kellen Winslow have evolved into gamebreakers.
Therefore, you could make a good argument that either Anderson or Quinn would excel with this offense (or any other talented QB for that matter). With no 1st or 2nd round pick, this plays into Cleveland’s hands. If a team like Minnesota wants Anderson that bad, the Browns will be getting back into the 1st round and gaining a second 3rd round pick. Not a bad deal for them at all.
And all along, the Browns played their hand well. The 3 year offer to Anderson was a fair offer and would have worked for all parties, including Quinn. Now that Anderson wants more, the Browns could end up benefitting no matter what. Even if Anderson stays just for the one year, the Browns will be fine.
Seeing this situation develop over the next few weeks will make for yet another exciting offseason for Cleveland.
