Browns make Giants trade official, add depth

On the day that trades and signings could be officially announced, the Cleveland Browns did so with the New York Giants and combined the two agreed upon deals into one along with another wrinkle that was added as well.

The official word saw the Browns acquiring Odell Beckham and Olivier Vernon from the Giants and sending Kevin Zeitler, Jabrill Peppers, the Browns first-round draft pick and the third rounder obtained from the Patriots for Danny Shelton.
There was one minor change from the two announced trades between the teams as the previously announced flip flop of the Browns fifth rounder for the Giants fourth-rounder was annulled and each team will keep their original selections.

The Browns now possess eight picks in the 2019 draft- their own picks in rounds two through six, two extra picks in the fifth round (Jaguars and Patriots) and the Jaguars pick in the seventh and final round.

The Browns did sign two additional players that had not been announced, neither are expected to start but should provide depth at their respective positions,
On the offensive side of the football, Cleveland signed tight end Demetrius Harris to a two-year contract for undisclosed terms.
Harris had spent his entire career for the Chiefs and grabbed 12 passes for 164 yards with three of those for touchdowns.
The 6'7 former basketball player at Wisconsin-Milwaukee will replace the recently waived Darren Fells as the backup blocking tight end and should be a valuable end zone target.

Cleveland also signed a linebacker as the Browns added Adarius Taylor, who spent last season with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Taylor started ten games last season for Tampa, finishing with sixty solo tackles and a sack in his first time as a starter in five years in the league with Carolina and Tampa Bay.
New Browns defensive coordinator Steve Wilks and linebackers coach Al Holcomb coached Taylor with the Panthers, so I'm sure the two coaches had some positive input on Taylor.
I would think that Taylor is not the full-time linebacker that the team needs, but Taylor has been a valuable special teams player in the league and should be a help there along with being able to step in at linebacker, if needed.

Browns reel in Odell Beckham

John Dorsey sure knows how to fire up his base and the seemingly endless field of Democratic Presidential candidates could learn a few things from the engineer of the rebuild of the Cleveland Browns.

Dorsey allowed the first day of free agency (commitments, not official signings, those cannot start until today) to quietly go slide by and Browns fans wondered about Dorsey's plans when linebacker C.J, Mosley, a player desired by most Browns fans, signed with the New York Jets, not the Browns.

Dorsey apparently planned on a more spectacular day two as it would be the Cleveland Browns that would be the talk of the football world at the end of this night.
Earlier in the day, the Browns had made their first transaction in signing defensive tackle Sheldon Richardson in a move that had Browns fans and football scribes giving the team plenty of credit for improving a defensive line's pass rush and sending a front four of the caliber that the Browns have not seen in years.
Dorsey then followed up with a one-year contract with Breshad Perriman, the former Baltimore first-round wideout that revived his career in Cleveland.
Perriman was expected to perhaps exceed that number in salary and the Browns seemed to have retained their base receiving corps at a fair price for the 2019 season.

The Browns looked now to be adding to the back seven with needs to be addressed in the secondary and at linebacker in free agency and the draft with many of the available upgrades taken out of the free agency pool, but John Dorsey not only wasn't finished, he was able to rock more than the football universe, but the sports universe as well.

Trades involving Odell Beckham had been rumored for months and not only with the Browns.
It was tough to see why the Giants signed Beckham to a five-year/ninety million dollar contract, paid him a sizable upfront bonus and they would shop him as available, but available he seemed to be, but the Browns had to wonder about the price that they would pay.
After all, one of the other top wideouts in the game was going to be traded in Pittsburgh's Antonio Brown, and using Brown to gauge the market for Beckham, who is younger, made sense.
However, after the Steelers seemed to trade Brown for nowhere near his value (3rd and 5th round pick in April's draft), the Giants appeared to have made the decision to swap Beckham now for the best that they could reel in.
That return was better than Pittsburgh's, but far from what was expected as the Browns traded their first-round pick (17th overall), the third-round pick that the Browns obtained from New England for Danny Shelton (the last pick in the third round before compensation picks) and safety Jabrill Peppers to add Odell Beckham to their roster to solidify the Browns as a contender in 2019.
Beckham caught 77 passes for 1,052 yards and six touchdowns last season over 12 games, for a Giants team that was often criticized for Eli Manning's lack of arm strength to throw the ball downfield and a propensity to check down and dump the ball off to rookie running back Saquon Barkley, who finished the season with 91 catches to show often Manning did just that.

Considering the skills of Beckham, the Browns got away with theft should Beckham perform as expected.
The Browns haven't picked as low as 17 with their own pick in the first round in years and the third is one acquired from New England, so they still have a 3rd rounder.
As for Jabrill Peppers, his play did improve last year at safety, but he never seemed to show the playmaking skills that he was supposed to have (other than a terrific game against Denver last season) and he was very disappointing in the return game.
Some were calling Peppers a bust last night in the euphoria after the trade and even though I've never been a fan of his, calling him a bust is unfair.
Peppers may develop further as a Giant, but including him in the trade didn't exactly make me wince as safety was a position of need with him, showing that losing him wouldn't be a huge hit to the roster.

Odell Beckham's not perfect.
Beckham missed four games last season and twelve in 2017, had issues with the Giants, although he was very popular in the locker room, so he wasn't a clubhouse cancer there, but wasn't afraid to criticize the offense, play-calling, and the eroding skills of quarterback Eli Manning.
That's the downside, other than Beckham's agent already making a little noise about contract modifications similar to those of Antonio Brown, but the Browns have enough space to accommodate those fairly easily.

Now for what the Browns are bringing to Lake Erie.
Odell Beckham is easily in the upper tier of receivers in the game with all the names you would think of as such, has deep speed, excellent hands, and generally hasn't been criticized for a lack of effort.
Beckham's in his prime (turns 27 during the season) and should have his Cleveland transition eased with his good friend and college teammate Jarvis Landry and Adam Henry was his position coach with both LSU and the Giants on the roster/coaching staff.
Spare the trading of a number one, when you consider where that first-rounder resides, this isn't trading that pick for Antonio Brown (31, Beckham's contract will almost be over before he reaches that age), you are getting an elite player in his prime for a middle of the first-round draft pick.
I value draft picks even more than most, but you can't value them that high considering that this trade involves a young superstar and just one first-rounder is involved.
My opinion might have changed if the cost was as rumored earlier in the day (2019 and 2020 first-rounder and backup defensive Emmanuel Ogbah for Beckham and the Giants 2020 second-rounder), but I'm more than fine with this cost.

The Browns still need some help.
They released tight end Darren Fells (a 2018 FA signee) over the weekend and some help for the enigmatic David Njoku couldn't hurt.
The linebackers need help with at least one and maybe even two, depending on where they want to play Olivier Vernon (Likely prefer DE, but can play linebacker) and the status of Emmanuel Ogbah (could they get a 2020 pick at the draft?) and safety was a position that could have used help before trading Jabrill Peppers and now is a spot that John Dorsey must address (Pro Bowler Earl Thomas is rumored to be currently considering the Browns after trading for Beckham).

On paper, this is a team that seems to be at least the division co-favorite and all things considered maybe the favorite in the AFC North.
I'm not sure that they are better than New England or Kansas City yet, but they are going to put lots of points on the scoreboard and they are going to pound some opposing passers.
With a rookie head coach and a second-year quarterback that occasionally shows (on-field) maturity problems, there may be a grace period needed before everyone is on the same page, but finally, the Browns are contenders again.

Browns to sign Sheldon Richardson

The Cleveland Browns might have been "in" on a few players on free agency day one and players that they were rumored to be interested in decided to go elsewhere, but on the morning of day two, John Dorsey struck hard with a major upgrade to the defense that could tip his hand on what position that the Browns may need to address in the draft.

Cleveland has entered an agreement on a three-year contract with Vikings defensive tackle Sheldon Richardson that is reportedly valued at 39 million dollars with 21.5 of those dollars guaranteed.

The Browns will be Richardson's fourth team in three years after the Jets traded him in mid-season 2017 to Seattle and signing a one year deal with Minnesota last season.
Richardson was the first round selection by the New York Jets out of Missouri in 2013 and finished last season for Minnesota with 26 solo tackles, six of those for losses and four and a half sacks from his interior line position.
Richardson is one of the better pass rushing defensive tackles in the game, is far more suited to a 4-3 defense, which the Browns and Vikings both run and will force teams to pay attention to Richardson and Larry Ogunjobi inside and not give double team help against both Myles Garrett and Olivier Vernon on the outside.

The addition of Sheldon Richardson gives the Browns a front four pass rush that the fans haven't seen in years without a weak spot all across the Garrett, Richardson, Ogunjobi and Vernon line and opposing quarterbacks should be extremely concerned.
However, it does raise questions about Emmanuel Ogbah. Will Ogbah return for the final year of his rookie contract or does John Dorsey attempt to get something for him now or does he keep him as a pretty strong backup defensive end?
I'm doubtful that the Browns will pick up their fifth-year option on Ogbah, so if the Browns want to receive anything for him, they will have to move him soon, although it wouldn't have to come at draft time, but it's also possible that Ogbah still sees plenty of time or even retains his job as a starter, if the Browns aren't able to upgrade at the linebacker position, Cleveland could play Olivier Vernon there if that is the best way to improve the linebackers.
I like Vernon better off the edge as an end, but he's proven solid at linebacker as well.
Ogbah sprained his ankle in the opener against Pittsburgh last season and even though he missed two games, he never seemed to catch up and finished the season with only three sacks after Ogbah and Myles Garrett had made the case before the 2018 draft that Ogbah was worth passing over eventual defensive rookie of the year Bradley Chubb.
The Browns would pass over Chubb and did very well with their selection of cornerback Denzel Ward, but Ogbah's proclamations far from worked out.

The Browns also retained wide receiver Breshad Perriman, when the wide receiver signed a one year contract for four million dollars.
The 25-year-old Perriman, a former 2016 first rounder by the Ravens was released in camp by Baltimore and later in the year by Washington without playing in a game for them, caught 16 passes in ten games, but late in the season was able to establish himself as a deep threat for Baker Mayfield in averaging twenty-one yards per grab.
Cleveland wanted to re-sign Perriman before the beginning of free agency, but Perriman decided to test the market before quickly returning to the Browns.
This is a deal that works for both the player and the team as Perriman can try free agency again with a strong season with the Browns not paying a lot and if Perriman's finish proves to be a mirage, Cleveland can walk away after the conclusion of the year.

Editor's Note: Right after I wrote this, the Browns acquired Odell Beckham and Perriman asked to be relieved of his commitment.
The Browns agreed to do so and Perriman signed a one year deal for the same money with Tampa Bay.
Classy move by the Browns and it will help spread the word as a place where the players are treated fairly and will want to spend their career there.

Busy Busy

Monday and Tuesday can be busy days for me and sometimes working around real life (Especially on Tuesday) and the everyday errands that we all have hit my time here hard.

However, enjoy this note about the upcoming week to come:

The Browns hit free agency as I write this, Cleveland has an agreement for a major defensive contributor in case.
That's an agreement because teams cannot sign anyone officially until tomorrow, but it is extremely rare to renege on these agreements.

No Hotshots review this week.
Why? Well, I was exhausted after a long Sunday of work and family events and was watching something else when the game began.
I finished that and was going to go to bed when Fred Landucci called me and said the game against San Antonio was 26-0 Commanders near the half.
Judging that, I went to bed- the Hotshots rallied strongly in the second half but lost 29-25.
Arizona falls to 2-3 on the year and visits what appears to be the league's top team next week in the undefeated Orlando Apollos.

I'll be appearing on a podcast (remember when I did one of those before controversy and dollars came into play?) on Wednesday, so once I can post and give the host show some pub, I'll link to it so anyone out there can give it a listen.
Please make sure you give the guys at Rouge White and Blue some comments or even ratings on your podcasting tool of choice.
I'm sure they'll appreciate it and mentioning me wouldn't hurt getting my name out there as I (Shh) tenderly begin the process of "other projects".

Since I'm picking at the bottom of my fantasy draft in each round, it has taken longer to make my picks so the posts on those players will be worked on.
I've picked three more "Rubber Ducks", one of them just a few minutes ago and there will be two more before I'm finished.
I'm fairly pleased so far considering where I'm picking, but I gambled twice in the draft on players I really liked and once it paid off well and the other it didn't so I'll have those stories as well.

I also have the boxing challenge starting early this week with a Friday night card on DAZN
More passings to note and an inbox that needs dumping along with a possible feature as well

Hang in there until tonight/slash tomorrow morning as Jim Ross used to scream- Business is about to pick up!

Boxing Challenge: Porter squeaks by Ugas

The Boxing Challenge weekend saw three champions successfully defend their titles, albeit with various controversies from two states and platforms.

From Carson, California at the don't call it StubHub Center, Shawn Porter squeezed by mandatory contender Yordenis Ugas by split decision to keep his WBC welterweight championship and hopes of bigger fights to come in the future alive.
Porter is known for his hard-driving, punishing style that wears fighters down as a strong fullback does in football and yet against Ugas, a taller, lankier fighter that uses range well, Porter decided to box from the outside, gave Ugas the best chance for the former Olympic bronze medalist to win and as noted, barely won on the scorecards.
I scored the fight even at 114-114, but sometimes a fight can be even on the cards and have the "feel" of one guy "winning" such as when I scored Usyk-Breidis last year even at 114 but noted that the same "feel" going the way of Usyk.
Using that "feel", I can see where observers can look at Ugas as the "winner", but in no way was this a robbery (hence the no Hamburglar picture) and their styles didn't really mesh together to make this a fight that was filled with exchanges that made a rematch palatable for anyone, at least right away.
The biggest question to me was this one-Did Porter fight differently because that was the gameplan or did he feel weaker with the near-miss on the scales and felt physically weaker?

In the other bout from Carson, undefeated heavyweight hitter Efe Ajagba ripped through aging Amir Mansour when the corner stopped the fight for Mansour after two rounds.
Ajagba scored two knockdowns in the first and pounded Mansour in the second causing the early ending.
Mansour tried to fight back, but Ajagba was too young and too big as he impressively passed his first test.

Moving to DAZN from Verona New York, the title bouts were very one-sided with the challengers combining to win two rounds on my cards with almost identical scores.
Dmitri Bivol won eleven out of twelve rounds and with the exception of appearing to be somewhat stung at the end of the eleventh round by Joe Smith, won about everything you could win in a fight to retain his WBA light heavyweight championship.
Bivol didn't knock down the rugged Smith but used his impressive boxing skills to dominate and control him otherwise in winning 119-109 on my scorecard.

My scorecard read 119-108 for Maurice Hooker in a unanimous decision win over Mikkel LesPierre, who took a licking in lasting the distance.
LesPierre showed grit in making the count after being crunched to the liver in a ninth-round knockdown but was not very competitive in the loss.
Hooker took four attempts to make the weight and by that could be well suited to consider a move to welterweight, but almost the top talent in that division resides with either PBC or Top Rank and Hooker should stay where he is to stay at 140 pounds.

Light heavyweight Callum Johnson might not have the skills of the top light heavyweights as he showed in being knocked out in his challenge to IBF champion Artur Beterbiev last year.
Johnson also showed in knocking Beterbiev down that he has serious power and if he lands, he can hurt even the top fighters in the division.
Seanie Monaghan is a limited fighter that is overmatched at the world-class level that can be very entertaining when matched properly.
Johnson is clearly a full step above Monaghan as he busted up Monaghan's face in the first round, dropped him twice in the second round with the bell saving from a likely stoppage and then finished him with booming punches seconds into the third.
Johnson has a punchers chance against anyone in the division, while Monaghan's level seems to be at the clubfighter watermark.

In the boxing challenge, I outscored Ramon Malpica 9-7 with the two point difference being the decision wins by Dmitri Bivol and Maurice Hooker.
I regain the lead in the challengeat 50-49

Boxing Challenge

The boxing challenge stakes its claim to Saturday evening with two cards from two sources and three championship fights.

Fox brings their best fight to date to their PBC program as Shawn Porter defends his WBC welterweight title against the mandatory challenger in Yordenis Ugas in Carson, California.
Porter barely made weight for this fight and I've thought all along that Ugas could be a "trap fight" for Porter if he was underprepared or lacked motivation for the former Olympic bronze medalist, who is on an eight-fight winning streak since moving up to the welterweight division.
Style-wise, Ugas could give Porter some problems, but the biggest issue for the Cuban is that although several of his wins of later have been against good competition, none of them have been against top ten level opponents with the arguable exception of Jamal James.
Porter's preparation will come into play, but I think he gets through some rounds and eventually grinds Ugas down, but the variables make Ugas a very interesting underdog.

The other challenge fight from PBC is a rare eight round bout as Eje Ajagba of Nigeria, who has looked so impressive in his eight wins on PBC undercards in blasting out preliminary opponents, takes a planetary leap in competition against veteran Amir Mansour.
Mansour, who is 46, yet has a record of 23-3, usually makes fun fights with his last five outings being wild and wooly.
Mansour's last five fights (in no particular order) have seen him draw with then-undefeated and future title challenger Gerald Washington, handed then-undefeated Travis Kaufman his first loss, knocked down the current mandatory contender in the WBC, Dominic Breazeale in the third round before surrendering in his corner after five rounds with a broken jaw in a fight he was winning, failed a drug test after a technical draw against undefeated (and fighting on DAZN Saturday) Sergei Kuzmin and in his last fight,looked like he basically took a ten count and walked back to his corner against touted prospect Filip Hrgovic.
I have no idea what we'll get from Mansour, but if he has anything to offer at all, Ajagba will at least have someone that can punch firing back at him.

The remaining fights move to DAZN in Verona New York with two world title fights and what could be a fight that should see plenty of punches landed by both fighters.

The main event will place the WBA light heavyweight title held by Dmitri Bivol on the line as Joe Smith will challenge Bivol for that championship.
Bivol has looked more workmanlike than dynamite in his last two title defenses over veterans Issac Chilemba and Jean Pascal and despite both wins coming via wide decisions, Bivol has not scored a knockdown in either win and looks to be a champion without a big fight with the other three champion all making their title defenses for ESPN/Top Rank.
Joe Smith looked terrific in driving Bernard Hopkins from the game in 2016 after his eighth-round knockout that saw Hopkins dazed outside the ring, but looked dazed himself in his following fight, where he lost a lopsided decision to Sullivan Barrera and broke his jaw to boot.
The straight forward moving Smith might be just the foe to make Bivol look like a power puncher again and if Bivol doesn't look strong in this one, I'm not sure where he will be able to look strong.

Maurice Hooker, who did look very good in his last fight in a pounding of undefeated Alex Saucedo, defends his WBO junior welterweight title against undefeated, but lightly regarded Mikkel LesPierre.
Hooker did take all four of his allowed visits to the scale to finally make the 140-pound weight limit and despite wanting to make a title defense in his hometown of Dallas in his next fight, may not be long for the division, so if LesPierre is talented enough, this could be interesting with the weight problems.

The final bout is placed mainly for its entertainment value as Callum Johnson battles Seanie Monaghan in what should be a brawl in a ten round light heavyweight fight between two fringe contenders.
Britain's Johnson scored a flash knockdown of IBF champion Artur Beterbiev in his last fight before being taken out in four rounds, while Monaghan was dominated by Sullivan Barrera in a decision loss last time out.
Both fighters appear to be a cut below world class, but are matched well here, so this should be a guilty pleasure to watch.
The winner will likely see more fights and perhaps a chance to move forward, the loser is likely to cement themselves in trialhorse status.

In the boxing challenge, Ramon Malpica leads me at 42-41

WBC Welterweight Title. 12 Rds
Shawn Porter vs Yordenis Ugas
Both: Porter Unanimous Decision

Heavyweights 8 Rds
Efe Ajagba vs Amir Mansour
R.L: Ajagba KO 5
TRS: Ajagba KO 3

WBA Light Heavyweight Title. 12 Rds
Dmitri Bivol vs Joe Smith
R.L.: Bivol KO 9
TRS: Bivol Unanimous Decision

WBO Jr.Welterweight Title. 12 Rds
Maurice Hooker vs Mikkel LesPierre
R.L: Hooker KO 11
TRS: Hooker Unanimous Decision

Lt. Heavyweights,10 Rds
Callum Johnson vs Seanie Monaghan
R.L: Johnson KO 10
TRS: Johnson KO 7

Browns trade with Giants-Olivier Vernon coming to Cleveland

There are only five days before the free agency gold rush starts for the National Football League, but the Cleveland Browns and John Dorsey decided to make a move before the rolling out of the wagons began by trading with the New York Giants, but not for the player that so many are unrealistically lusting for.

The Browns sent starting guard Kevin Zeitler and a fifth-round draft pick to the Gothamites and added defensive end/linebacker Olivier Vernon and a fourth rounder in return.
Kevin Zeitler was signed to a large contract during the 2017 free agency period from the Cincinnati Bengals and played well in his two years in Cleveland but with 2018 second rounder Austin Corbett needing a place in the lineup, Zeitler began to look expendable and with the chance to add a solid rusher off the edge, Dorsey's decision to move now looks even better when you look closer.

Olivier Vernon turns 29 during the 2019 season and made the Pro Bowl last season (not quite the achievement that it used to be, so don't allow yourself to be too excited) after a seven-sack season for the Giants.
Those seven sacks came in eleven games after a high ankle sprain caused Vernon to miss the first five games of the season and high ankle sprains are the type of injury that can be difficult to return to full health from in-season, so Vernon's numbers, which weren't bad at all, look even better through that scope..
Vernon was signed from Miami after the 2015 season and in his three seasons in New York, sacked the quarterback twenty-two times, but for the eighty-five million (over five years) contract, Giants fans were mildly disappointed with his play considering his cost.
While I can understand that somewhat, most free agents do wind up being somewhat overpaid, it's the cost of doing business and bringing players to your town.
After all, Kevin Zeitler was very solid for the Browns in his two seasons, but you could make a decent argument that he was overpaid (48 million for five years) for a right guard, so rarely does a signee perform the feat of playing well enough that the paycheck is fair value.

Olivier Vernon is a versatile player that will likely line up as a defensive end opposite Myles Garrett for the Browns, but is more than capable of playing as a stand up outside linebacker for a 3-4 team (which the Giants put into place for the 2018 season) or in specific alignments in the 4-3 and can even drop back a bit in pass coverage without being a liability as so many end rushers are when asked to do that task.
The arrival of Vernon allows Emmanuel Ogbah to move into a backup after he's been a little disappointing as a rusher in the two seasons after the drafting of Myles Garrett or perhaps even see some time inside at defensive tackle, where the Browns are a little light (C'mon Ed Oliver!) other than Larry Ogunjobi.

Don't sleep on the flipping of the Browns fifth rounder for the Giants fourth either as the Browns move up twenty-three picks with that portion of the trade.
The Browns now possess these picks in next month's draft: 1st. 2nd, 3rd, 3rd (Patriots for Danny Shelton), 4th, 4th (Giants for Kevin Zeitler), 5th (Jaguars for Carlos Hyde),5th (Patriots for Josh Gordon), 6th and 7th (Jaguars for Cody Kessler).

I like the trade for both teams as they addressed need areas, but I like it for the Browns a little better with the slightly better player (although more expensive) and the higher draft pick, but the Giants did well here too adding a strong starting lineman for three years and move an expensive player that wasn't going to play in the defense that he signed to play in.
Good work by both teams.

I've generally been very positive on John Dorsey's moves, however, I do wonder about the decision to tender Rashard Higgins only a fifth-round compensation contract.
Higgins played well in the second half and seemed to have a connection with Baker Mayfield, so I expected the Browns to at least offer a second-round tender and with plenty of cap space, I didn't think that would be a big deal to Dorsey.
The fifth round tender comes as a surprise to me, but the Browns can match any offer, so they have a chance of retaining Higgins.
Higgins caught 39 passes (4 touchdowns) for 572 yards in 2018 and should the Browns choose not to match a contract offered to Higgins, they would receive that teams fifth-round draft pick.
Unless the contract offer would be ridiculously high, the Browns are expected to match any offer.
The Browns also tendered contracts to defensive tackle Trevon Coley and special teamer/defensive back Jermaine Whitehead.

Back later with the boxing challenge for the weekend in the fight game/