What to expect with Odell Beckham, David Njoku, Rashard Higgins, Lavonte David, Marshon Lattimore, others in free agency: Browns Insider

CLEVELAND, Ohio – Now that JJ Watt has signed with the Arizona Cardinals, the Browns will look to retaining some of their own free agents and acquiring more veterans.

The league year begins March 17, with the early trading period for free agents starting March 15. As soon as the salary cap is determined, Browns general manager Andrew Berry will make offers to some of his own free agents, including wide receiver Rashard Higgins and cornerbacks Terrance Mitchell and Kevin Johnson.

He has also vowed to stay active in the trade market and will explore the deals by the November deadline. He acquired starting safety Ronnie Harrison in a trade with the Jaguars for a fifth-round pick in September, and he won’t stop there.

The deadline to apply the franchise or transition tag to a player is Tuesday, so the Browns will have a much better idea of ​​who will be available after that. Teams are also expected to cut a lot of players this week to get under the cap, which will give both teams and players a jump on free agency.

Here are a few things to know and expect as free agency approaches:

1. What happened with Watt?

The Browns were one of the teams that made an offer to Watt, but as I reported last week, it was no higher than the two-year maximum deal of $ 31 million with 23 million. of guaranteed dollars the Cardinals had given him. Watt really liked the Browns, but took more money to sign with the Cardinals. He also said he liked Kyler Murray and the weather in Arizona very much. The Browns likely offered Watt something of around $ 11 million which they paid Olivier Vernon last season, or would have ended up there had the talks continued. They will probably now use that money to pursue another advantage in this saturated market.

2. Von Miller, Carl Lawson, Haason Reddick, Trey Hendrickson and other top players on their radar

It’s a great year to need a free pass-rusher, and the Browns will likely end up with one of the best out there. The question is, which ones will actually be available? Some of the more intriguing are Von Miller from Denver, Carl Lawson from Cincinnati, Haason Reddick from Arizona, Trey Hendrickson from New Orleans, and Yannick Ngakoue from Baltimore. Once teams start offloading salaries and restructuring contracts next week, some of those players will be signing with their teams again. Lawson, for example, could be franchised by the Bengals for around $ 15.8 million.

Otherwise, the Browns will likely chase him. He is only 25 years old and ranked No. 9 among passers by profootballfocus.com last season with 64 pushes. The Broncos have said they would love to try and keep Miller, the eight-time Pro Bowler, but he would be a great option if they don’t. Reddick, 26, is consumable now that the Cardinals have Watt, and he has six league-top forced fumbles with his 12.5 sacks. Hendrickson finished second in the NFL with 13.5 sacks in his first year as a starter last season, and Yannick Ngakoeu, who the Browns attempted to trade for last season, had eight sacks combined in Minnesota and Baltimore.

Bud Dupree of Pittsburgh, who had eight sacks before tearing his ACL last season and 11.5 the year before, would not only strengthen the Browns but weaken the Steelers. It’s a veritable smuggling assortment, and the Browns will no doubt come out satisfied.

3. Odell Beckham Jr.

The Browns really love Beckham, but would have listened to offers this offseason because of his $ 15.75 million salary for 2021. The reality is that there probably won’t be much of a market because of his salary and the fact that the salary cap will drop to around $ 185 million this season from the estimated $ 210 million it would have been without COVID-19. Beckham is also coming out of a torn ACL, and trading for a player in the middle of rehab is risky. He appears to be way ahead of schedule and is expected to be 100% by 2021, but the injury will likely put the teams on hiatus.

The Browns appear to be moving forward with largely the same reception hall as last year, provided they are able to re-sign Rashard Higgins.

4. Rashard Higgins

Higgins seemed dismayed last week that he had yet to receive an offer from the Browns, but that was only because the salary cap had yet to be determined. Once that takes place, Higgins will receive an offer from the Browns, and he will also have the chance to see what he can get from other teams during the March 15-17 trading window. If a team is willing to pay him $ 6 million a year, his market value estimated by spotrac.com, he should probably take it and run. The Browns, with over $ 30 million of their cap locked in to Beckham and Landry, they probably won’t want to pay him that much.

But Baker Mayfield loves Higgins, and so do the coaches, so they’ll make an effort to keep him.

5. Breshard Perriman

If Higgins runs away, the Browns could have their old friend Perriman on their radar. He played for the Browns in 2018 and Berry was vice president of player personnel when they signed him. Perriman, who would provide the Browns with a much-needed deep threat, has a natural chemistry with Mayfield and has relaunched his career here after being cut twice in a week by the Ravens and Washington. A former Ravens first-round pick, Perriman played for the Jets in 2020 but languished over their horrific offense. Heres, he’s capable of at least six touchdowns per season.

6. David Njoku

Njoku’s $ 6.013 million fifth-year option becomes guaranteed on March 17, and it looks like the Browns are on full steam with their ambivalent tight end. The Browns always liked Njoku and never wanted to give it away. Berry was here in 2017 when they traded to draft him in the first round, and still seems to like him a lot. Njoku played well down the home stretch and in the AFC divisional game against the Chiefs, and the Browns think he has a good advantage in this tight heavy schedule.

If the Browns keep it, and it looks like they will, they won’t need tight end Kyle Rudolph, 31, who was released last week by the Vikings and would love to reunite with Kevin Stefanski.

7. Lavonte David

The Bucs will likely make a strong push to keep David, the leader of their linebacking corps. But if they can’t afford it, the Browns are likely to rush out and try to grab it. Its market value is $ 12.7 million per year according to spotrac.com, but it’s worth it. He is 31 years old, but has not yet lost a step. He’s the No.5 NFL linebacker according to pff.com, and No.6 on the cover. He’s exactly what the Browns need to build their linebacking body and the player they could have used against Kansas City.

If they can’t have it, they’ll look at others like Buffalo’s Matt Milano, who is just second, and Detroit’s Jarrad Davis.

8. Marshon Lattimore

If the Saints decide to deal with their triple Pro Bowl cornerback, the Browns will likely put him on their business radar as a possible partner to his former Buckeyes teammate and compatriot Denzel Ward. A Cleveland-centric corner room would make sense for many reasons, including the possibility of having two Pro Bowlers roaming the defensive field together.

The Browns are hoping Greedy Williams will get back 100% of the nerve injury in his shoulder, but they need to have a solid back-up plan, and Lattimore represents just that. If the Browns had him, Williams, Ward, Grant Delpit and Ronnie Harrison they would have a dynamite backfield and one of the best in the NFL. They would have to pay Ward and Lattimore somewhere in the neighborhood of $ 17 million a year for the next several years, but it might be worth it.

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