Today was the more interesting addition as the Browns signed guard Teven Jenkins to a one-year contract.
Chicago picked Jenkins in the second round of the 2021 draft from Oklahoma State and Jenkins play for the Bears hasn't been the problem, the problem has been keeping him healthy and available for the lineup.
Jenkins has missed multiple games in each of his four seasons with his fourteen games (all starts) in 2024, his career-high in games played.
Jenkins is a strong run blocker, committed only one penalty in 2024, and allowed only four sacks as part of an offensive line that allowed a league-high sixty-eight last season.
Jenkins has played some at tackle but is better suited at guard and with Joel Bitonio and Wyatt Teller returning for this season, it's fair to wonder about where Jenkins will play.
Bitonio and Teller are signed through next season and the Browns still have disappointing 2024 third rounder Zak Zinter on the roster.
However, the Browns aren't sure how soon DaWand Jones will be available in his return from injury and it's possible that someone could have to move outside for a while depending on the status of Jones, so whether that would be Jenkins or Bitonio, both of whom have occasionally played tackle, is up in the air.
Plus Jack Conklin's injury history, despite his best season as a Brown in 2024, gives the Browns good reason to stock up on offensive linemen.
I like this signing because Jenkins is a quality addition who will likely have to play a lot somewhere during the season and should he play at the level that he did in Chicago, the Browns could have a leg up on a potential re-signing next off-season when Cleveland could lose Joel Bitonio, Wyatt Teller, or possibly both.
The day before, the Browns signed another Bear, this one that the team hopes will, ahem, solve their long-time issues in the return game.
DeAndre Carter averaged nine yards a return on seventeen punt returns and thirty yards per his fifteen kickoff returns along with nine receptions for seventy-two yards.
Carter is also reported to be a player that can run gadget plays etc and it seems like I write this about a player signed in free agency every year, only to disappoint for various reasons.
Carter did catch forty-three passes for the Chargers in 2022 but at soon-to-be thirty-two and playing for what will be his sixth team, it's fair to wonder if the Browns have solved the problem.
Problems don't solve themselves, so you have to try players but with the Browns track record on this, I will wait and see before considering it solved.
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