Mike Adams Retires From NFL
Mike Adams is calling it a career. On Wednesday morning, the former Pro Bowl safety announced his retirement on NFL Network (Twitter link via Tom Pelissero). 
Adams leaves the sport after 16 seasons and 228 games played. The 38-year-old suited up for the 49ers, Browns, Broncos, Colts, Panthers, and, most recently, the Texans, over the course of his career. In 2014 and 2015, his first two seasons in Indy, he stepped into the limelight with back-to-back Pro Bowl nods. Remarkably, he did it in his age 33 and 34 seasons.
Eventually, Father Time caught up with Adams. After spending two seasons as a Panthers starter with snaps at both safety spots, the Panthers allowed him to walk following the 2018 season.
Adams’ 228 games played ranks him third all-time among NFL safeties, slotting him ahead of John Lynch, Brian Dawkins, and other football legends. We here at PFR wish Adams the best in retirement.
No Marijuana Charges For Browns’ Kareem Hunt
Running back Kareem Hunt will not face charges for possession of marijuana in connection with his January traffic stop, as Nate Ulrich of the Akron Beacon Journal writes. The local police lieutenant did not dismiss the possibility of additional charges, but he says that’s an “unlikely” possibility. 
It’s good news for Hunt, whose status with the team was in question following the incident. In recent weeks, new GM Andrew Berry and head coach Kevin Stefanski have offered support for Hunt, indicating that they’d be willing to move forward with him if he stayed on the right path and showed remorse.
Hunt is set for restricted free agency and the Browns have some time before deciding whether to tender him and which level of the tender to use. It’s not a given that they’ll retain him, but it seems likely.When asked at the combine, Berry told reporters “that’s the anticipation right now.” At minimum, the traffic stop incident probably won’t play a major role in their decision.
“We’re looking forward to him being a member of our team,” Berry said, “provided that he and all of our players abide by our expectations.”
In a vacuum, the traffic stop doesn’t mean much. However, this slip-up raised some eyebrows given his previous history. In 2018, the Chiefs cut Hunt after a surveillance video showed him striking a woman at a hotel in Cleveland. In that same year, he also got into a physical altercation with a man in Ohio.
After serving an eight-game ban, Hunt averaged 4.2 yards per carry in a limited sample and also caught 37 passes for 285 yards. All together, he scored three all-purpose touchdowns.
Panthers Meet With DL Chris Smith
The Panthers will huddle up with former Browns defensive lineman Chris Smith on Tuesday, according to ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter (on Twitter). Smith has been away from the game since his girlfriend’s tragic death last year, but he’s ready to make his return in 2020.
Smith entered the NFL as a fifth-round draft pick of the Jaguars in 2014. After that, he spent time with the Bengals and went on to ink a three-year deal with the Browns in 2018. In his first season, he notched 21 stops, two passes defensed, one sack, and a forced fumble. In 2019, he made nine appearances before being released in December. For his career, Smith has 67 total tackles and 8.5 sacks in 60 games.
The Panthers’ defensive line figures to look rather different in 2020. The team is expected to decline the 2020 option on nose tackle Dontari Poe and Gerald McCoy, Bruce Irvin, and Vernon Butler are unlikely to return. Mario Addison, who has tallied 55 sacks for the Panthers, may be the only pending free agent DL to return. Even then, it’d have to be on the Panthers’ preferred terms.
Browns Want To Re-Sign WR Rashard Higgins
Browns wide receiver Rashard Higgins will likely hit the free-agent market, but that does not mean a reunion with Cleveland is out of the question, according to Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com. In fact, Cabot adds that, per a league source, the team would still like Higgins back “‘at the right price.”
Higgins fell out of the Browns rotation this past season after a falling out with the previous coaching staff. However, now that Freddie Kitchens has been replaced by Kevin Stefanski as head coach, the new regime appears to have interest in a reunion.
A fifth-round pick in 2016, Higgins progressed into larger and larger roles in Cleveland’s offense over his first three seasons and seemed poised to be the team’s third receiver behind Jarvis Landry and Odell Beckham last season.
After hauling in 39 receptions for 572 yards and four touchdowns in 2018, Higgins managed just four catches for 55 yards in all of 2019. At just 25, Higgins is not far from being a solid young prospect, but his dip in production could very well dampen his market.
Browns Notes: Berry, Huls
- Andrew Berry is running the Browns’ front office now, and he’s getting paid handsomely. Cleveland gave the 32-year-old around $3.3MM a year to be their new GM, according to Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports. La Canfora writes that figure has a “lot of his peers around the league excited,” since it’s a big number for a first-time GM. Executive salaries across the league are increasing, and it sounds like they could take off even more in the coming years. As La Canfora points out, the Browns are still paying Berry’s predecessor John Dorsey, who they fired earlier this offseason.
- The Eagles have had a mountain of injuries the past few years, and they parted ways with director of high performance Shaun Huls at least partially as a result. Huls is now landing on his feet, as the Browns are hiring him to the same role, according to Mike Garafolo of NFL Network (Twitter link). Huls had spent the past seven seasons in Philadelphia.
- The Chargers are becoming the latest team to emphasize the importance of analytics in their front office. Los Angeles hired Aditya Krishnan away from Cleveland to become their director of analytics, according to Seth Walder of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Walder notes that the Chargers didn’t have any analytics employees prior to hiring Krishnan, and it’ll be interesting to see if this is the start of a new department to report to GM Tom Telesco. Krishnan had previously served as an analyst with the Browns.
Joe Schobert Won’t Return To Browns
The back and forth Joe Schobert saga has reached an endpoint. The Browns will indeed let the linebacker walk in free agency, a source told Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com.
Back in November we heard that the two sides had discussed an extension, but not long after that we got word that things had cooled and the Browns were in no hurry to re-sign him. They appeared to be headed toward a split when John Dorsey was still in charge, but then Dorsey’s firing seemed to open things up again and new GM Andrew Berry resumed talks. Kay Cabot reports that Berry met with Schobert’s agent at the combine this week, and that the meeting didn’t go too well.
The Browns let Schobert’s agent know that they wouldn’t be giving him the “double-digit millions” he’s looking to get annually on the open market, Kay Cabot writes. Sources told Kay Cabot that the Browns are “planning to make a big investment” in their offensive line, and that they’re saving their cap space for that push.
Cleveland drafted Schobert out of Wisconsin in the fourth-round back in 2016, and he developed into a solid starter. He made the Pro Bowl in 2017, and has generally been very productive. He started all 16 games this past year, racking up 133 tackles, four interceptions, two sacks, and nine passes defended. As for where he’ll go next there are many teams that will be interested in Schobert’s services, and the Packers are exploring making a bid for the inside linebacker, according to Tom Silverstein and Jim Owczarski of Packersnews.com.
AFC North Notes: Bengals, Browns, Hurst
Were Joe Burrow to be drafted by the Bengals, he wants the team to keep A.J. Green. The Bengals are believed to be zeroing in on the Heisman winner, who told NFL.com’s Jim Trotter he would like Green to be back in Cincinnati — if, in fact, the Bengals follow through on drafting the LSU quarterback (video link). The franchise tag window opens Thursday, and the Bengals have been linked to tagging Green. The nine-year veteran has voiced opposition to this, going into his age-32 season, but said he would play on the tag. However, Green also indicated he would likely miss extensive offseason workouts. An injury last summer shelved Green for all of 2019.
Here is the latest from the AFC North:
- The Ravens have seen 2018 third-round tight end Mark Andrews become Lamar Jackson‘s top target, leaving 2018 first-round tight end Hayden Hurst in a strange position. The former minor league baseball player-turned-South Carolina football prospect may be on the trade block, with Jeff Howe of The Athletic tweeting there is a “real chance” the Ravens trade Hurst. The former Pirates draftee played hurt as a rookie and caught 30 passes for 349 yards last season. Andrews caught 64 passes for a Ravens-most 852 yards in 2019. For what it’s worth, the tight end-needy Patriots have not contacted the Ravens about Hurst, Howe adds (on Twitter), but Hurst may be a name to monitor in Baltimore in the coming weeks.
- The Browns will meet with Joe Schobert‘s agent at the Combine, Mary Kay Cabot of the Cleveland Plain Dealer notes. After being so far apart on terms with ex-GM John Dorsey, Schobert is back in the picture to stay in Cleveland, Cabot adds. New GM Andrew Berry‘s hire has reopened the lines of communication with the Browns’ top tackler. Cleveland already has Christian Kirksey attached to a big contract, but the linebacker has struggled with injuries since signing that extension and may be a cap casualty.
- David Njoku stands as player who likely would have been gone had Dorsey and Freddie Kitchens stayed in power, Cabot adds. But with Kevin Stefanski planning more two-tight end sets, the 2017 first-round pick looks likelier to stay in Cleveland. Having Berry back doesn’t hurt here, either, with the Sashi Brown-Berry-Paul DePodesta regime being in power when Njoku was drafted.
- Although Dorsey upgraded the Browns’ talent level, his offensive line acquisitions did not pan out. The Browns will not re-sign Greg Robinson, and 2018 right tackle addition Chris Hubbard may be elsewhere next season as well. However, the Browns will likely spend big on at least one offensive lineman, Cabot adds. Jack Conklin, Brandon Scherff and Joe Thuney profile as the top targets who are in line to reach free agency.
Case Keenum On Browns’ Radar
With Drew Stanton‘s contract up, the Browns may be moving in a different direction at backup quarterback. Case Keenum is on the team’s radar, according to Mary Kay Cabot of the Cleveland Plain Dealer.
Both Stanton and Keenum signed two-year contracts in 2018. Keenum was tabbed to be the Broncos’ starter that season, but Denver traded him to Washington. He is expected to draw interest as a backup or potential bridge starter this offseason, and the Browns’ head coach choice points to Cleveland being a fit.
Kevin Stefanski worked with Keenum during his best NFL season, when the latter led the 2017 Vikings to a surprising NFC championship run. While Pat Shurmur called Minnesota’s plays, Stefanski was Keenum’s position coach and played a key role in the passer leading all quarterbacks in 2017 DVOA.
Chase Daniel could also be a fit, per Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports (on Twitter), but Keenum is the first name to be connected to the Browns’ search for Baker Mayfield‘s next backup.
Since coming into the league with the Texans as a 2012 UDFA, Keenum has started 62 NFL games — including 24 over the past two seasons. The 31-year-old passer finished with a 64.7 completion percentage with the Redskins, throwing 11 touchdown passes and five interceptions. That TD-INT ratio was considerably better than the 18-15 ratio he compiled in his one Broncos season.
Stanton missed all of last season with a knee injury and joined the Browns during since-departed GM John Dorsey‘s tenure. He did not play a regular-season snap as a Brown. Garrett Gilbert is expected to remain with the team, per Cabot.
Browns Assistant On Colorado's Radar
- Karl Dorrell‘s decision to leave the Dolphins to become Colorado’s head coach may impact other staffs. The Browns recently hired T.C. McCartney as an assistant, but Dorrell has the young coach on his radar, Troy Renck of Denver7 tweets. The Broncos’ 2019 quarterbacks coach, McCartney is the son of late Colorado quarterback Sal Aunese and grandson of longtime Buffaloes coach Bill McCartney. T.C. McCartney has worked on the Buffs’ staff previously. Signs point to the Browns having a job opening soon.
AFC Injury Notes: Landry, Phillips, Beckham
Browns wide receiver Jarvis Landry was unable to avoid offseason hip surgery, according to Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com. Landry had been hopeful that rest and rehab would be enough to deal with his injury during the offseason but instead opted to go under the knife. The news did not come as a huge surprise given the fact that Landry had previously mentioned he regretted not getting surgery sooner, but it remains noteworthy nonetheless.
The timetable for his return appears to be six-to-eight months, which would allow him back onto the field at some point during training camp.
Here’s some more injury notes from around the AFC:
- Bills defensive tackle Harrison Phillips discussed the grueling recovery process from a torn ACL with Bills Insider Chris Brown. Phillips described his experience going through the “very long, slow process” working back to the field. On top of his original rehab, Phillips suffered a major setback in September, which delayed his recovery timetable even further. At this point, Phillips does not expect to be a full go until training camp.
- Unlike teammate Jarvis Landry, Browns wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. should be back at full strength from surgery in less than a month, per Cabot. Beckham, who underwent core-muscle surgery in late January, is on pace to be recovered in time to participate in offseason minicamp. While he did not attend minicamp last offseason, the combination of a new head coach in Cleveland and his attempts to come back from an injury could make his attendance more likely.