Why the Browns are Financially Broke Now till 2028

 

Your Cleveland Browns are forced to underspend the salary cap in 2025, 2026 and 2027 compared to their AFC North rivals because of Deshaun Watson's $167 million of cap charges oer the next three seasons, plus another $92 million in dead money over the same period, and probably much more if they cut or trade overpaid players to liberate cap space. So that's at least $259 million dollars over the next three seasons, and it is going to get worse before it gets better.  

It doesn't mean that the Browns are going to be terrible. The Denver Broncos were able to succeed in 2024 despite carrying $89 million in "dead cap" charges, mainly due to Russell Wilson's contract.  Nevertheless the Sashi Brown plan to spend our way to the Super Bowl is OVER.  

It's true that the Browns have some offsetting savings from past seasons, that money is more than cancelled out by $36 million dollar charge for Deshaun Watson and $68 million for former Browns stars including Amari Cooper, Zadarius Smith, Jed Wills, Dalvin Tomlinson, and several others.  

This season, we can guesstimate the actual amount they will spend on players not named Deshaun Watson by using the top 51 salaries pubished in OvertheCap.com and adding about 15 million dollars to cover the Practice Squad, injury replacements and late free agents. It's a bit of a shell game because teams can push money into the future by restructuring contracts to a certain extent. Nevertheless the total cap spent on players who are actually playing provides us a rough estimate of what the teams are actually investing in this season. That would say our Browns will come in at $216 million for money actually spent on players who actually play this season, while the Ravens will be at $249, the Bengals at $261 and Steelers $266. Thus, the Browns will spend about $30 million to $50 million less on their active players than their Division rivals this season, and it will get worse in 2026 and 2027.  

Those sportswriters who are writing stories about the Browns being able to afford trading first round draft picks and spending money on high priced contracts like Micah Parsons from the Cowboys are living in fantasyland. Quit reading that stuff!  Face it, the Browns ability to afford players who actually play is millions less than their AFC North rivals' this year, and it will probably get worse in 2026 and 2027. They simply need to recharge all the cash and draft picks that were blown on Deshaun, plus all the future-loaded contracts that are now coming due.  

The budget shortfall has been planned since 2022 when they signed Deshaun.  The idea was that they were going to overspend for as long as possible and try to win a Super Bowl and pay for it later. Well, they didn't win, and "later" has arrived.

Still, let's not give up hope.  A number of teams have won Super Bowls with the backup quarterback, including three in a row from 1999 to 2001: 1999 Rams with undrafted Kurt Warner, 2000 Ravens with Trent Dilfer, and the 2001 Patriots with second year man Tom Brady.  The most recent backup to bring home a Lombardi Trophy was Nick Foles and the 2017 Eagles.  

So, it's not good that the Browns are overspent for the next few years, but it's not impossible to win, either.  But can we at least stop overinvesting in quarterbacks? In addition to the well-publicized over-investiment in Deshaun, the Browns have burned through $22 milllion dollars in the Deshaun era and used five additional draft picks on quarterbacks in the past three years. This is preposterous! In 2026, with two first round picks (probably good ones, since the extra one is tied to Jacksonville), the temptation will be enormous to draft yet another quarterback, this time to replace Shedeur, if he does not win the Super Bowl as a rookie.   

I did not like the process that brought Shedeur to Cleveland, but here he is. He is the quarterback of the future, and no one else.  So stop wasting additional draft picks! 

A

$22,584,000

Za'Darius Smith

$14,233,000

Jedrick Wills

$11,812,057

Dalvin Tomlinson

$7,042,000

the money that they are spending on players not with the team, plus 

S

The Best Thing About Shedeur's Start With the Browns

He seems to be the same dude that he was in his Jackson State days, despite his automatic fame and being a rich kid.  

Shedeur's first game in the preseason was an unqualified success, the most impressive showing for a rookie since, um, Deshone Kizer in 2017.  Let's not go crazy about a few touchdown passes.

But what is the best thing about Shedeur's preseason?  

He has defused a potentially explosive political situation by recognizing what went wrong during the draft.  Namely, the threat of interference from his famous famous father, Coach Prime, who is a helluva football coach, is the reason he slid in the draft, NOT a perceived lack of ability. 

There was a real fear that an impetuous owner--like JH3--might want Coach Prime to be the next head coach of the Cleveland Browns to coach his famous son.  Who else would know how to get the most out of his son? But Shedeur gently defused the potential controversy by asking his famous father to stay away from Browns camp altogether.  Instead, Coach Prime visited the Tampa Bay Buccaneers camp to see his other son, Shilo Sanders as he attempts to make the team.  Accordingly, Coach Prime was in camp on Day One to visit his less famous son.

Truthfully, the entire draft process was screwed up this off-season, with the Browns once again way over-investing in quarterbacks.  They gave up on Dorian Thompson Robinson and bundled him with a fifth round pick for Kenny Pickett with one year left on his deal; used two picks on Shedeur and a third round pick on too-short-and-too-slow Dillon Gabriel in a move that made no sense to anyone.  Many observers believe that Jimmy Haslam wanted Shedeur. Like Jerry Jones, Haslam loves controversy and notoriety.  The whole process was flawed--but that does not mean that Shedeur might not be a very good quarterback.  

The best thing is that Shedeur, to the extent that he is able, is trying to make it on his own and avoid the politics of the coaching situation.  

 

Browns 2018 Free Agent Fantasies: Reality Check

    Estimates are all over the place for what the Browns will likely do in Free Agency.  Yes, their total cap space is $108 Million dollars, but no they are not going to spend nearly that much.   The carryover (unspent money from previous years) is not likely to be be all blown in one year, plus don't forget to leave some money for all those 2018 draft choices.  Hence here is the Village Elliot's attempt to determine what is realistic. 

     In 2018, the Browns are in very good shape, but not to the tune of $108 million dollars as suggested in some articles.  NFL Salary cap space is compiled in overthecap.com.  Let's break it down as follows:   The Browns have $128 Million committed in salaries for 2018 (which includes $10 million "dead money" to players no longer on the team).  That's a very low number.   The estimated salary cap for 2018 is $178 million.  There's another $58 Million in unspent money from previous years ("carryover dollars").  So the "total cap" is $178 +$58 M -$128 M = $108 M.    That's where the $108 Million in salary cap comes from, but that assumes zero rookies signed, zero departing veterans to replace, and assuming you blow all the carryover money in one year.  None of those things are realistic. 

Carryover money is just like a savings account in case of an emergency.  Likely it will not be used at all in 2018, so poof!  there goes $58 Million.  The Browns also will have a much larger than usual bill for rookies, as they have to be paid after you draft them.  In 2018, that will be about $28 Million.  Plus, we have to either re-sign Isaiah Crowell or provide money to replace him. 
   That may run $18 Million for 13 players, or in other words about $12 Million above the league minimum for those roster spots.  This number also comes from overthecap.com.   

       My guess is the Browns let will their carryover dollars ride and spend up to the current limit or $178 Million total expenditures (including $6 Million to players not with the team). Also, the Browns have two free agents in Isaiah Crowell and backup Marcus Martin.  So let's allow $5 Million to either re-sign Crowell or come up with a replacement.  So,  compared to last year, the difference in player salaries is $178-$12-$128- $5 = $29 million dollars, give or take, above 2017.  Conclusion:  That's a lot of money, enough for three or four significant starters.  So $108 Million is the absolute limit if they sign no draftees, give zero pay raises and blow all their saved-up carryover money in one year (totally unrealistic) whereas $33 million is where I put the over-under for what they will actually add.   That's still a lot of money, enough to add two or three very significant players.  This is not going to be like previous years in which they had tons of cap space to raise fans expectations, but in which they deliberately underspent the cap and also let star players leave without being replaced.  No, in 2018 they really are going to add signficant players.  I promise.    

        In addition there are currently five draft picks in Round 1 and 2 and a total of 13.   These high picks should usually start or at least contribute significantly.   So, when all is said and done, they have one guy who might leave in Free Agency (Crowell) but they can replace him with about 8 very good players.   It sounds crazy, but I believe they will have enough firepower to contend next year if they get their act together.  

Browns Get Beat Up by St Louis, 33-14

      The Browns disappointed the home crowd, losing to the Rams 33 to 14.  They were totally outclassed by the up-and-coming Rams on both sides of the ball. The Rams defense pushed the Browns around on the line of scrimmage and did whatever they pleased on offense.  

     Brian Hoyer had a touchdown, an interception and a fumble.   He was not very good, but significantly improved over his antichrist-like performances of the first two exhibition games.  Johnny Manziel likewise was much better in this game than the previous two,  rushing for another score.  

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Brian Hoyer was much better than in the first two games, but still underachieved.  

     The running game was pathetically weak, gaining a grand total of 32 yards for the game. That is awful.   Nobody looked good, and the offensive line forgot how to block.  In particular I was disappointed  by hotshot rookie Terrance West.  Instead of the one-cut style that the Shanahan offense is famous for, West likes to tiptoe up to the line, and then start shifting left and right, almost like he is waiting for someone to tackle him. That style doesn't seem to work.  Can Shanahan get him fixed in time for the September 7 opener?    Likewise Tate was terrible, as the entire team averaged 2.1 yards per carry.  Can we have Willis McGahee back?  He at least rushed for 2.7 yards per carry last year.   The presence of a fullback plus blocking tight end Jim Dray was supposed to help the running game, but it was not evidenced today.   If there is a positive note, it would be the play of rookie Joel Bitonio, who continues to be rock solid at left guard.  Hint:  let's run left this year.  

    The Browns defense was equally terrible, being unable to stop the Rams on third down, and giving up nearly 500 yards of total offense, even though star QB Sam Bradford had to leave with a knee injury early on.  

   Although the Browns were terrible on both sides of the ball, the Rams are one of the top teams in the league, and they may make a lot of teams look terrible.  The Rams did not draft Robert Griffin III in 2012, and instead traded for several draft picks, who are now on the team (hello lineman Greg Robinson, 2nd overall pick this year).  Also, a partial explanation for the Browns' miserable performance was a rash of injuries in the secondary.  The Browns were without cornerbacks Joe Haden, Buster Skrine, Marcus Trufant and Pierre Desir. That's four of their five top cornerbacks.  Leon McFadden, probably the sixth best qb on the team, was torched pretty well by St Louis. I'm not sure if he will make the final team.  If the Browns have fewer than four guys out of the lineup, the secondary may be a LOT better.

   Christian Kirksey had a good game at inside linebacker, and made a fantastic pick.  He does not look like a rookie.  Pass coverage was a problem area for the Browns linebacker corps last year, and Kirksey goes a long way to fixing that problem.  I think he will start and be an impact player.  

    I noted that Ray Agnew started at fullback. The running game did not exactly hum when he was in, but on the other hand MarQueis Gray contributed a costly and unnecessary holding penalty.  Gray has made some big plays so far, but also some bad plays.  But what the Browns really need is a guy who can block for the halfback.  

    In short, this was a terrible game, and the Browns looked uninspired on both sides of the ball.  They still have time to turn it around, but they need to get it together soon.  

Takeaways from Lions 13 Browns 12

     Some random impressions from the Cleveland Browns first exhibition game:

      Some guys that I thought played well were LG Joel Bitonio, who seemed very tough for Detroit defensive linemen to move, ILB Craig Robertson, who defended the screen very well, Marcus Trufant who got into some man-to-man coverage in place of Joe Haden, Barkevious Mingo, who put on a decent pash rush showing that he might be a viable starter, WR Charles Johnson who had a nice catch and showed no lingering effects from knee surgery,  and Brandon Tate who had several strong runs.  Rookie Tyler Gabriel caught three balls for 32 yards, which might not sound like much, but he was actually the leading wide receiver for the Browns.  Overall Browns wideouts were dismal.  

It was great to see the Browns rediscover halfback over right tackle, thanks to Ben Tate. The Browns were not able to do that last year with Willis McGahee as the feature back. Now, however, they have Tate as well as Terrance West, Chris Ogbonnaya, Isaiah Crowell and Dion Lewis.  Somewhere, somehow you have to think they are going to run the ball this season, and run it a lot.  

It will be interesting to say how Marqueis Gray plays out at fullback.  Last year he played quarterback in the Wildcat for the Browns, but that position has been eliminated.  With Ken Dray joining Jordan Cameron and Gary Barnidge in the tight end corps, it makes sense to try Gray exclusively at fullback.  He was actually the leading receiver for the Browns yesterday with two catches for 51 yards, but also had a dropped pass. If he can prove he can catch the ball, he might find a home at fullback.  If not, free agent Ray Agnew might take his place, or else they might use undersized Chris Ogbonnaya in that role again.  

http://www.dawgsbynature.com/2014/8/10/5988321/browns-vs-lions-analyzing-the-snap-counts-offense

Charles Johnson gives a faint glimmer of hope at Wide Receiver. 

http://imgick.cleveland.com/home/cleve-media/pgmain/img/plain-dealer/photo/2014/08/09/-107a6be936a51e68.jpg 

Ben Tate looks like he will be a force in a run-first offense in 2014.  

Brian Hoyer did not look good, overthrowing a few passes and rushing some of his throws.  I can already hear ESPN analyst Ron Jaworski complaining about Hoyer's mechanics and explaining what happens when you throw off the wrong foot.  Well 6 for 14 is what happens.  He is lucky not to have thrown a few picks.  

Of course, Hoyer had help from his teammates, with drops by Marqueis Gray, WR Willie Snead who waved at a few balls, and WR Miles Austin.  The passing game just doesn't look good right now. 

Exhibition football is made for quarterbacks to succeed.  Defenses don't gameplan much and play a lot of man-to-man without much stunting up front.  Hence fans should not get too excited if their quarterback put up great numbers...but on the other hand if the qb flops in exhibition season, it is not going to get any easier when the regular season starts.  For that reason, I thought that Hoyer took a step back, and Johnny Manziel would be the odds on favorite to start if Hoyer struggles again next week.  In other words, Johnny isn't really winning the comparison at this point; but Brian may be losing it.  

http://www.dawgsbynature.com/2014/8/10/5988321/browns-vs-lions-analyzing-the-snap-counts-offense

Johnny Manziel was good, not spectacular. But that was better than Brian Hoyer.  

The Browns did not play RB Isaiah Crowell or qb Connor Shaw yesterday.  It may be that the Browns don't want to let the other scouts see these guys, hoping that they can sign them to their practice squad.  On the other hand, with Tyler Thigpen turning in a lackluster performance, Shaw might be viable now as the third string guy.   

Dion Lewis may be in trouble as he put the ball on the ground.  He looked great in exhibitions in 2013 before injuring his knee. He can run and return kicks, but whether or not he can catch the ball and block remains to be seen.   For that reason Crowell might have a shot at the 53 man roster, especially if the Browns feel that they have other options for returning kicks behind Travis Benjamin.

Edwin Baker was perhaps more impressive than Lewis, getting some tough yards in limited duty.  He performed well in some late season starts last year.  I think he is a better running back than Lewis, but Lewis might be a good role player and is a good kick returner. It's tough to guess which guy has the edge, although the fumble by Lewis does not help him.  

What in the World are the Browns Doing??

Nine undrafted rookies on the roster...Trent Richardson gone, third stringer Brian Hoyer quarterbacking the team....is this any way to run a football team?

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By now, I don't think there is any other way to understand it.  The Browns have thrown in the towel on the 2013 season, and are in survival mode, trying to save as much money as possible for the future. 

  They started out with a plan to aggressively rebuild the team through free agency, signing premier free agents in linebacker Paul Kruger and defensive lineman Desmond Bryant.  But last April 15, the FBI raided the headquarters of Jimmy Haslam's main company, Pilot Flying J.  
    
My opinion is that by about late May the Browns' rebuilding project was put on hold for a year.   The Browns quit signing top tier free agents and in fact they started shedding payroll.  They started getting rid of highly paid but viable backups like running back Brandon Jackson and tight end Kellen Davis, replacing them with undrafted rookies.  

By now, the team is an astounding 26 million dollars under the salary cap.  This is the equivalent of two or three Pro Bowlers, or  if you prefer, about six starting-calibre NFL players.  

I think the Browns need to save money in order to cover the cash flow situation within the Haslam empire.   Pilot Flying J is probably going through a down year because of being over-extended (having bought out rival Flying J for a billion dollars only two years ago), not to mention the Browns.  As mentioned other times in The Village Elliot's Cleveland Browns blog, it is a reasonable guess that Pilot Flying J may be losing some customers after this recent fiasco, and moreover must be prepared to pay back something on the order of a hundred million dollars for illegally withheld discounts and fines.   I doubt if the banks are particularly thrilled about lending money to a company whose CEO is under the threat of a federal indictment.  

Getting rid of Trent Richardson made a big impact not only this year but in future years.  In addition, the deal makes the Browns an odds-on favorite to be in a very favorable position for the 2014 draft. The goal of management may be to draft a premier quarterback, which would make the team more attractive to prospective buyers.  The 2012 trade of four draft picks to move up one position to get Richardson now looks completely foolish if he is worth only a number one pick in 2014 (likely to be about the 25th overall if the Colts make the playoffs, versus number 3 overall for TRich).  This follows the tradition of packaging three picks for injured backup running back Montario Hardesty, plus a number one and a number two for Brady Quinn.  The Browns always approach the offseason as if they are loaded with talent and need only one or two key players to win the Super Bowl, but they always wind up with the thinnest roster in the NFL, and are usually in last place in their division.  


http://img.bleacherreport.net/img/images/photos/002/507/831/ScreenShot2013-09-19at9.47.59AM_crop_north.jpg?w=650&h=440&q=75

Currently, the Browns lead the NFL in salary cap room and it isn't even close.  They also lead the league with nine undrafted free agent rookies on the roster.  This is a young and untalented roster, and IT IS THE CHEAPEST TEAM IN THE NFL. This is not opinion, it's a fact, as measure by their being 26 million under the salary cap.

Meanwhile, the stalwart Haslam team is trying to get another 100 million dollars from the City of Cleveland in stadium improvements, and if they don't get it they may try to void their stadium lease, which would free them to move to another city.  Los Angeles is likely the first choice, but if the Jacksonville Jaguars (say) get there first, then no doubt the city will put a group of investors together to pry another team away from some other city.  My guess is that Haslam will be willing to listen.  

After all, Jimmy Haslam is  a Knoxville-based Steelers fan, a former minority owner of the Steelers.  He was approved by the NFL as the Browns new owner after he falsely promised that he would move to Cleveland to become a full-time NFL owner.  Thus far, Cleveland fans seem willing to overlook this, believing that Haslam has unswerving loyalty to Cleveland for some unknown reason.  Good luck with that, guys.  

     I predict that the Browns will continue their un-building program, and that Brandon Weeden or Jason Campbell could be offered in exchange for a low round draft pick.  This situation will continue until either Haslam is exonerated from the Pilot Flying J scandal, or else the Browns are sold.  I just hope that they can stay in Cleveland another year or two.   


http://www.knoxnews.com/photos/2011/feb/05/110898/
A former minority owner of the Steelers, Jimmy Haslam never did follow through on his promise to move to Cleveland to take over the Browns full time.  Instead his office is empty in Cleveland, but most Browns fans choose to believe he has their best interests at heart.     

Browns Beat Up Lions, 24-6, But Get Beaten Up Too

  Yeah, I'm an old guy, but I love it when the Browns and Lions play even if it is an exhibition game.  In the 1950s and 1960s the Browns and Lions were great rivals, so it was good to play some old friends.

   The good news is that the Browns completely dominated the Lions when the first strings were both there.   Much criticism has been thrown at Browns qb Brandon Weeden, but the fact of the matter is that he played well last year and looks a little better this year.  His receivers are significantly better.   I think they are going to get some yards through the air this year. On this day, he had an unbelievable throw to Josh Gordon, and was on the money to tight end Jordan Cameron twice for touchdowns.   Frankly the Browns looked great through the air and although they don't have All-Pros in the passing game, they don't have a real weakness there either.  For that matter, backup Jason Campbell has done nothing wrong this year either.

    On the ground, Trent Richardson was just fine, but the Browns looked a little lost in short yardage.  They got one decent block from Chris Ogbonnaya at fullback, but otherwise fullback was silent today (one thing I hate about tv coverage of football is they don't give you the opportunity to see what formation the offense is in.  I don't know how many plays used a fullback.  But I do know they didn't do well in short yardage.

Trent Richardson looked unstoppable, but Coach Chud wisely took him out early.  

Halfback Dion Lewis did well catching balls out of the backfield, and made a few yards on the ground, but was injured in the second half, breaking his leg.  He'll be out indefinitely, which is too bad because it looked like he was headed to number two on the depth chart behind Richardson.

Dion Lewis was also explosive, but injured his ankle.  

On defense, the front seven generally bullied the Lions.  Matthew Stafford & Co. were under pressure and had balls batted down and a few were nearly intercepted by the Browns big line and linebackers. The secondary was good but great, and note that the Lions were not playing their big threat in Calvin Johnson.    

The Browns gang tackled and dominated the line of scrimmage.  

The main issue is that a lot of guys got banged up today.  In addition to Lewis' injury, they had injuries to TE Gary Barnidge, LB Barkevious Mingo (bruised lung), and G Shawn Lauvao.  Hopefully they will be back soon as all of these player were doing well.  

Dude, where's my fullback?

All-Pro Fullback Vonta Leach has re-signed with the Baltimore Ravens, as the Cleveland Browns decided to stand pat with their "stud," Owen Marecic.  Is Marecic really so good that the Browns can afford to turn up their nose at all All-Pro at this position?

   In football, it really matters how good your 11th best man is.  The fans tend to look at their stars and blame them when things go bad, but football really is a team game, and if you have a weakness, the other team will exploit it.  This year, great attention was focused on Cleveland Browns quarterback Brandon Weeden.  They did added receiving talent, with the likes of Davone Bess and slot receiver David Nelson.  Plus they have promising second year player Travis Benjamin and  former starter Jordan Norwood is returning from an injured ACL.   These fellows will complement drug enthusiast Josh Gordon (assuming he gives up his addiction to cough syrup) and drop specialist Greg Little, who averages an astonishing 40 receiving yards per game for his career (which of course is sufficient to cement his reputation in Cleveland as an emerging star).    But all in all they should have competent players to fill three and perhaps even four wide receiver sets.  

At tight end, the Browns figured they were so loaded with talent that they needed to clear salary cap space by getting rid of Ben Watson, who had only 500 receiving yards from tight end, plus backup Alex Smith who also played fullback last year.   Instead, they are banking on the incredible Jordan Cameron to take over the position, but initial training camp reports are not positive, as Browns safeties are pretty much having their way with him.  Well, perhaps that says more about the quality of the Browns' safeties, but I doubt it.  The Browns did trade for a backup tight end in Gary Barnidge, and a good blocking tight end in Kellen Davis.  Davis really struggled to catch the ball in Chicago, though, so in order to make the team he is going to have block for Trent Richardson and the Browns running game.    

     Ok, back to the fullback position.  The guy who is going to help propel Richardson to the 1500 yard mark is....Owen Marecic??  How can the team pass up a chance to sign a PRO BOWLER at fullback (yes I understand the Browns prefer younger players at this point, but do you really want Marecic over a PRO BOWLER just because he is younger?  And especially since they are way, way under the salary cap??).  To be fair, Owen has the reputation of being a hard worker and was very good in college (Stanford), but with the Browns he has struggled with blocking, receiving and running to the point where they were using backup tight end Alex Smith in the fullback position last year.  Now Smith is gone, as well as the aforementioned Watson, and thus Marecic has once again landed on top of the depth chart.  

Owen Marecic needs to work on blocking, running and receiving.  Everything else seems to be going great, though.

     Now, perhaps this is paranoid of me, but do you suppose there is a connection between the Browns recent behavior and the financial problems at Pilot Flying J?  This year the Browns cleared quite a bit of salary cap room by getting rid of Pro Bowlers Josh Cribbs and Phil Dawson, while also axing Ben Watson, Sheldon Brown, Usama Young, Frostee Rucker, Juqua Parker, Kaluka Maiva, Chris Gokong and Mohamad "Gluefingers" Massaquoi.  Granted some of these players deserved to be cut, but the point is that the Browns were way under the salary cap, but they only signed a few high priced replacements (linebacker Paul Kruger and DL Des Bryant), and much of the roster is still depleted.  How can the Browns cut all of those players and not replace them?  They cut nine guys that were first string at some point, and they signed about three that will start in 2013.  
     Once again, as they have done every year since 1999, they have approached the offseason as if they are a team loaded with talent, and the main task is to get rid of players they find fault with, rather than accumulate them. 

     I think that their operating capital is short, and this may partially explain why they stopped rebuilding.  Financial woes have hit Pilot Flying J and its CEO Jimmy ("it's under control") Haslam, who also owns the Browns.  With the company having to pay back millions in fraudulently withheld rebates and no doubt losing market share in the process, suddenly there is a cash squeeze, especially after they just shelled out a billion to buy out rival Flying J, and another billion to buy the Browns.  If they are short of cash, the banks will not lend them money with a federal indictment hanging over them.  I'll bet the Browns are slow to pay their bills, and they are just not in the position to offer a player like Vonta Leach a decent contract.  That's it, Browns fans.  No shopping spree for players this year after all.  Uncle Jimmy still has a lot of assets on paper, but right now he needs cash.  

    No Pro Bowl fullback, no top drawer tight end, no star cornerback and no starting safety this year, even though there is plenty of cap room to have picked up these players and more.  That's just the cruel reality.  

    Looks like we may have to wait until the next ownership group comes to town.  

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 .   .

Jimmy Haslam's Problems May Become Cleveland's Problems

       Some time back, I wrote a blog which was sharply critical of Browns owner Jimmy Haslam for reneging on his promise to move to Cleveland to be the owner of the Cleveland Browns.  After all, the NFL values local ownership, so for that reason almost all owners actually live in the towns in which the teams play. 

       Except for the Browns.  Haslam told everyone he was retiring from being the CEO of Flying J so that he could move to Cleveland and enjoy being the owner of the Browns.  John Compton was hired to be the new CEO.  However, a few months into his new job, he decided to "unretire" and re-assumed the duties of CEO at Flying J, and that he would continue to live in Knoxville Tennessee. 

     John Compton graciously stepped down and allowed Haslam to re-assume the title of CEO.  The obvious conclusion is that this is what they planned all along.  The move to Bratenahl was just a fiction.  


 So that is how we got an owner who is a  Steelers fan living in Tennessee.

   I further took the next step and note that the Browns will certainly be targeted by the Los Angeles politicians, who have been promised an NFL team in the next few years.  Los Angeles offers some "lucky" owner the chance to make a billion dollars by doubling the franchise value. In the meantime, the Browns have Alec Scheiner as their president.  Scheiner may be the top expert in the world at mega-stadium design, having been Jerry Jones' guy for the magnificent new stadium in Arlington.  Why, exactly, do the Browns need a mega-stadium builder as their President?  Do you think Cleveland's population is going to triple in the next ten years?  Or would Scheiner be the best guy in the world to oversee stadium construction in Los Angeles?

       Many in Browns Nation believe that this is impossible because the City of Cleveland has a very strong lease with the team, which requires the team to not only pay rent but play its games in Cleveland stadium.  This view is completely naive, however.  Lawyers will certainly figure something out if the team defaults on its lease.  My guess is that the NFL will have to promise to relocate ANOTHER team in Cleveland by 2020, and the taxpayers will have to pay for a domed stadium.  

    Browns Nation also tends to believe that the team that moves to LA will be the team with the weakest fan base.  That is ridiculous.  Is that the reason why the old Browns moved to Baltimore?  Did Al Davis move the Raiders to LA and then back to Oakland because of a weak fan base?    
 
    Make no mistake.  Some team will be moved.  It's not a question of "if" but rather which team will go.   The team that moves will be the one with an owner that wants to make a billion dollars, by moving into the number two media market in the US.    

     In fact, it's happened before.   In 1945, the NFL Champion Cleveland Rams became dissatisfied with their stadium lease (being upstaged by the hotshot coach Paul Brown and the upstart Cleveland Browns  in the new  All America Conference), so the team packed up and moved to Los Angeles, to become the Los Angeles Rams.  Later the LA Rams would move to St Louis showing that history does repeat itself.
 
   If you want to look at baseball, the Brooklyn Dodgers were also world champions when they moved to Los Angeles (accompanied by the New York Giants who moved to San Francisco). 

      Hence, I think there are very few teams that are not being courted by the City of Los Angeles.  Probably teams like the Dallas Cowboys and New York Giants are so valuable that they would not gain value by moving.  But probably two-thirds of the NFL is susceptible to the sales pitch, which probably goes something like this:  "You have a stadium deal?  We have a better one.  We have more fans, and more rich fans.  We have a better TV market, better radio market, better internet, better everything.  We have more fans who will buy more team jerseys, more souvenirs, more everything.  Mr. Owner, we will increase the value of your investment by a billion dollars!!

     Now, one of the defenses against that is local ownership.  So for that reason, it was comforting to know that the Haslam family had bought a mansion in Bratentahl. His family is rightfully known for tremendous community service, and the community looked forward to embracing them.  But now, a few months after the sale of the team was approved,  it is clear that Mr. Haslam will be a non-resident owner.  

Mr. Haslam, has promised to keep the team in Cleveland.  But he has no ties to the City of Cleveland, and is in fact a former minority owner of the Steelers, calling himself a 
"1000% Steelers fan."  How secure does that make you feel?

No, this is just a very bad situation.  We have a smiling, gregarious owner now, instead of the quiet Lerner family.  Browns fans seem to love the guy and completely trust him to look after the bests interests of Cleveland fans.   But the fact is that we were deceived into believing that he was going to become a Clevelander, and now there are further challenges to his reputation because of the Flying J scandal involving fraudulent rebates.     

    

    

 

  

   

How Badly do the Browns REALLY Need Receivers?

 For years, the Cleveland Browns have been short on wide receivers. Somehow they have managed to whiff on wide receivers such as Brian Robiskie, Mohamad Massaquoi, despite their allegedly great potential.  Anyone remember Syndric Steptoe, Carlton Mitchell or Paul Hubbard?  I didn't think so. 

In addition, the Browns lost Josh Cribbs to free agency.  Cribbs' best year as a receiver was 2011 when he caught 41 balls for 518 yards.  On the Browns never like to play Cribbs as a receiver, perhaps because they wanted to keep him fresh for special teams duty, where he was All-Pro.  When they did use him, they tended to send him on sideline patterns, even though his physical attributes are better suited for the slot.  In addition, Ben Watson accounted for 500 receiving yards last year, and he was let go. For that reason, many of us expected that the Browns would heavily pursue a big name wide receiver, but this did not happen.  Was this a ghastly mistake?  Perhaps not.  If you really look at the Browns roster, and forgetting about "jinxes" and evil magic, they may not be as thin as you might have thought. 


This year, they really do have at least one guy with great potential in Josh Gordon, who came on at the end of the year and hauled in 50 passes for 805 yards.  If he can continue to deal with his off the field issues (namely, an affinity for smoking pot) that got him suspended from the NCAA two years ago, the Browns may have a number one wide receiver.  

Josh Gordon blew past a few defensive backs last year.  Photo credit:  Matt Sullivan, Getty Images, http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1373801-josh-gordon-updated-fantasy-outlook-analysis-for-browns-wr

On the other side, most depth charts list the inimitable Greg Little as first string.  Little had something like the 68th highest receiving yards in the NFL in 2012.  His yardage total was actually a little lower in 2012 than in 2011, and for his career he is averaging about 40 yards per game.  He improved a little as the season went on, but was among league leaders in dropped passes in 2011 and didn't do much better in 2012.  He also specializes in unsportsmanlike conduct penalties for excessive celebrations, which is hard to believe considering how little cause he has to celebrate.  
     In the NFL, it is rare for a player to become a consistent 1000 yard receiver if he has not established himself by his third year.  Thus, although many fans think Little is an emerging star, the Village Elliot  thinks that time might be running out, and if he does not break through this year, he may be on his way out. 

    The Browns may have two other alternative candidates for the job.  Jordan Norwood was actually among the best Browns receivers early last year, but went out with an ACL tear.  He had been adjusting well to life as a slot receiver.  If he is back physically, he could be a starter and could be a competent short to intermediate range receiver.  

Jordan Norwood had some good games early last year before getting hurt.  

http://www.cleveland.com/browns/index.ssf/2011/08/why_wouldnt_the_cleveland_brow.html



In addition, Travis Benjamin, an undersized kid with blazing speed, started to make a few big catches last year.  He is expected to replace Josh Cribbs as the return specialist but may see extensive action as a receiver also.  The Browns used Benjamin as a split end most of the time, but he can also play the slot, and many of us fans felt he was perhaps best suited for the slot because of his elusiveness and potential for yards after the catch.  Finally, Josh Cooper was signed as a rookie free agent  last year, and will probably back up the slot position.  

   Thus, one could imagine the Browns starting the season with Cooper as one wideout.   Greg Little is probably the consensus favorite to start alongside Cooper, but the Village Elliot thinks that he may have to fight for playing time. A platoon of Jordan Norwood and Travis Benjamin may be a better answer if Little doesn't appear headed for a breakout year.  Perhaps Cooper, Norwood and Benjamin might appear together  when they play 3 wide receiver sets.    If the Browns add another quality receiver either via free agency or the draft, that would help the depth issue, but it may not be possible to add a 1000 yard guy at this point.  
    Moreover, the Browns may play a fullback and one or even two tight ends frequently in 2013, as they seek to establish a run-first offense featuring Trent Richardson.   If so, it may be more important to get help at the fullback position, not to mention offensive guard, both of which were weaknesses in 2012.  The Browns have a tight end with pass catching skill in Jordan Cameron, and they signed two free agents with a reputation for being good blockers in Kellen Davis, as well and Gary Barnidge.  Thus operating out of a two tight end set is a realistic possibility.  This would not necessarily make the football world forget Gronkowski and Hernandez, but halfback over right tackle might gain a few yards. 
    
    So perhaps the Kiddie Korps receivers are good enough to for the Browns to win with, even if they don't add a stud receiver in the NFL draft.  Or at least there may be other needs that are more pressing than wide receiver.  Currently, the greatest need may be at fullback, where Owen Marecic is the current incumbent, despite lack of enthusiasm about  his blocking.  Also, the Browns will probably try to bring in some competition on the offensive line, particularly for offensive guards Jason Pinkston and Shaun Lauvao.  And the defensive backfield is still trying to recruit a cornerback or two.  

Where are the Browns blockers on this play?  So badly beaten, they are not even in the picture.  It might be that the Browns will seek to fix this first, rather than going after a big name wide receiver.    Photo credit: 

http://www.zimbio.com/pictures/scWTRTP3LoV/Cleveland+Browns+v+Detroit+Lions/ypG-nUFCWjq/Brandon+Weeden

    The bottom line is that while the Browns could use some help in the receiving corps, it may be in better shape than one might think.  Travis Benjamin and Justin Norwood lead the candidates to start alongside Josh Cooper.  It may not be Gary Collins and Paul Warfield, but they should be able to line up with guys who at least belong in the NFL, which has not the case in recent years. 

Cleveland Browns Defensive Off-Season Needs

    For the past two years the Browns have used a traditional 4-3-4 defense under the Holmgren regime, with Dick Jauron as Defensive Coordinator.   Everyone thought that it was going to be a difficult transition from Rob Ryan’s 3-4, but in 2011 that proved not to be the case.   The Browns has an amazingly good defense in 2011, despite a weak offense that usually gave Browns opponents good field position.  But in 2012, they slid back, partly because of injuries at key positions and a pathetically bad draft, especially from a defensive point of view.  After accumulating 14 draft picks for 2012,  the Browns were unable to add a major contributor on defense.  On offense, the Browns rookie of the year might have been Trent Richardson, Brandon Weeden, Josh Gordon or Mitchell Schwartz.  But on defense, there is nobody at all.  Billy Winn might have been the best the Browns could do, as a part time defensive lineman. 

      This year,  Jauron is gone,  and now it is Ray Horton's turn to design a defense, going back to the 3-4-4 The likely outcome is that the Browns will go back to the 3-4-4 base defense. 

"3-4 or 4-3?  Who cares?  We know how the game is played."

    The defensive line is not so bad.  Ahtyba Rubin played nose tackle in the Mangini Regime  and Phil Taylor was  a nose tackle in college.  Taylor especially is very fast for a big man and can get after the passer.  It may be that the Browns will find a way to get both Rubin and Taylor on the field at the same time, and  Jabal Sheard and Frostee Rucker are capable defensive ends in addition to Wynn.  They might pick up a defensive end in the draft if there’s one available, but if the worst case is that they line up a 320 pounder at defensive end, is that really a weakness?




"Hey man, I CAN rush the passer, ok?"

The Browns lost  linebackers Chris Gocong and Scott Fujita to injury last year.  Plus they had to start the season without Joe Haden due to a suspension.   Nobody is sure if Gocong is going to be healthy or not, and Fujita may retire.  With Jackson as the only true talent in the linebacker corps, the Browns may have to add two or even three linebackers this off season.  

   

                                 Squish!

In the defensive backfield, the Browns have only two quality defensive backs:  Joe Haden at corner and T. J. Ward at safety.  Buster Skrine is the number two corner, and got picked on last year.   Sheldon Brown is a very tough player, but will not be back.  I think Sheldon may have lost a step, which is why the Browns have not made a serious effort to re-sign him.    Hence the Browns will need another corner and a safety.  Young fast corners are tough to find, and some of the mock drafts have the Browns selecting Demarcus Milliner with their number 6 overall pick (here’s hoping that they do, instead of picking another quarterback). 

 

A lot of my friends think the Browns have great young talent, making great progress, blah, blah, blah.  But as I see it the Browns are woefully short on both sides of the ball.  They will need to add four players on defense and another four on offense (TE, RG, LG, WR).  On the other hand, they have the salary cap space to add several players.  We’ll see how good Mike Lombardi is at judging talent and negotiating favorable contracts.