Browns release Christian Kirksey

The Cleveland Browns continue to shed high-priced contracts as the Browns released linebacker Christian Kirksey today and allowed him to shop his talents elsewhere.

The Browns drafted Kirksey in the third round of the 2014 draft from Iowa and Kirksey quickly settled in the linebacker rotation, starting thirteen games in his first two seasons.

Kirksey entered the starting lineup for good in 2016 and finished with 96 solo tackles, eleven for loss and two and a half sacks.
Kirksey would follow up with a similar season in 2017 but missed much of the 2018 and 2019 seasons due to injuries as he would play only seven games in 2018 due to a shoulder injury and just two last season with a torn pectoral muscle.

Kirksey was scheduled to make 7.75 million dollars next season and 8.25 million in 2021 and the Browns were reticent to spend that type of money on a solid, but unspectacular player that comes with health concerns.
The Browns attempted to re-do Kirksey's contract, but the principals were unable to come to an agreement.

I see both sides in this situation.
The Browns looked at Kirksey's contract as a bit high for a linebacker that hasn't been able to stay on the field and when he has been, Kirksey isn't any different than many Browns linebackers in recent seasons- Tackle accumulators that make their plays downfield rather than at or behind the line of scrimmage.

Kirksey's side is understandable as well- If I am going to take less money, I would rather play for a winning team than the typical dreck in Haslamville.

I agree with both, but the Browns have shown that they can find tackle accumulators anywhere at a lot less money than seven and eight million per year.
The Browns will certainly be shopping for linebackers in the draft and likely in free agency as only second-year men Mack Wilson and Sione Takitaki return.
Wilson showed some excellent signs as a playmaker after surprisingly slipping to the fifth round, while third-rounder Takitaki spent most of his time on special teams.
Wilson should start at one outside linebacker, while Takitaki will battle against a new arrival to replace Joe Schobert in the middle.

Christian Kirksey was well-liked by the fan base and by his teammates, but he will be pretty replaceable and by a cheaper option as well.
I'm signing off on this one, but the Browns will have to bring in some linebackers to replace Kirksey and Joe Schobert and my question is this- can they find equal production at a lower cost?
If they can't, that's a real problem and if they have to pay equal dollars, why not just keep one or both?
Free agency starts on March 18th.

Cleveland Browns Day Two

The Cleveland Browns fans were on top of the world after round one.
That lasted 24 hours as word began to spread of a possible one-year suspension of star wide receiver Josh Gordon for smoking marijuana.

Before I get to the day two selections of the Browns, I might as well address the big dog in the room-Josh Gordon.
If this is true and his agent says it is not ( we all know agents never lie, right?),the Browns will be going into the season with their outside starters being the oft-injured Nate Burleson and the drop-prone Greg Little-more on why that is in a bit.
Frankly, I don't care if the passer is Brian Hoyer, Johnny Manziel, or anyone else you can name, if they have those guys catching the football, it's going to be tough to move the chains.
I'll be writing the good and bad next week in the draft review, but I feel pretty safe in saying that the Cleveland Browns are in trouble for 2014, if the Gordon suspension rumors turn out to be true and Gordon would lose a possible appeal.

Now, I'll never understand why a joint is worth tossing away millions of dollars for and I sure don't get why it is worth losing the ability to make money playing a game, but I'll say this-Marijuana is slowly becoming legal in our country in some states and the NFL is going to face the question sooner or later (and it may be on this case) on suspending players for something that is some times legal.
I'm for legalizing marijuana (and taxing heavily) and I hope the Browns keep Josh Gordon for this season, but the facts remain-its the NFL's league and whether or not, you agree with the rules, they are theirs to make and Josh Gordon may have violated them.
Tough to argue any other result.

The real point of this show-football and the Cleveland Browns on day two.
I really liked day one and I'm not as pleased with the second day.

Don't get me wrong, I think the Browns addressed a huge need in Nevada guard/tackle Joel Bitonio, who will step right in and either start a right guard or push Mitchell Schwartz there.
The Browns have had right offensive line side issues for years and Bitonio will help there, but I thought wide receiver was a bigger issue anyway before this Josh Gordon affair and the Browns could have landed either Marquis Lee (Jacksonville) or Jordan Matthews (Philadelphia).
Bitonio was the fastest-rising offensive lineman just before the draft and I think he will help, but considering the overall picture-I would have went wideout here.
Like the player, just not as much as another position...

The Browns hopefully filled another need at inside linebacker in round three in Iowa linebacker Christian Kirksey.
Kirksey can play either outside or inside linebacker, but in Cleveland, he almost certainly will be used inside.
I've seen a lot of Kirksey at Iowa and he is a high effort player that doesn't take plays off.
Kirksey might wind up in the best-case scenario to be a three-down linebacker and those are always in high demand.
I didn't like Kirksey as much as Wisconsin's Chris Borland, who went to the 49ers later in the third round, but I like this pick too.

The Browns then leaped back into the third round as they made a trade with San Francisco to land Towson running back Terrence West.
I have never seen West play, but Ourlads reports him to be a hard-nosed power back that looks to be a good compliment to Ben Tate.
You gotta like the highlights below (if not the music) from West and I don't mind the 1-AA tag either, but I do have a few problems.

One-AGAIN no wideout?
Two-the cost of the team's fourth and sixth-round picks seems to be an excessive cost, but I'm open to that.
The Browns entered this draft with loads of picks and on the final day of the draft, Cleveland has the Indianapolis Colts 4th rounder and their own seventh-rounder and that's it.
I know later rounders aren't slam dunks, but quantity increases your chances of finding a diamond.
The day was disappointing to me not for what was selected as much as what was not.
I'll be back later with a look at the Browns 4th rounder and time permitting their seventh-rounder...