I'm as befuddled as you are by what the Browns have and haven't done in free agency. It seems downright idiotic.
The problem is, these guys are not idiots. They might be screwing up massively, but if they are, it's not because they're stupid. They have reasons for what they're doing.
I've tried to figure that out.
Read this slowly, three times: I am not defending or endorsing anything. I am not making any predictions. Do not be confused because I said they weren't idiots. It is possible to be smart and still screw up DO YOU UNDERSTAND?
1: Alex Mack: HYPE aside, Alex Mack making the Pro Bowl was political. He was not an elite center in 2016.
He was better before his broken leg than he was after that injury. The injury had less to do with that than his age and DeFelipo's changes in the blocking scheme, but those who describe an awesome year are delusional or work for him.
He is thirty. He is better in zone than in man. He should indeed remain a top five center for at least a couple more years.
He accepted 9.5 mil/year to leave the Browns. That's (I estimate) a little over 7% of the Browns payroll.
For contrast, a franchise quarterback might greedily extort 16% of a team's salary. A left tackle might get 8.5%, and a top five right tackle 7%.
The best center in the NFL, if he is 27 or 28 years old, might rate almost as much as a Pro Bowl right tackle. Read this carefully: Alex Mack is no longer that guy. And he won't get better. He will decline. That is reality.
Sashi and company seem to have mapped things out, and determined not to compromise one iota.
They might be wrong, but for Alex Mack, it might well have been: Sixth best at position. Thirty and on downside. Better in Shanahan's scheme than Jackson's. Worth 6.5% of cap and no more.
2: Mitchell Schwartz: In his prime, elite. Worth every penny of the 7 mil/year offer he left on the table.
Character and priorities matter. These are important. I don't care or even believe what Schwartz's agent said with egg on his face:
Brown made him an offer. When Mitchell TURNED IT DOWN, it was to leave the Browns or else gouge them with other offers.
It was a fair offer, made in good faith. We want you to stay here. If you want to stay here, sign here. If you fuck with us, go to hell.
Sashi might even have said that. Schwartz's agent might well have said "He's bluffing". Sashi needs players and agents to know he doesn't bluff. The Browns want players who want to stay here...not mercenaries.
I would have let him come back and take the original offer. But I'm not qualified to bash Sashi Brown (yet). We'll see.
3: Tashaun Gipson: Elite talent in his prime. Crappy season. Injured a lot. Lots of talent behind him. Bad attitude (pissed off over a second round tender!? Blaming the new front office for stuff the old front office did?)
Goes to the Jaguars because he "just wants to win". Sounds like Hillary Clinton good riddance.
4: Travis Benjamin: Best punt returner in football, elite slot receiver who can play outside too. In his prime.
Tiny. Stick legs. Overdue for major injury. High risk. Hawkins on roster.
Left for a few pennies more.
5: Colin Kaepernick: 11 mil/year guaranteed. Offer a third round pick contingent on salary reduction. The Browns see him as a backup and a lottery ticket, not as a franchise quarterback. They would still probably draft one.
Note: This doesn't necessarily mean that Josh McCown would leave. McCown is a fantastic mentor for young quarterbacks. Not just for a Wentz or Goff, but yes, even for a Kaepernick.
And his retention in this (I think improbable) scenario would make it easier to keep the rookie on the bench until he is ready.
Considering the line that will be blocking for him now, that's probably a real good idea.
Of course, now that I said that...
Like just about everybody else except Sashi Brown and company, I would have at least matched all these offers.
The overarching strategy seems to be a real teardown and rebuild (ie I was wrong again). In view of recent events, Joe Thomas and perhaps Joe Haden too would be justified to ask to be traded.
If they do, Sashi will cooperate. Now that so much damage has been done, they might as well go all-in.
2016 as it was looked grim in this division with these other teams. I do agree with the cold objective logic here: If you aren't going to make the playoffs, looking respectable is meaningless compared to developing young players.
Scorched earth. Clearly, Jimmy Haslam was sincere (I was wrong yet again) when he said "multi-year". His new employees are following through.
Ironically, in doing so they pretty much guarantee themselves three seasons. Jimmy already knows 2016 is tanked, and all they'll need in 2017 is some minor improvement.
Well played.
I will defend this. The objective is not to win "moral victories" in 2016, but to build a dynasty like the Patriots, Steelers, Packers, Seahawks.
That's drafting a quarterback at the TOP of the first round, letting everybody who doesn't want to stay here or is screwed up in the head leave, drafting new players and letting them play, and taking some beatings.
That's why at this point I rather hope Big Joe and even Little Joe get traded. They won't be themselves any more by the time this team is ready for the Big Game, but the players drafted with those picks will be entering their primes.
I need to repeat this yet again: I would not have done this. I'm just telling you: They might be wrong, but they had reasons for all of it.
They'll finally, at long last, produce a perennial contender, or die with their boots on.
Nothing else was working. Stay tuned.
This just in: Kaepernick balking at renegotiation because of Browns Free agent "blunders".
This writer is ignorant. There were no blunders. There were decisions. For this clown, all decisions he disagrees with are blunders.
The S-storm is coming. Next up: Black helicopters. Haslam is tanking so he can chase fans away and move the team. Sashi Brown is sabotaging Hue Jackson in a power struggle. Aliens took over Berea ten years ago and everybody who goes in the front office comes out a pod person...wait...hmmm....
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