Tag: Rashard Higgins

Mock draft Monday: 7 full rounds of Browns choices

Mock draft Monday: 7 full rounds of Browns choices

The 2021 Cleveland Browns roster, after several days of free agency, is finally starting to come into focus. The team’s probable draft options are becoming more apparent.

Here is a quick look at their free-agency haul through the first few days of the signing period:

Additions

SS John Johnson

CB Troy Hill

DE Takkarist McKinley

ILB Anthony Walker Jr.

WR Rashard Higgins

K Cody Parkey

OLB Malcolm Smith

DT Malik Jackson

OT Greg Senat

OLB Elijah Lee

WR Jojo Natson

Now for the picks!

My Draft (without trades)

Using PFF’s mock draft simulator, I feel like this draft makes a lot of sense for the Cleveland Browns as Andrew Berry and Kevin Stefanski continue to mold the roster with impact players.

Breaking down the draft, Kwity Paye immediately enters the Browns starting lineup opposite Myles Garrett. His addition is important for the long-term and in the short-term, the Browns can give him time to develop behind Tak McKinley. Ifeatu Melifonwu brings a different dimension to the secondary with his length and athleticism. While Denzel Ward and Greedy Williams aren’t slouching athletically, neither player has the size to match-up with bigger wide receivers.

Jamin Davis could be considered outside the norm for the Browns, who don’t invest heavily in the linebacker position, but his range and overall athleticism can be used to better cover tight ends in and out of the division. While Davis was a reach, Amari Rodgers can be considered a steal. Rodgers has good explosiveness, great hands, and could be a replacement for Jarvis Jandry after the 2021 season. According to most boards, Milton Williams would be considered a reach, but his most recent athletic testing might change that viewpoint,

Wrapping up the draft, both Chubba Hubbard and JaCoby Stevens offer the Browns improvements to their depth and team athleticism. Hubbard is an Olympic-level sprinter who has an amazing production profile at Oklahoma State. Stevens was a former five-star recruit from high school and will give Joe Woods an athletic ball of clay he can mold. With the final pick, the Browns selected Drew Dalman. While he isn’t a massive athlete, Dalman is technically sound and shows the ability to thrive in an interior zone-blocker.

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Rashard Higgins returns to the Browns on a one-year deal

Hollywood is back in Cleveland

Roll out the red carpet and pose, Browns fans. Per numerous sources, wide receiver Rashard Higgins is heading back to Cleveland on a one-year deal.

Among the sources, ESPN’s Josina Anderson related a text from Higgins that said, “I’m back.”

Higgins has been a fan favorite throughout his career in Cleveland. The 26-year-old rose up from a fifth-round pick in the 2016 NFL draft into a reliable receiver. He quickly developed chemistry with QB Baker Mayfield, and his “Hollywood” persona has played well with Cleveland fans.

Higgins caught 37 passes for 599 yards and four touchdowns in 13 games in 2020. He has been a dependable No. 3 receiver for the Browns and has proven he can play above that status when called upon.

Terms of the deal are not immediately known. Higgins was an unrestricted free agent but received little outside buzz in an oversaturated wide receiver market.

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Fantasy football free agency roundup

NFL free agency will drastically help reshape the fantasy football landscape as the new league year begins.

Now that NFL free agency is upon us, here is where we’ll run through the fantasy football outlooks for trades, re-signings, midrange players, and tag recipients.

This analysis will be updated as players sign/re-sign in free agency, so be sure to check back regularly.

Signed with new team or traded

RB Mark Ingram, Houston Texans: The 31-year-old inked a one-year, $2.5 million deal in Houston to pair with fellow well-aged runner David Johnson. The duo will create a one-two punch, so long as what we saw from Baltimore making Ingram a healthy scratch late last year wasn’t foreshadowing. Some of that was due to him not playing special teams and the team wanting to get a closer look at rookie J.K. Dobbins. Presuming quarterback Deshaun Watson returns, Ingram still has a dicey outlook. The Texans’ porous defense has so many needs that it’s tough to see the offense being able to consistently run the ball if the other side cannot contain opposing offenses. Ingram needs bulk to make a mark in fantasy lineups, which rarely will be the case, unless he finds regular success around the goal line, consider the veteran merely roster depth or a handcuff to Johnson.

Re-signed/extensions

QB Dak Prescott, Dallas Cowboys: There’s no surprise associated with the four-year, $160 million extension Prescott signed prior to free agency opening. He wasn’t ever going to be allowed to leave the building, as evidenced by a formality of being tagged again. As long as his ankle rehab goes according to plan, this potential No. 1 overall fantasy quarterback has the tools to pick up where he left off.

QB Ben Roethlisberger, Pittsburgh Steelers:While it’s technically an extension, Big Ben’s deal was reworked to provide cap relief for the Steelers and keep him in a black-and-yellow uni for one last go of it. Roethlisberger will almost assuredly be without WR JuJu Smith-Schuster, and Pittsburgh has a new offensive coordinator in Matt Canada, but there’s still enough to like about the situation for Roethlisberger to be in the conversation of a low-tier rotational starter.

QB Cam Newton, New England Patriots: The knee-jerk reaction is to scoff at Newton getting a one-year, $14 million deal to re-sign with the Pats. A closer look should elicit a more measured response. Last year, just about everything worked against Cam finding success. He signed late (June 28), there was no offseason program, the offensive system is intricate, New England lost several key players to the opt-out, the offensive line had to shuffle talent several times, no receivers to speak of, zero tight ends of consequence, an erratic rushing attack, and Newton was returning from foot surgery prior to joining New England. Excuses, you may say … perhaps, but all of those factors are undeniable reality. Newton is finally healthy after three straight offseasons of rehabbing from surgery. Wait to see how the Patriots address wide receiver and tight end concerns, but it’s unwise to entirely dismiss a rebound by Newton.

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QB Taylor Heinicke, Washington Football Team: The former Panther parlayed an admirable playoff start into a two-year extension in Washington. He knows the system and the brain trust’s nucleus from his time in Carolina. Alex Smith’s release opens the door for Heinicke to compete for a starting job while having the upper hand against a newcomer who won’t be as familiar with the playbook. It’s unlikely, however, Heinicke is the season-long starter for this offense as an incoming rookie or free-agent acquisition will have that momentum on his side.

Franchise/transition tagged

WR Chris Godwin, Tampa Bay Buccaneers: No one paying attention expected the Buccaneers to allow Godwin to walk into free agency. Look for a stronger showing in 2021 after an injury-pocked season a year ago derailed Godwin’s campaign from nearly the onset. He’s a legit WR2 in all settings, but his upside is capped at that position overall with the bevy of talent around him in the passing game.

WR Allen Robinson, Chicago Bears: It seemed for quite some time that Chicago wouldn’t have the cap space to tag Robinson, but he was indeed slapped with the tender of $17-plus million for 2021. While he would like a long-term deal, and the team may still yet find a way to meet his demands by July 15, there also remains a chance this could get ugly. Robinson doesn’t want to play on the tag, nor must he sign the tender. He then wouldn’t play or get paid, so there’s that, and $17.89 mill is nothing to sneeze at during an offseason in which the salary cap actually goes down. At 27, Robinson could put his John Hancock on the offer sheet and still hit free agency in 2022 young enough to get one last shot at a huge deal when teams will have more money to throw around. Long story short, he mostly is quarterback-proof, but Chicago still needs to put a better product on the field. Whether it is Nick Foles or someone else under center in 2021, A-Rob is a viable PPR WR1 with a hint of downside.

Remains unsigned

  • Quarterbacks: Alex Smith, Mitchell Trubisky, Ryan Fitzpatrick, Jameis Winston, Jacoby Brissett
  • Running backs: Aaron Jones, Chris Carson, Kenyan Drake, Todd Gurley, Duke Johnson, Tevin Coleman, James White, Matt Breida, Brian Hill, Leonard Fournette, Malcolm Brown, Jerick McKinnon, Adrian Peterson, Le’Veon Bell, Kalen Ballage, James Conner, Marlon Mack, Wayne Gallman, Jamaal Williams, Mike Davis
  • Wide receivers: A.J. Green, T.Y. Hilton, Emmanuel Sanders, Larry Fitzgerald, Golden Tate, DeSean Jackson, Adam Humphries, Sammy Watkins, Marvin Jones, John Brown, Breshad Perriman, Corey Davis, Willie Snead, John Ross, Keelan Cole, Kendrick Bourne, Will Fuller, Demarcus Robinson, Antonio Brown, Curtis Samuel, Damiere Byrd, JuJu Smith-Schuster, Nelson Agholor, Rashard Higgins, David Moore, Kenny Golladay
  • Tight ends: Hunter Henry, Rob Gronkowski, Kyle Rudolph, Jared Cook, Tyler Eifert, Gerald Everett, Jordan Reed, Jonnu Smith, Trey Burton

Rashard Higgins makes it clear he wants to stay with the Browns

Higgins is a pending free agent who wants to stick in Cleveland

Wide receiver Rashard Higgins is one of several pending free agents for the Cleveland Browns. “Hollywood” is one many fans would love to have back in the brown and orange, and the receiver himself would love nothing more than that, too.

Higgins made an appearance on “The Next Level” on WKNR radio on Friday and left no doubt he wants to be back with the only NFL team he’s ever known.

“Don’t give up on me. I never gave up on y’all,” Higgins said Friday. “Tell [General Manager] Andrew [Berry] to send the papers, and I’m signing wherever I’ve got to sign. That’s all I’ve got to say.”

After acknowledging that he has not received any offer of an extension from Cleveland, Higgins reiterated his desire to stay with the Browns,

“We want to see when we can get this contract and stuff done,” Higgins said. “Obviously, if it’s not with the Browns — we want it to be with the Browns — but it’s up in the air right now. We haven’t got no contracts from the guys yet. So everything is just in the air right now.”

Higgins caught 37 passes for 599 yards and four TDs in 2020, his fifth season with the team. They’re eerily similar numbers to his production in 2018, sandwiched around a 2019 where he was inexplicably in then-coach Freddie Kitchens’ bad graces and saw his playing time limited.

He’s got undeniable chemistry with quarterback Baker Mayfield and Higgins is one of the more popular players in the Cleveland locker room. The team does not have proven depth at wide receiver, though it is a deep free agent class and the 2021 NFL draft class also looks promising at wideout.

Based on what Higgins himself has stated, both Friday and in the past, he seems amenable to staying in Cleveland if the money offered is even close to what he would get from another team.

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12 low-cost free agents who can help the Lions in 2021

Some budget free agency options for the Lions and GM Brad Holmes

Free agency begins on March 17th, the first time the new Detroit Lions management regime, headed by GM Brad Holmes, will have a chance to add significant pieces to the roster (outside of the Goff-Stafford trade, which also becomes official that day). We don’t yet know how Holmes, assistant GM Ray Agnew and senior executive John Dorsey will handle free agency acquisitions, but one way they can help the team is to find value without overpaying.

The theme here is to find lower-budget free agents who have a chance to contribute right away, but also with an eye toward perhaps being part of the longer-term success of the Lions.

None of the 12 players listed here should command more than $5 million per year on average. If that threshold isn’t met, the Lions probably need to pass on the players here. Also, none will be more than 31 years old at the start of the 2021 regular season.

Rashard Higgins, Jedrick Wills have drag racing charges reduced, plead guilty

Higgins and Wills were cited for drag racing in January

Browns offensive players Rashard Higgins and Jedrick Wills each plead guilty to speeding charges in a suburban Cleveland court this week. It’s a reduction in charges from the initial incident in January.

Wills and Higgins were originally charged with drag racing after being pulled over on Crocker Road in Westlake. The route in question was also deemed a work zone, which increased penalties. However, the charges were lowered in an agreement between the prosecution and attorneys for the duo.

They each were ordered to pay $428 in fines and court costs.

The initial police report from the Westlake PD stated,

“The two vehicles took off together side by side at a fast rate heading North on Crocker and were racing each other. The two operators were cited for Drag Racing. The one operator had his vehicle searched from PC based on the smell of marijuana. A suspected marijuana joint was located on him. That item was destroyed and the subject was given a warning. They were released from the scene.”

Higgins, who is a pending free agent, was the owner of the marijuana but never faced any charges for the small amount.

What is and isn’t a “lowering the helmet” foul? Nobody seems to know.

There was a startling disparity of standard in the early and late Sunday games when it came to the lowering the helmet foul.

With 1:42 left in the first half of the Chiefs’ 22-17 divisional round win over the Browns, Browns receiver Rashard Higgins fumbled the ball into the end zone after catching a deep pass from Baker Mayfield. Helping to cause the fumble was Chiefs safety Daniel Sorensen, who clearly led with his helmet on the play.

The ruling on the field was a touchback for the Chiefs, and since the no-call for lowering the head to initiate contact isn’t reviewable, the right result didn’t happen. The right result would have been for the Browns to have the ball with first-and-goal from the Kansas City one-yard line. Given the final score, this non-call could have cost the Browns a trip to the AFC Championship game.

We’re thinking that the league may have sent a memo to Shawn Hochuli’s crew after Clay Martin’s crew blew it in the early game. With 12:45 left in the first quarter of the Saints-Buccaneers divisional round game, Bucs safety Jordan Whitehead was flagged for lowering the head to initiate contact on a hit to Saints receiver Emmanuel Sanders that was far less conclusive.

One notable Browns fan was unimpressed by the disparity.

NBC rules analyst and former official Terry McAulay explained the problems with the rule that has led to so much inconsistency.

Given the stakes involved, perhaps the league should develop some patience.

Watch: Did refs miss helmet-to-helmet penalty on Chiefs?

It sure looks like Daniel Sorensen of the Chiefs used the crown of his helmet on Rashard Higgins

The Cleveland Browns looked like they were going to score their first touchdown in the second quarter Sunday against the Kansas City Chiefs.

Then disaster struck.

Rashard Higgins was inches from the end zone when he fumbled and six points turned into a touchback and Kansas City ball.

However, CBS officials analyst Gene Steratore felt the officials blew it. They should have called Daniel Sorensen for a helmet-to-helmet hit and a penalty.

The crown of the helmet is clearly used in making the tackle on Higgins.

 

4 potential 2021 Free Agents the Lions should be watching during Sunday’s Divisional Playoff games

Identifying four potential 2021 Free Agents the Detroit Lions should be watching during Sunday’s Divisional Playoff games.

The Detroit Lions have hired Brad Holmes as their next general manager, and depending on how today’s games play out, their head coach situation — Dan Campbell is the favorite — could be decided on in the next few days.

As the Lions work towards establishing a new culture and staff, the NFL continues to roll on and Detroit’s scouting department needs to be working today, taking notes on the NFL playoffs.

Sunday’s Divisional Playoff games will feature the Cleveland Browns at Kansas City Chiefs (3:05 pm EST on CBS), followed by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at New Orleans Saints (6:40 EST on FOX).

Here are four potential 2021 Free Agents — one from each team — that the Lions should be watching during today’s games.

Browns: Rashard Higgins, WR (6-1, 198)

Higgins is coming off his best year as a pro, often stepping up for the Browns when given the opportunity. With Odell Beckham on injured reserve, Higgins has found himself in the starting lineup, but with Beckham, Jarvis Landry, and rookie Donovan Peoples-Jones under contract next year Higgins may be looking for opportunities elsewhere this offseason.

A deep threat that often finds ways to get open, Higgins (26 years old) is an intriguing option for the Lions. If they get Kenny Golladay under contract and plan on leaning on a rookie or Quintez Cephus — or both — for heavy contributions in 2021, Higgins would offer the Lions a veteran option at an affordable price.

Previously profiled for the Browns: Larry Ogunjobi, DT

Chiefs: Bashaud Breeland, CB (5-11, 195)

As discussed in yesterday’s free agent preview, the Lions could be in the market for a veteran third corner who can spot start on the outside behind Amani Oruwariye and Jeff Okudah, as Demond Trufant and Justin Coleman’s roster status is potentially in jeopardy due to their expensive contracts.

While Breeland would be a less expensive option there is a more inconsistent level of play and some off the field concerns that come with it — he was suspended four games this year after a substance abuse related arrest.

Bucs: Ndamukong Suh, DT (6-4, 313)

Okay, hear me out.

At 34 years old, Suh is not the dominator he once was, but he is still plenty impactful at a position the Lions need help upgrading. The price tag has come way down from his last stint in Detroit, and with ties to the city — he still owns businesses and property in Michigan — he could entertain returning to the team who drafted him.

Previously profiled for Bucs: Shaquil Barrett, EDGE

Saints: Sheldon Rankins, DT (6-2, 305)

The former 12th overall pick in the 2016 draft, Rankins’ career was ascending when a 2019 Achillies injury stole his momentum. While he is still presenting some lingering effects from the injury, he showed he still enough potential to pay attention to — especially in last week’s playoff game against Chicago.

Because of the Achilles injury, Rankins’ comes with some risks, but that will also likely drive his price tag down. Even with the reduced rate, the Saints won’t be in a position to afford him this offseason as they are very much up against the cap.

Previously profiled for the Saints: Marcus Williams, S

Browns LT Jedrick Wills cited for drag racing with WR Rashard Higgins

Both players are expected to plea not guilty

More information has come from the Westlake Police Department on the drag racing incident that involved Cleveland Browns wide receiver Rashard Higgins being cited for drag racing, and it’s not good for the Browns. It turns out the person Higgins was racing with was rookie left tackle Jedrick Wills.

Wills has also been cited for drag racing in the Tuesday morning incident. The teammates were racing on Crocker Road at undetermined speeds.

Higgins’ attorney, Kevin Spellacy, indicated his client will plead not guilty to the charge, via cleveland.com. A marijuana cigarette was also found by police, but there will be no citation for the joint.