The signing that I am most interested in seeing is former Raider first-round safety Karl Joseph, who signed a one year contract worth 2.5 million with 500,000 guaranteed on the agreement.
Joseph was the 14th overall pick in 2016 from West Virginia and the then-Oakland Raiders declined to pick up his fifth-year option before last season.
Joseph played in nine games and finished with 39 solo tackles and one interception in 2019 and barring a high draft pick at the position, Joseph will likely slot in as the early leader to start at strong safety.
Just as I go to Ryan for detailed knowledge of former Packers, I go to Corey Cunningham for information on players that played in Oakland (now Las Vegas) and Corey's report wasn't one to get excited about.
Corey's report was that Joseph was a hard-hitter, but never seemed to live up to his draft hype and seemed to fail in secondary coverage often.
His exact finishing quote was this- "I almost want to compare him to (don't cringe) Jabril Peppers".
Oh, Boy.
I kinda like the signing's potential and Joseph will be motivated for a bigger contract, so I'm intrigued but not assured that this will be a success.
Joseph's safety partner will be another former Viking (unless the Browns draft a safety, which is very possible) as Cleveland signed Andrew Sendejo to a one year contract at 2.25 million.
Sendejo is different than Joseph as Joseph brings a high upside and is young enough to turn a career around with Sendejo at 33 being a one-year stopgap to fill the free safety spot.
Sendejo started for Minnesota for parts of four seasons before an injury ended his 2018 season.
Sendejo started last season with the Eagles before being waived and finishing the season back with the Vikings.
Sendejo is a hard hitter to the point of serving suspensions for overly physical play in the past, but he is a placeholder for a younger player in the next season or two.
Another former 2016 first-rounder is on board with cornerback Kevin Johnson signing for 3.5 million on a one year contract.
Johnson was picked 16th overall in 2016. but never lived up to that billing with the Texans, who released him early last season.
Johnson hasn't been a big playmaker with only one interception in his four seasons in the league.
Johnson struggled with injuries in Houston but has been noted to have posted a good season last year after being claimed by Buffalo.
The Bills used him at the outside corner and slot corner, but the Browns are bringing him in to be the slot corner and cover the inside routes.
Johnson, like Karl Joseph, is looking to revitalize his career and with a one year contract in tow, Johnson will be playing for a big contract, so motivation shouldn't be an issue.
The Browns have a linebacker need with the losses of Christian Kirksey to the Browns and Joe Schobert to the Jaguars and Cleveland signed one veteran in B.J. Goodson, formerly of the Packers.
Goodson spent the 2019 season in Green Bay after toiling for the Giants in his first three years in the league after being selected by New York in the fourth round.
Goodson started nine of fifteen games with Green Bay, but his numbers didn't impress with only 23 solo tackles.
So as with Corey on Raiders, Ryan is my go-to person for Packers and his take on Goodson isn't much to be excited about.
"Is more of a 4-3 linebacker, overmatched in the Packers 3-4, fine as a situational linebacker, but zero big-play ability, fine as a depth player but not as a placement for a Kirksey or Schobert".
Well, considering that Goodson (as of this writing) would be a starter, I'm not very encouraged by that scouting report.
Like the rest of these signings, Goodson inked a one year contract.
The defensive line added a depth player in former Bengal defensive tackle Andrew Billings, yet another 2016 draftee in the fourth round from Baylor.
Billings missed the 2016 season and finished last season with one sack, but this is the one signing that I do wonder about as Cincinnati runs a 3-4 and Billings spent most of his time at nose tackle for the Bengals.
I'm not sure that Billings will be more than a depth piece with the Browns, but the price was right for a rotational defensive lineman...
I mentioned in the earlier pieces that the Browns sent a 2021 seventh-rounder to Denver for fullback Andy Janovich and this looks like a player that will be a starter for the Browns.
Kevin Stefanski's offense is very fullback-friendly and with Denver changing their offense a bit, Janovich was a player that was on the outs in Denver.
Janovich is one of the better blocking fullbacks in the league and although Denver didn't use him often in the passing game, Janovich isn't ham-handed as a receiver.
Janovich only played in seven games last season due to an elbow injury but will be full strength for training camp where he will likely be the favorite against former Viking Johnny Stanton for the starting fullback position.
The final signing was JoJo Natson, who is a kick returning specialist that played for the Rams in 2018 and 2019.
Natson averaged 22 yards on kickoffs and just under eight yards returning punts last season for the Rams and is returning to the area after playing for the Akron Zips in college.
Natson isn't a game-breaker, but he's a solid returner as far as punts go and the Browns have lacked that in recent years...
This finishes the Browns series of free-agent additions, although future signings will be addressed.
I've had a lot of problems being motivated in these crazy times to finish posts and this one took far more time than I expected.
I hope to work on the inbox and other posts soon.
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