On a Tuesday that saw the Haslem bunch travel to make their pitch to DeShaun Watson in an attempt to have the beleaguered passer give the Browns his stamp of approval for a potential franchise-altering swap, the Cleveland Browns still were making alterations to the franchise as the Browns made two transactions that they did not need permission to make.
Cleveland released starting center J.C. Tretter after five seasons with the Browns.
Tretter was beaten up often in his Cleveland tenure but never missed a game and helped add professionalism to a team that desperately lacked it before his arrival from Green Bay.
The Browns will save eight million dollars off their cap by releasing Tretter but it remains to be seen if former fifth-round choice Nick Harris can replace Tretter's production.
Tretter had been questioned by some about the distraction of his role as the head of the players union since he took over that position but I don't think that it affected his performance with the Browns and I think that this all came down to moving dollars around (DeShaun Watson or no DeShaun Watson) and make a cheaper and a little younger offensive line.
The Browns also made a trade as they traded linebacker Mack Wilson to the Patriots in exchange for linebacker Chase Winovich.
While on a roster sheet, this looks like a trade of players at the same position the two are vastly different players as Winovich is an outside linebacker that adds pass-rush ability as a rush end while Wilson is a more traditional linebacker that can drop into coverage.
I always liked Mack Wilson since the Browns grabbed him in the fifth round from Alabama in 2019 and he played well as a rookie with eighty-two tackles, a sack, and an interception.
Wilson's playing time decreased in each of the following seasons and last season rarely played outside of special teams and it was clear that Wilson might have a hard time making the team in 2022.
I hope Wilson can make the best of his fresh start in New England with Bill Belichick, who likely has some inside information on Wilson from his college coach- one Nick Saban and I would not be shocked at all to see Wilson flourish in Foxboro.
Chase Winovich might be remembered by some as the long-haired leader of the Michigan Wolverines "Redemption Tour" in 2018 that talked so much smack only to lose to Ohio State but after the Patriots selected him in the third round in the 2019 draft, Winovich was productive in his first two seasons as he finished with five and a half sacks in both 2019 and 2020 in a part-time role as a pass rusher.
At 6'3 and only 250 pounds, Winovich will have to make his living off the pass rush as he's too small to play defensive end against the run and not quick enough to play in coverage and Winovich was occasionally a scratch for the Patriots, rarely playing and didn't notch a sack in his six tackles on the season.
Like Mack Wilson, Winovich might be a player that needs a change of scenery, and to be used as a situational pass rusher could be helpful to the Browns.
The Winovich for Wilson is a classic trade of talented players that disappointed their teams that drafted them but have shown enough at times to have value for another team to take a chance with.
There are always questions and news nuggets of note in every team's training camp. but usually, there aren't enough for a post by themselves.
The biggest news from Berea is the potential loss of starting linebacker Mack Wilson to a knee injury.
The Browns linebacking crew was looked at as one of the weaker units on the team and Wilson was the top linebacker of the bunch, so the knee injury that will at minimum cost Wilson a chunk of the season and possibly end his year entirely is a huge loss to the Browns.
Mack Wilson's loss will force the Browns to make a move of some type to add a veteran linebacker and there are a few available that I'd be interested in.
All of them have flaws, but if they were perfect they wouldn't be available in training camp, would they?
Former Ram and Giants Alec Ogletree is a strong tackler, but not great in pass coverage, Mark Barron spent last season in Pittsburgh but was solid with the Rams after moving from safety to linebacker and he plays Wilson's position on the weakside as does well-traveled veteran Malcolm Smith, who was the MVP in Seattle's Super Bowl win in 2014.
Clay Matthews is a popular choice because of his dad's time in Cleveland, but he's a pass rusher off the edge and isn't really a fit for what Wilson's responsibilities are.
I'd like to see former Buckeye Darron Lee get a shot, Lee's got more than enough speed and it would be interesting to see what he could do with the new defensive coordinator Joe Woods.
Kevin Johnson had been impressive in camp, according to observers, but Johnson is going to miss time with a lacerated liver and I'm sure that is as painful as it sounds, so Johnson's time out of the lineup could be substantial.
The loss of Johnson could be offset by an interesting waiver claim just before camp started when Cleveland claimed cornerback M.J. Stewart off waivers from Tampa Bay.
Stewart was the second-round pick by Tampa in 2018 out of North Carolina and turns 25 in September.
It seems a bit early to give up on a second-rounder, but Tampa Bay likely needs to keep some cap space open after signing, so that could have been a factor.
Stewart started five games in his two seasons with the Buccaneers and can play some slot corner, so it was a small risk to take and the Jets are reported to have made a claim for Stewart, so other teams were thinking the same about Stewart.
One final note on the concussion suffered by Nick Chubb from a horsecollar tackle from Mack Wilson on the day before Wilson's knee injury.
Kevin Stefanski wasn't happy, and he shouldn't have been, but before the next day's practice, Stefanski announced that Wilson had been demoted to the second team behind Tay Davis.
While this may have been a good thing for the "culture change" that every coach seems to talk about these days, it could have cost them Mack Wilson for the season.
How?
I'm not quite sure about this, but Wilson was now playing with the second-team defense and theoretically had Stefanski not demoted Wilson, he wouldn't have been on the field when he was injured.
That's a stretch to a degree because when a ligament is ready to give, it's going to give eventually, but if Wilson's injury occurred with a cleat sticking or another player rolling into him (and I haven't seen the play, so I don't know that), Stefanski's demotion didn't cause the injury, but it did place him on the field in order for it to happen...
Back later with the Cavaliers in the lottery and the return to the ring of Sergio Martinez.
I usually don't miss the NFL Draft.
At all, but with the Lynchburg/Salem trip planned for months and the schedule not falling as favorably, after all, I reluctantly missed the final day of the draft.
Which is why I have been writing trip recaps rather than the final picks of the Cleveland Browns, so I wanted to add the day three thoughts before other things start piling up and I forget.
I'll be doing this in two posts with this one covering the three players selected in the fourth and fifth rounds and the followup detailing the players tabbed in the sixth and seventh round, along with a review of the total draft.
In the fourth round for the Browns, the selection was Sheldrick Redwine, a defensive back from Miami.
Redwine played both on the corner and at safety for the Hurricanes, starting last season as a safety.
The versatility to play both will help Redwine see the field this season, but he's reported to be a bit of a thumper from the safety position and it's not out of the question that this pick isn't as much for 2019, where Redwine will more than likely use his hitting and athleticism on special teams for the most part.
The selection of Redwine could be a hint that the Browns may not pay Demerious Randall what he could ask for following the 2019 season when Randall will be eligible for free agency, which perhaps could give Redwine the first chance to take the open free safety spot for 2020.
I had been pretty vocal about Alabama's Mack Wilson, who I rated as the third-best linebacker (non-edge rusher) in this draft and stated in our persons of interest, that the Browns would likely have to take him in the second round as I didn't think he would slide much farther.
I had hoped that the Browns would take Wilson in the third when he was still available and was disappointed that Cleveland took another player at the same position in Brigham Young linebacker Sione Takitaki.
Nothing against Takitaki, who may turn out to be a fine player, but I preferred Wilson and hoped the Browns could take him on the third day when you consider the Browns depth problems at linebacker.
All of that considered, I thought someone was going to get a day three steal and when the Browns took Sheldrick Redwine (drafted while we were on the road to the D-Day Memorial) in the fourth, I figured that the chance to add Wilson had disappeared.
Imagine my happiness (I believe a happy exclamation was uttered and a high five with Fred Landucci) at the World Famous Stadium Inn, when the draft ticker rolled across with the name Mack Wilson to Cleveland.
Wilson is a fast linebacker that isn't strictly a speed linebacker that lacks the strength to take the man with the ball down once they arrive there-Wilson is more than strong enough to knock ball carriers back.
Wilson looks to me to be a three-down linebacker that you don't have to situationally substitute for and considering that both Joe Schobert and Christian Kirksey missed multiple games last season due to injuries along with John Dorsey may very well choose not to pay Kirksey twenty million between 2020 and 2021 when he has Wilson and/or Takitaki in their place at a far cheaper rate.
So why could Wilson have fallen this far?
Some draft observers think that for all of the physical skills that Wilson doesn't have a freelance 'feel' for the position, preferring to stay home and not to take chances.
I'm not saying that may or may not be true, but how many times do scouts give minuses to a player that freelances too much for overrunning the play?
Wilson also only played full time for one season and that may have worked against him as well.
A real case can be made that Wilson should have returned to Alabama and had Wilson done that and performed well that he could have been a top 20 pick in next season's draft.
Whatever the reasons were for Wilson's plummet if Wilson cannot be motivated by the drop in rounds and the money that comes with that, then few are going to get anything out of him.
I think he's going to at least be an eventual starter, likely by 2020 and is going to be a steal.
The Browns had two fifth rounders (they did have three, but traded one to the Colts to move up to take Greedy Williams) and they seemed to reach a little in selecting Oklahoma kicker Austin Seibert.
Now, I would have no problem taking a challenger for Greg Joseph in the draft and I still wouldn't be against signing a veteran free agent to fight for the kicking job even now, but the fifth round seems a bit early for Siebert.
Siebert was the third-rated kicker in the draft but was the first booter taken off the board and when you consider the Browns investment of a fifth rounder in him, you would have to think that the position is Siebert's to lose even if the team hasn't come out and stated that.
Siebert kicked 63 field goals in 79 attempts at Oklahoma and had a career long of 51 yards, but that was one of only two career field goals over 45 yards.
I'm sure the Browns have seen his workouts and don't question his leg, but workouts aren't game conditions.
Siebert also served as the Oklahoma punter but was not mentioned as a challenger for the punting position held by Britton Colquitt.
Siebert has an above average chance to start the season as the Browns kicker, however, I believe the Browns could have still gotten him in the seventh round.
I hope to finish up the Browns draft series tomorrow or over the weekend.
