Latest On Greg Robinson
The soon-to-be-free agent re-signed with the Browns on a one-year, $7MM deal before the 2019 season. Robinson struggled throughout the campaign, and he temporarily lost his starting gig. We learned earlier today that Cleveland won’t be pursuing another contract with the former second-overall pick.
Browns Won’t Re-Sign Greg Robinson
The Browns won’t be re-signing left tackle Greg Robinson, as Nate Ulrich of the Akron Beacon-Journal tweets. This was relayed to his camp even before his recent arrest for marijuana possession near the U.S./Mexico border. 
[RELATED: Greg Robinson Charged With Intent To Distribute]
Robinson, the former No. 2 overall pick in the 2014 draft, looked the part of a late bloomer after hooking on with the Browns in 2018. After a solid Year One, he was re-upped on a one-year deal with a base value of $7MM, plus incentives that could have taken him to $9MM.
In 2019, he regressed sharply. At points, Robinson was turnstile during the Browns’ trying year and his inconsistency was one of many issues that dogged their talent-laden offense. On the flipside, it’s worth noting that the advanced metrics were somewhat kind to him – he graded out as Pro Football Focus’ No. 41 ranked tackle in the NFL last year. That’s not great for a playoff hopeful’s left tackle, but it’s not a bad slot among 81 qualified players.
Since 2014, Robinson has appeared in 84 games with 70 starts for the Rams, Lions, and Browns.
Browns’ Greg Robinson Arrested
Greg Robinson could be in some legal trouble as he gets set for free agency in March. The former No. 2 overall pick was arrested near the U.S.-Mexico border on Monday and police say that he was carrying a large quantity of marijuana (via TMZ). 
Robinson is facing a federal charge of possession with intent to distribute, according to the report. This may hamper Robinson’s market, which was already looking iffy after a down year with the Browns.
Robinson, 28 in October, was solid in his first year with Cleveland. He re-upped with the Browns on a one-year, $7MM deal before the 2019 season, but he failed to deliver an encore performance. He allowed lots of pressures against Baker Mayfield, garnered lots of flags, and temporarily lost his starting job.
Despite his natural talent and size (he stands at 6’5″ and weighs about 330 pounds), Robinson has yet to show consistency at the pro level. The dearth of tackles across the NFL probably would have allowed him to find some guaranteed money on the open market, but this latest news will hurt his chances. And the Browns, who are open to giving running back Kareem Hunt another chance after his latest slip-up, might not have the same level of patience with Robinson.
Ohio Notes: Hunt, Burrow, Staff
Despite another new regime coming to Cleveland and Kareem Hunt running into more off-field trouble, the Pro Bowl running back expects to stay with the Browns for the 2020 season. He expects to be back with the Browns via high-level RFA tender or an extension, according to Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com (video link), and wants to remain with his hometown team. Hunt signed a one-year deal with Cleveland in 2019, but because he has just three years of service time, the controversial ex-Chief is not yet eligible for unrestricted free agency. To keep Hunt, the Browns will likely have to apply a first- or second-round tender on him. Hunt became available after a video showed him shoving and kicking a woman at a Cleveland hotel in 2018, leading to the Chiefs waiving him. He was pulled over while driving with marijuana in his vehicle last month. New Browns GM Andrew Berry was not with the team when John Dorsey signed Hunt, but his offseason comments point to the team moving to keep its Hunt-Nick Chubb backfield together for next season.
Here is the latest from the Ohio teams:
- Joe Burrow‘s Bengals interest has come up at multiple points this offseason, with rumors circulating that the Ohio native may not be thrilled about going to the team that holds the No. 1 overall pick. But Burrow’s stance thus far likely points to nothing being decided until he meets with Bengals brass on the customary pre-draft tour — Combine visit, facility visit, workout — before he decides on his course of action, Mike Garafolo of NFL.com notes (video link). Burrow’s “I do have leverage” comment was not an interjection but merely repeating a reporter’s question as part of a response. No player has maneuvered his way away from a team with the top pick since Eli Manning did so when the Chargers held the 2004 top pick.
- Longtime Cowboys assistant Ben Bloom will resurface in Cleveland. The Browns are hiring Bloom as a senior defensive assistant, according to Adam Caplan of Sirius XM Radio (Twitter link). Bloom started his NFL coaching career with the Browns, working on Eric Mangini‘s two staffs from 2009-10. He spent nine seasons on Jason Garrett‘s Cowboys staffs, the past two coaching Dallas’ linebackers.
- Some around the league view the Patriots as a fit for nine-year Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton. The Bengals, who are expected to draft Burrow at No. 1, plan to help Dalton work out a trade.
Browns Release Carrie, Harris, Kush
The Browns are in the midst of some serious spring cleaning. On Monday, the Browns announced that they’ve cut cornerback T.J. Carrie, tight end Demetrius Harris, and guard Eric Kush, in addition to the previously reported release of linebacker Adarius Taylor.
In total, the moves will open up more than $13MM in cap room for the Browns with less than $4MM in dead money left over. It’s yet another signal that the club is committed to a significant roster haul under the guidance of new head coach Kevin Stefanski and GM Andrew Berry. All four released players were brought on board by former GM John Dorsey.
Carrie joined the Browns on a four-year deal in 2018 after turning in a strong contract year as the Raiders’ slot cornerback. Over the past two seasons, he’s appeared in every possible game and started in 14 of those contests. Last year, he notched 52 tackles and one interception, but he was unable to get into a rhythm and his coverage was nowhere near his best work in Oakland.
Harris, too, will see his contract terminated at the midway point. In his lone Browns season, he had 15 grabs for 149 yards and three scores. On the line, Kush had a perfect attendance record and started seven times, but the advanced metrics painted him as one of the worst qualified interior linemen in the NFL.
While those four players will be let go, much of the Browns’ core will remain in tact. At his introductory presser, Berry indicated that Odell Beckham Jr. will probably not be traded, despite all of the speculation. The latest misstep of running back Kareem Hunt, meanwhile, won’t rule him out for 2020.
Browns To Release Adarius Taylor
The Browns will release Adarius Taylor, according to Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com (on Twitter). By releasing the linebacker, the Browns will save $2.4MM against the salary cap for 2020.
[RELATED: Browns Hire Ryan Grigson]
Taylor – who went by Adarius Glanton until taking on his father’s surname in 2018 – joined the Browns on a two-year, $5MM deal last year. He went on to appear in 15 games for the Browns as a reserve, but the club’s new regime did not see him as a fit for their defense.
Taylor was deployed primarily on special teams with Cleveland and took only 60 defensive snaps in total. By shedding his deal, the Browns will only be left with $500K in dead money and much more to spend on the open market in March.
Taylor, who will turn 30 in September, profiles mostly a special teamer for other clubs at this stage of his career. His most productive year as a defender came in 2018 with the Bucs, when he notched 60 tackles, five passes defensed, one sack, and one interception.
Latest On Myles Garrett
- Browns defensive end Myles Garrett, who was recently reinstated by the NFL, maintains that Steelers quarterback Mason Rudolph prompted last year’s brawl with the use of a racial slur, as ESPN.com’s Jake Trotter writes. Rudolph’s camp, meanwhile, continues to strongly reject those accusations. Late last week, his camp responded with a statement (Twitter link) implying that a lawsuit could be on the way. “He is now exposed to legal liability,” Rudolph’s lawyer wrote.
Browns, Joe Schobert To Talk Extension Again
It looks like Joe Schobert might be getting an extension offer from the Browns after all. We heard back in November that the two sides had discussed a deal, but then a month later there was a report Cleveland wasn’t interested in extending him and was prepared to let him walk in free agency. 
A lot has happened with the franchise since then, including the firings of head coach Freddie Kitchens and GM John Dorsey, and now Schobert returning seems like a real possibility. Andrew Berry is in charge of the front office now, and Schobert said in a recent interview with Sirius XM NFL Radio that he’d already met with the new general manager, via Nate Ulrich of the Akron Beacon Journal. Berry “said he’d be reaching out and talk to my agent over the course of the next couple weeks,” Schobert revealed.
Interestingly, Schobert confirmed that Dorsey’s firing helped spark hope of an agreement again. “[Berry and I have] communicated since [he’s] been hired, which kind of had broken down, I think, with the previous regime,” he said. The linebacker reiterated that he wants to stay a Brown, but was willing to move on as well. “If both sides can reach an agreement, then that’d be great. I’d love that, but you never know.”
Berry had declined to reveal whether he’d speak with Schobert’s reps at his introductory press conference, but it sounds like he will. As Ulrich points out, Berry was the vice president of player personnel in Cleveland back in 2016 when the Browns drafted Schobert in the fourth-round, and that connection certainly doesn’t hurt. The Wisconsin product has been playing at a high level the past few years, and he made the Pro Bowl in 2017. He started all 16 games this past year, racking up 133 tackles, four interceptions, two sacks, and nine passes defended.
Browns Hire Ryan Grigson
Ryan Grigson has joined the Browns and is currently serving in an advisory and consulting role with the team, per Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (via Twitter). Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com adds that Grigson will likely be hired on a full-time basis after this year’s draft.
Grigson is best known for his tenure as the Colts’ general manager from 2012-16. He earned Executive of the Year honors following his first year at the helm, which saw Indianapolis make the playoffs after going 2-14 the year before (though much of that was due to the presence of rookie QB Andrew Luck, who was a slam-dunk choice for Grigson in his first draft with Indy). While the Colts went 49-31 during Grigson’s five years as GM, they failed to qualify for the playoffs in the final two of those years, and his draft record as a whole was spotty.
He was therefore dismissed in January 2017, and he hooked on with the Browns shortly thereafter. When GM John Dorsey came to town in 2018, he got rid of Grigson, but now Andrew Berry is the Cleveland GM, and he is bringing Grigson back. The two men are very close and hold each other in high regard, per Albert Breer of SI.com (via Twitter). Berry worked under Grigson for four years in Indianapolis, and Grigson worked under Berry with the Browns in 2017, so there is plenty of familiarity there.
Breer adds in a separate tweet that the Browns plan to structure their front office like the Eagles, with one executive heading up scouting, one heading up everything else on the football side of the operation, and both reporting to the GM. Grigson could factor into that framework, especially with his scouting background.
Grigson spent the past two seasons with the Seahawks as a senior football consultant.
NFL Upholds Steelers Mason Rudolph $50,000 Fine
The NFL is finally done litigating the infamous fight between the Browns and Steelers on November 14th of last season. The fight’s signature moment came when Browns defensive end Myles Garrett swung Steelers quarterback Mason Rudolph‘s helmet at his bare head. The league’s discipline, which included numerous fines and suspensions for players on both teams, was headlined by an indefinite suspension of Garrett. It was reported earlier today that the league reinstated Garrett and, according to Mike Garafolo of the NFL Network, the league finally reviewed Rudolph’s appeal of his $50,000 fine and upheld their original decision.
When the news of Garrett’s reinstatement originally broke, one of Garafolo’s colleagues at the NFL Network, Ian Rapoport, noted a previous report from Garafolo that Rudolph’s appeal had yet to be decided due to a backlog at the league office. However, Garafolo quickly responded to Rapoport citing “a source” that informed him the decision to uphold Rudolph’s fine had indeed been made.
At the time of the incident, Garrett claimed Rudolph used a racial slur, which sparked his angry outburst. However, per Jay Glazer of Fox Sports, the team told Garrett to keep the allegation between him and the league before his disciplinary meeting. The allegation leaked to the media nearly a week after the incident and the league claimed they found no evidence to substantiate Garrett’s claims. Regardless, Rudolph did appear to instigate Garrett in the incident and thus, was fined $50,000.