Monday, March 18, 2024

Browns sign Tyler Huntley

       The Cleveland Browns created a mild surprise by signing veteran quarterback Tyler Huntley to a one-year contract at the veteran minimum with incentives to be reached if he plays more often.

Huntley was a Pro Bowl selection in 2022 when he started four games for an injured Lamar Jackson and many of the top AFC quarterbacks were unable to play in the game, so the league dipped down to add Huntley to the roster.

The 6'1 Huntley was signed by Baltimore as an undrafted free agent in 2020  from Utah, and played all four of his professional seasons there, completing sixty-four percent of his passes for 1,957 yards, eight touchdowns, and seven interceptions in that time.

Huntley is more noted for running than passing, although his style does approximate DeShaun Watson as it did Lamar Jackson in Baltimore.

Now, the four-man quarterback room for training camp looks settled with Watson, Jameis Winston, Dorian Thompson-Robinson, and Huntley with roughly the same skillset and style, although Winston is more of an outlier as with the bigger arm and lesser mobility compared to the others.

One could look at this in two different ways.

The first is that Watson and Winston are safe and the battle is between Thompson-Robinson and Huntley for the third spot as Winston is the veteran player that the Browns lacked behind Watson last year until they brought in Joe Flacco in case of injury to Watson.

The other possibility is that it's Watson in the top slot, Thompson-Robinson is locked into the third spot and the true battle is for the experienced veteran spot between Winston and Huntley with both players signed to one-year contracts.

Either scenario is possible and which one occurs may come down to how highly Andrew Berry and the Browns value Dorian Thompson-Robinson, who they drafted in the fifth round in the 2023 draft.

If the Browns are sold on DTR as their eventual backup, as they were last season, coming out of training camp,  and don't want to risk losing him then it could be Winston vs Huntley.

If the UCLA product's stock has dropped in their eyes and the Browns have learned from last year's experience seeing the need for a veteran and would be willing to risk losing him on waivers to keep three veterans, then it could be Thompson-Robinson vs Huntley.

In any event, the Browns signing of Tyler Huntley has placed a new variable on the quarterback situation.

A few days ago, things seemed to be cut and dried, now there will be a competition somewhere at quarterback- if only the participants knew who their opponent would be.

Sunday, March 17, 2024

Cleaning Out the Inbox: Passings

         We return for another edition of tributes to recent passings.

Goodbye to Steve Lawrence at the age of 88.

I'm not sure you could have been a child of the seventies who watched network variety shows and not known Steve Lawrence and his wife Eydie Gorme.

The husband and wife duo appeared on what seemed to be every variety show at one time or the other but I always wondered why.

They weren't stars that had hits on the charts or even had songs that I knew from the past, they were just there- as constant guest stars.

Turns out Lawrence had five top-ten hits in the early sixties including a number one with "Go Away Little Girl" (which was covered by Donny Osmond in the seventies) but preferred working night clubs, acting on Broadway and film (including his cameo as producer Maury Sline in the original Blues Brothers), and working with Gorme.

A very interesting life.

Goodbye to Eric Carmen at the age of 74.

Also known as a prolific songwriter, Carmen was the lead singer with the Raspberries in the early seventies, whose hits included "Go All The Way", which reached number five on the United States charts in 1972.

After the breakup of the Raspberries, Carmen moved to romantic ballads as a solo artist with "All by Myself" reaching the second spot on the U.S. charts and would reinvent himself again in the mid-eighties with "Hungry Eyes" from the "Dirty Dancing" soundtrack, also reaching the second position on the U.S. charts.

Goodbye to Dave Ritchie at the age of 85.

The long-time Canadian Football League coach for the B.C. Lions, Winnipeg Blue Bombers, and Montreal Alouettes, Ritchie won two Grey Cups with the Lions in two stints, twelve years apart, winning the Cup in 1994 and 2006.

The 1994 Grey Cup is arguably the most heated CFL title game of all time as it would match the Lions against an American opponent for the first time in league history in the Baltimore CFL Colts.

Lui Passaglia kicked a field goal on the final play to give the Lions the win and the championship.

Ritchie finished his CFL career with a record 108-76-3.

Goodbye to Ed Ott at the age of 72.

Part of the Pirates catching platoon for their 1979 championship team, Ott is more remembered for things that had nothing to do with his on-field play.

Ott slid into second on a double play attempt against the Mets in 1977 into Felix Millan.

After the two exchanged words, Millan hit Ott with the baseball in his hand, Ott grabbed Millan and slammed him across his knee, injuring Millan and ending his career.

Ott, when serving as a coach with Houston, grabbed Reds pitcher Rob Dibble in a chokehold that left the much larger Dibble turning blue while in the choke.

Ott's other note? His five letters/two names are the shortest in major league history.

Goodbye to U.L.Washington at the age of 70.

Washington spent most of his career with the Royals and was known for the ever-present toothpick in his mouth, even as he played in games!

Washington was one of three players to make the majors from the Royals baseball academy along with Frank White and Ron Washington (no relation), and Washington was on first base just before George Brett's homer in the famous "Pine Tar Game".

Goodbye to Wayne Wilson at age 66.

Wilson was the twelfth-round selection of the Houston Oilers from Shepherd College in 1979 but was released in the final cut and claimed by New Orleans, where he would play for eight of his nine seasons in the NFL.

Wilson was used as a pass receiving back and as a special teams ac in this career but Wilson was the Saints leading rusher in 1983 when he rushed for 789 yards and nine touchdowns for New Orleans.

Wilson was the first player in Saints history to notch 1,000 yards in rushing, receiving, and kick returns for a career.




Friday, March 15, 2024

Browns sign Free Agent Depth

     The Cleveland Browns continued to add players for depth in their need areas and being free agency, the Browns lost a few players as well.

The most intriguing to me was at linebacker where the Browns signed former Pittsburgh Steelers first-round pick Devin Bush to compete at linebacker.

Bush spent four seasons with Pittsburgh, which was somewhat disappointing to Steeler fans, who thought Bush was going to be their next standout linebacker after an excellent rookie season.

Bush tore his ACL in 2020, ironically in a game against the Browns, and hasn't been the same player since the injury

Bush spent last season with Seattle, playing in thirteen games but in his final three games, Bush looked to be gaining confidence, finishing with fifteen solo tackles, fifteen assisted tackles, and four for loss.

Bush is noted for his run defense and hard-hitting but much of his problems with the Steelers were in his pass coverage, so Bush would have to improve quickly to be a three-down linebacker.

Still, Bush is worth a flyer on a one-year deal and perhaps his production could finally equal his potential.

The Browns also seemed to be in the market for another veteran defensive tackle to replace Jordan Elliott in the rotation and they signed one in Quinton Jefferson, who had six sacks for the Jets last season.

Jefferson played four seasons with Seattle after being drafted in the fifth round in 2016 but has played for four different teams (Buffalo, Las Vegas, a 2nd stint in Seattle, and the Jets) in the previous four seasons.

Jefferson's six sacks would have placed him second on the Browns last season, so if he could approach that number this season, the Browns would have a solid contributor.

I do wonder about the one-year contract to fullback/tight end Giovanni Ricci though,

The Browns lost Harrison Bryant to the Raiders in free agency Bryant was a receiving tight end more than a blocking tight end and Ricci caught one pass last season for two yards for Carolina.

At 240 pounds, Ricci is more H-Back than fullback or tight end, so unless Kevin Stefanski wishes to use some different portions of his playbook, I'm not sure I see the fit for Ricci.

Cleveland also signed cornerback Tony Brown, formerly of the Colts, in an attempt to replace Mike Ford on special teams after Ford signed with Houston.

Brown played for Browns special teams coach Bubba Ventrone in Indianapolis and is regarded as excellent in his role on those units.

Brown missed the final three games last season due to the Colts suspending Brown for violating team rules, so hopefully, those issues are left in Indianapolis.

Andrew Berry made his big swing with the trade to acquire Jerry Jeudy, so most of his free agency maneuvers have filled holes created by free agency.

Lose Jordan Elliott, and add Quinton Jefferson.

Lose Mike Ford, and add Tony Brown.

Lose Harrison Bryant, and add Giovanni Ricci.

Lose Sione Takitaki and Anthony Walker, and add Devin Bush and Jordan Hicks.

And biggest of all, Lose Joe Flacco and add Jameis Winston.

Only the addition of Nyheim Hines doesn't fit the bill, and it more than likely still does as the Browns aren't likely to retain Kareem Hunt.

I would grade most of these as lateral moves, although I think the potential is there for the Bush/Hicks pairing to be an upgrade over Takitaki/Walker.

However, except for Giovanni Ricci over Harrison Bryant, I don't see any severe downgrades either.

So, it seems the Cleveland Browns have decided to mostly stand pat other than trading for Jerry Jeudy in an attempt to improve at wide receiver and run it back with the same cast along with the hopes for DeShaun Watson to return to his form from his time in Houston.

That's risky but I really don't see much of a choice.

In the perfect world, they would add another quality receiving option, another defensive lineman, and another running back in case Nick Chubb doesn't bounce back to his peak.

Nyheim Hines brings a pass catcher out of the backfield, so the Browns may look at Hines as their added offensive threat but Hines isn't the same factor as a ball carrier and although Jerome Ford had his moments last season after the injury to Nick Chubb, I'm still not sold on him as a bellwether back if needed.

For the most part, free agency will take a pause for a while as we transition to draft talk with the Browns having one final year without a first-round pick as they finally finish paying the mortgage on DeShaun Watson.

Tuesday, March 12, 2024

Browns sign Nyheim Hines

   Day two of the free agent period saw the Cleveland Browns add a running back and an offensive tackle to add depth at two spots with starters that are returning from injury, re-signed a player for the offensive line and defensive line, and lost a defensive lineman as well.

The biggest name was former Bills running back Nyheim Hines, who signed a one-year contract worth up to 3.5 million.

Hines missed all of 2023 after an off-season injury from a jetski accident and split 2022 between the Colts and Bills.

Hines was drafted in the fourth round from N.C. State in 2018 by Indianapolis and has been a productive pass-catching back, catching 240 passes in his career.

Hines also has been a productive punt returner in his day, having returned four punts for touchdowns, two of those in 2022.

If Hines is healthy, he could bring much-needed return ability to a team in need of it and would be a third down receiving back who could prove very helpful.

Still, with the questions about Nick Chubb's return from his own injury and the erratic play last season from Jerome Ford, I'd think the Browns could use another back.

I wrote yesterday about the defensive line and hadn't heard about the status of Shelby Harris or Jordan Elliott.

Harris will be returning as he announced on Twitter but I haven't seen the terms of the contract.

As for Jordan Elliott, Elliott signed a two-year contract with San Francisco worth ten million.

The third-round pick in the 2020 draft from Missouri, Elliott never reached full-time starter status for the Browns, although he was a steady member of the defensive tackle rotation.

Cleveland hopes last season's third-round choice Siaki Ika will be able to make the rotation next season but I still think the Browns will draft another defensive tackle or sign another veteran in free agency.

The Browns also addressed the offensive line by re-signing veteran backup Michael Dunn to a one-year deal with terms unannounced and tackle Hakeem Adeniji to a one-year deal.

Adeniji played three seasons with the Bengals before signing with the Vikings last season, playing in four games.

Both players are depth players that can play guard or tackle with Dunn having the ability to play at center as well.

I'm glad the Browns kept Shelby Harris but it is clear the Browns are going to run back the team pretty close to the one from 2023.

We will see if that is good enough. 

Browns sign Jameis WInston

     The Cleveland Browns made sure that they had a veteran alternative at quarterback to DeShaun Watson going into 2024 but it wasn't the player that their fan base preferred as the Brown signed former top overall pick Jameis Winston from the New Orleans Saints to a one year contract worth up to 8.7 million dollars.

The decision to sign Jameis Winston means that the Browns will not re-sign Joe Flacco, which ends the veteran's miracle run in Cleveland that saved the 2023 season and allowed the Browns to reach the playoffs.

Winston was the first player selected in the 2015 draft from Florida State by Tampa Bay and spent five seasons in Tampa before moving to the Saints for four seasons, making ten starts over that time.

Winston played in seven games for New Orleans last season, throwing two touchdowns and being intercepted three times with 264 yards passing backing up Derek Carr for the Saints.

Over his career, Winston has thrown 141 touchdowns and 99 interceptions, thirty of those interceptions in his final season with Tampa Bay, when he also threw his career high in touchdown passes with thirty-three.

At 6'4, 235 pounds, and a booming arm, Winston has all the skills and can make all the throws but he has been prone to the interception at the wrong time as the bugaboo for his career.

Winston turned thirty in January, so he's still not an old player and what I like about the signing is that Winston reminds me a lot of Joe Flacco- big in stature, power arm, but not the most mobile quarterback at this stage of their career, and needs solid protection in the pocket.

And one more- Winston is not Joe Flacco.

Cleveland fell in love with an aging quarterback who spent most of his career playing for a rival as he saved a season that seemed to be yet another Browns season going down the drain.

That's a good thing and created a slot for Joe Flacco in Browns lore which will never be forgotten.

However, each season creates a new story and DeShaun Watson is going to be a major, if not THE major story of next season I can understand why the Browns wouldn't want a situation where Watson struggles a bit, and here comes the chants for Joe Flacco.

While I can understand those reasons, it does seem a little (just a little) ungrateful to not allow a player who did so much and seemed to want to return the opportunity to do so.

The Browns can deny the Flacco fans were a factor and while it might not have been the biggest factor, it had to be in play for an organization that knows that their fan base is still divided over DeShaun Watson.

I'm fine with Jameis Winston, it makes sense and I understand why but there is a part of me that believes in sentiment and wants to see Joe Flacco in Cleveland.

Football is not a business for sentiment.

Back later with more Browns additions and subtractions.

Browns retain D-Line Pillars

     The Cleveland Browns strengthened their defensive line last year moving it from a team weakness, aside from Myles Garrett, in 2022 to what would be a strength in 2023.

However, they have four contributing players who were eligible to leave through free agency.

I'm not sure about the status of Shelby Harris or Jordan Elliott although I didn't see either name on the transaction wire, but the Browns did re-sign the other two players in defensive end Za'Darius Smith and defensive tackle Maurice Hurst.

Smith signed a two-year contract worth 23.5 million to return after his first season in Cleveland after being acquired from Minnesota.

Smith played in sixteen games as the Browns' main pass-rushing threat opposite  Myles Garrett, finishing the season with five and a half sacks, which was mildly disappointing in my opinion but far from terrible.

Smith turns 32 in September, so he'll have to play well next season to stick around for the second year of the contract, I'd suspect.

Maurice Hurst was one of the most pleasant surprises of the season because the Browns really didn't know how well Hurst would play after playing only two games in 2021 for San Francisco and missing all of 2022 with a torn bicep.

Hurst would go down to an injury after thirteen games but played very well in stuffing the run along with a sack and a half and an interception.

I am concerned about Hurst's staying healthy when you look at his entire career but keeping Hurst with Dalvin Tomlinson retains some of last season's rotation along the interior of the defensive line.

I have mixed feelings about the Browns attempting to keep Shelby Harris and Jordan Elliott, cost depending of course.

I liked Harris's play a lot last year but he will be thirty-three before next season.

Elliott's play improved over his previous seasons but the Browns will need to make room for 2023 third-round draft pick Siaki Ika, who barely played last season.

If Ika progresses enough, the Browns could feel comfortable in signing one more defensive tackle but who knows how the Browns feel about him currently.

Cleveland lost one player as cornerback Mike Ford signed with Houston on a two-year contract for 4.5 million. 
Ford occasionally played in dime packages, starting once and intercepting one pass.

Ford was signed last off-season and was a key contributor on special teams.

Ford will be missed on those units, so look for the Browns to attempt to add a veteran player from somewhere with special teams experience. 

Browns Linebacker Shakeup

      The free agency period started with the Browns re-signing two key defensive linemen (more on the
retentions later in the week) but it was the linebackers that saw the most action with one player signing in Cleveland and two veteran Browns departing Northeast Ohio.

The new arrival is veteran Jordan Hicks, who signed a two-year contract valued at eight million dollars from the Minnesota Vikings.

Hicks will turn thirty-two before training camp and will be entering his tenth NFL season, four of those with Philadelphia where he played for Browns defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz after being drafted by the Eagles in the third round in 2015, three with the Arizona Cardinals before his two most recent seasons with the Vikings.

Hicks started thirteen games for the Vikings last season, finishing with sixty-one solo tackles, a sack, and an interception.

Hicks hasn't played fewer than twelve games in the last six seasons, so he's durable and able to stay in the lineup.

Hicks knows what Jim Schwartz wants in a linebacker and while he's not an exciting playmaker like Jeremiah Owosu-Koramoah, Hicks is a solid, steady player that isn't all that different than either of the players that the Browns lost in free agency.

Cleveland lost Anthony Walker, who signed with the Dolphins, and Sione Takitaki, who was picked up by the Patriots.

Walker played three seasons for the Browns after being signed from Indianapolis and was loved by his teammates but I saw a player that rarely made big plays and in twelve games last season, Walker made only twenty-three solo tackles and just one for a loss.

Takitaki played five seasons in Cleveland after the Browns drafted him in the third round in 2019 from BYU.

Takitaki returned last season from a severe knee injury to play in fifteen games (seven starts) finishing with forty-five solo tackles, two sacks, and an interception last season.

Takitaki was also helpful on special teams, so the Browns will be looking through free agency, draft, or undrafted free agency for a linebacker who can cover on special teams.

Is Jordan Hicks a big upgrade over Anthony Walker or Sione Takitaki? 

Probably not but he's a mild upgrade over either.

Back later with the Browns other moves that saw them lose a key special teams player and re-sign two key members of the defensive line.