Browns sign Kenny Britt,Trade with Texans.

I wrote earlier on the Browns efforts to improve the offensive line and how I believe that the additions have moved those efforts forward.

The first signing of the day saw the Browns perhaps move on from Terrelle Pryor,although they still say that they would like to return Pryor to the team,Pryor has begun to take the tours and talk the talk with other teams.
The player that will slot into the place of Pryor as the presumed number one receiver will be Kenny Britt,formerly of the Rams (and Titans previously),who signed a four year contract for 32 million.

Britt and Pryor's age (28 to 27) and their 2016 statistics (68 catches,1,002 yds,5 TD's for Britt compared to 77 catches,1,007 yards and 4 scores for Pryor) are remarkably similar,but Britt comes with some baggage to consider.
Britt has suffered a torn ACL and MCL(2011),has had some legal issues and has carried a rap of not always being a top effort player.
Let's look at it this way,the Rams offense was terrible last season and they allowed Britt to leave.
I suppose one could say the same about the Browns with Terrelle Pryor,but all things considered,if I can only have one or the other and if the price is similar (and it may or may not be before all is concrete) ,I lean toward the bigger player without an injury history with the higher upside.

I'm not against signing Kenny Britt,not at all,but I don't think he is a number one receiver and planning on him to be such might prove to be faulty thinking.
A top three WR corps of Pryor,Britt and Corey Coleman is pretty solid.
One of Britt,Coleman and question marks makes one think that the Browns have ran in place at the wideout position and it still might need to be further addressed without Pryor.

The final transaction of the day saw a deal that has not been seen in the NFL as the Browns took the hefty contract (16 million) of quarterback Brock Osweiler off the Houston Texans cap along with a 2018 second round pick and a sixth rounder in the 2017 draft in return for the 2017 4th round compensation pick.
I've heard different plans for Osweiler that include reworking his contract to make it easier to swap him and pick up more draft picks,releasing him to take the one year cap hit (Osweiler's deal while large is only on the cap for one season) and being done with him or even keeping him around to compete for the job with whomever is still around.

I don't think the Browns will keep Osweiler around,but honestly I'm not against it,if the offers for Osweiler aren't up to par.
I mean if you are going to eat the 16 million,you might as well take a look at him,right?
I know he was terrible in Houston,but his size and arm are a good fit for the AFC North in theory,so I'm fine with bringing him to camp,although I'd prefer moving him along for more capital.

I know 16 million is a lot of money to pay for a second round pick, (give Jimmy Haslem some credit for writing the check too),but this has no downside other than money.
You get a pick for nothing in football assets and if you get anything out of Osweiler at all (either on field or in the event that you get something for him),you get even more.

I don't grade this post quite as high as the previous post.
Britt for Pryor is a wash at best,but the Osweiler deal is not just low risk,it's no risk and I applaud the radical (for NFL anyway) thinking by the Browns.
I've been quite critical of the qualifications of Sashi Brown for running this team.
This was a excellent day and Brown looks good for now,but a caveat-All of these picks mean nothing,if you fail to take the right people.
The jury is still out for the 2016 draft,although the results early on can be questioned-the 2017 draft has to be a different story,if things are to continue to improve.