Mike Vrabel’s role with Browns defined a bit more

Here is what Vrabel will be doing in Cleveland.

After the Cleveland Browns hired former Tennessee Titans head coach Mike Vrabel as a consultant, his role has been fleshed out a bit more.

According to Robert Mays of The Athletic, Vrabel’s role with the Browns is to “act as a sounding board for Kevin Stefanski but also as a resource for a coaching staff with a lot of youth and turnover.”

The Browns added two offensive coaches with no NFL coaching experience in former Alabama and UConn offensive coordinators Tommy Rees and Nick Charlton. They also replaced their running backs coach with Duce Staley and swapped out Bill Callahan for Andy Dickerson and Roy Istvan as offensive line coach. Not to mention bringing on Ken Dorsey as the new offensive coordinator.

That is a great deal of turnover for one man to manage, so kudos to head coach Kevin Stefanski for bringing Vrabel on as a consultant for the season.

Browns hire a former NFL Coach of the Year as a consultant

The Browns have added another high profile coach to their staff.

The Cleveland Browns are not done adding to their staff. After hiring a new offensive assistant and run game specialist this week, the Browns have now added former NFL Coach of the Year and head coach of the Tennessee Titans Mike Vrabel as a consultant.

After being fired from the Titans this offseason, predominantly due to disagreements with the direction the team was taking, Vrabel did not get another head coaching gig. Instead, he lands with the Browns as he soaks in his buyout from Tennessee.

Ironic enough, it was Cleveland’s defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz who once worked under Mike Vrabel as a Senior Advisor. Could this be Schwartz repaying Vrabel with a title that would not cause him to forfeit his buyout with the Titans?

Regardless, the Browns have constructed quite the all-star staff this offseason, and now it’s time for them to get to work to get this team back into the playoffs and deeper than they’ve been before.

New Browns WR Jerry Jeudy will wear No. 3 jersey

The number 3 will be worn by a new player next season

On the same day the Cleveland Browns officially announced the trade for Broncos wide receiver Jerry Jeudy, they also showed his new number. Jeudy will wear No. 3 with the Browns. That number was worn last year by Marquise Goodwin, who is now a free agent. Jeudy wore No. 10 with his previous team, the Denver Broncos.

Jeudy was in Cleveland on Wednesday, meeting with the team and touring the facility; the team released video and photos of him in Berea. It was a great move from Andrew Berry to acquire Jeudy, who seemed like a bargain after some of the money had been thrown around to wide receivers in the early days of free agency.

The Browns likely still have moves to make, as the team still needs to add depth on the offensive line, a tight end and maybe a third safety. With Jeudy on board, the Browns might add another wide receiver, but it is more likely that it will happen in the draft.

Jameis Winston speaks after agreeing to terms with the Browns

The backup quarterback has spoken for the first time since agreeing to terms with the Browns

After agreeing to terms with the Cleveland Browns, quarterback Jameis Winston has released a statement through insider Josina Anderson:

“Yes, I still envision myself as a starter, however the Lord has also called me to lead by impacting and increasing the men who are around me. Having the opportunity to work with Deshaun (Watson) and help him be the best he can possibly be, is my main mission. Now, if Deshaun has to heal up for whatever reason, and I have to take a few games off of him, I’m going to be ready to do that; but I have to fulfill God’s purpose first before my own heart’s desire. Because ultimately I desire to win some Super Bowls, and this roster that Cleveland got, looks like they can do it.”

Winston is ready to get to work with the Browns, and now the Browns have some added security in case Watson goes down with an injury again next season. Welcome to Cleveland, Jameis!

Browns land former first round WR Jerry Jeudy in trade with Broncos

The Browns have added a wide receiver upgrade for the cost of just two Day 3 picks.

The Cleveland Browns have already struck a deal before the new league year begins, acquiring former first round wide receiver Jerry Jeudy from the Denver Broncos.

Playing with abysmal quarterback play in his first three years, however, the production of Jeudy has not lived up to the hype of his draft slot. Through three seasons, Jeudy has yet to break 1,000 yards receiving.

His career-high came in 2022, when he racked up 972 yards and six touchdowns in 15 games. This past season he accumulated only 758 yards and two touchdowns in 16 games.

The details of the trade have been released as well, as ESPN’s Adam Schefter has reported that the Browns will get Jeudy for the price of a fifth and sixth round pick in the 2024 NFL draft. When considering this is the shallowest draft class in NFL history, cashing out two of those Day 3 picks to gamble on a former first rounder is well worth the risk.

Now coming to Cleveland, a team in desperate need of an upgrade to their wide receiver room, Jeudy will be inserted as the WR2 for the Browns.

Browns DE Myles Garrett named PFF’s best player of the 2023 season

There was nobody graded higher

After a year where he took home the hardware of NFL Defensive Player of the Year, Cleveland Browns defensive end Myles Garrett has also been recognized as PFF’s top player of the 2023 season.

Garrett finished his award-winning season with 14 sacks, four forced fumbles, and a massive 86 pressures. Using PFF’s metrics that they used to name him the top player in the NFL, he was the top-graded defensive player in the league with a grade of 93.6. Garrett also boasted the best pass rush win rate in the league as well, beating the man across from him on an astounding 27.5 percent of his pass rush snaps.

While the sacks might have dropped off, Garrett’s impact stayed steady, as he was double-teamed the most of any player in the NFL a year ago.

As the Browns look to stay competitive in 2024 (starting with what they do in free agency), they will need their Defensive Player of the Year to keep up the pace.

Former Browns C J.C. Tretter’s reign as NFLPA president has come to an end

The retired center is passed on the baton.

After being elected as the NFLPA president in March of 2020, former Cleveland Browns center J.C. Tretter has finally seen his tenure come to a close.

Electing a new president today, Detroit Lions linebacker Jalen Reeves-Maybin will take the torch passed on by Tretter. Reeves-Maybin was a member of the NFLPA Executive Committee over the last two years under Tretter.

Tretter, of course, has not played football since the 2022 season. After that season, the Browns released him as he would go on to retire after visiting with the Minnesota Vikings and other teams. Tretter released a statement saying that his status as the NFLPA president played into the type of interest he received once he hit free agency.

Now fully retired and away from the sport of football, the Cornell grad will surely find another hobby to pick up in his retirement.

NFL compensatory picks release, Browns receive no extra 2024 NFL draft picks

The Browns were awarded no additional draft picks.

On the heels of the 2024 NFL draft, the NFL has released all of the added compensatory picks each team will receive. And for the second straight season, the Cleveland Browns will not be the beneficiary of any added picks.

The Browns received two compensatory picks in the 2022 NFL draft after Kwesi Adofo-Mensah was hired as the general manager of the Minnesota Vikings. However, they have not had any since then.

Outside of the new rule of receiving two compensatory picks for the hire of a minority general manager or head coach, compensatory picks are awarded for teams who lose more talent in free agency than they bring in. And for the Browns, who have been big spenders the past two offseasons, they do not fit this bill.

As they are continuously clearing cap space and look primed for another big offseason, do not expect the Browns to receive any compensatory picks next year either.

Browns might be open to trading one of their top cornerbacks

Cleveland could move on from a talented cornerback this year

NFL free agency is nearly here with legal tampering beginning on Monday, March 11 at noon Eastern. Cleveland Browns general manager Andrew Berry is already hard at work doing what he does best, manipulating the salary cap ahead of free agency. Could he also be looking to trade former first-round pick Greg Newsome II?

Berry will explore all avenues to move money around. Writing for The Washington Post, Jason La Canfora said he has heard the Browns could be shopping one of their corners to balance out some of the big contracts they have.

This makes sense with three talented cornerbacks on the roster, one of which has already been paid. The team can’t sign them all to massive extensions. Denzel Ward seems to be safe after the team restructured his deal this offseason, and Martin Emerson Jr. still has two cheap years on his rookie contract as a former third-round pick.

The move that would make the most sense is trading Greg Newsome II. The team has yet to make a decision on his fifth-year option, which would cost $13.3 million. The deadline for that is May 2.

Newsome struggled the most out of the trio, giving up several big plays in key moments of games.

In the end, the team could keep all of them, but moving on from Newsome to free up cap space and add draft assets makes too much sense.

Browns restructure Jedrick Wills’ contract, lock in his roster spot

Clearing more cap space, the Browns have restructured the contract of Jedrick Wills. This locks in his roster spot for 2024.

With free agency right around the corner, the Cleveland Browns have cleared more salary cap space by restructuring the contract of left tackle Jedrick Wills.

While Wills’ fifth-year option is fully guaranteed, it was all guaranteed in the form of his base salary. The Browns have converted a chunk of that base salary into a bonus, which will now be paid upfront and will not count toward the salary cap.

This move has cleared another $10.44 million in cap space for the Browns to play around with in free agency next week. The Browns are now up to a total of about $15 million in cap space with more contracts expected to be restructured to clear even more room on the books to spend this offseason.

This does, however, open up a dilemma of what the Browns do at their tackle spots. With three starting offensive tackles on the roster, either one of those starters will be relegated to a backup, or veteran Jack Conklin will be cut as a sunk cost as a result.