DB Notes: Roby, Boston, Berry
Earlier today, the Texans agreed to sign former Broncos cornerback Bradley Roby to a one-year, $10MM deal. It sounds like the 27-year-old may have left some longer deals on the table, as the defensive back told Mike Klis of 9News in Denver that he turned down a three-year offer from the Steelers and a one-year offer from the 49ers. Roby said that the Browns were also in the mix (Twitter link).
“It’s a prove it deal,” Roby explained. “I feel like I should go back in (the market) while I’m still young.”
Roby left Denver after spending five years with the organization, and it sounds like the veteran holds a bit of a grudge against his former team.
“It’s a business. Denver didn’t want me, they wanted someone else,” Roby said, with the cornerback referring to the team’s acquisition of Kareem Jackson (Twitter link). “No, they tried to word it nice – they were talking about it but they didn’t offer. They got the guy they wanted.”
Let’s check out some more notes revolving around the league’s defensive backs…
- Free agent safety Tre Boston doesn’t expect to sign a deal right away, with the 26-year-old telling ESPN’s Josina Anderson that he expects to be in the “second wave” of safety signings (Twitter link). Boston said that three teams have already reached out to express preliminary interest, including the Raiders. However, following the team’s agreement with Lamarcus Joyner, it’s uncertain if they’ll still have interest. Boston spent the 2018 campaign with the Cardinals, compiling 79 tackles, nine passes defended, and three interceptions.
- Could the Chiefs signing of Tyrann Mathieu spell the end of Eric Berry‘s tenure with the organization? Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio thinks so, as the writer can’t envision the organization paying a combined $27MM for the two players. Considering Berry’s recent injury issues, this isn’t a particularly hot take, but it’s worth noting that the Chiefs will have to make a decision relatively soon. As Florio tweets, another $7.25 million of Berry’s contract will become guaranteed on March 15th.
- A number of safeties earned large paydays yesterday, which was a significant difference from last offseason. CBS Sports’ Brady Quinn explained why safeties were the bigger winner during the NFL’s first day of the legal tampering period.
Browns Re-Sign Carl Davis
The Browns have re-signed defensive lineman Carl Davis, the team announced. Davis appeared in just five games for Cleveland last year and recorded one assisted tackle.
Davis has generally disappointed in his brief NFL career. The Ravens drafted him out of Iowa in the third round of the 2015 draft, which seemed like a steal at the time. He performed reasonably well in his rookie campaign but missed all of the 2016 season with an ankle injury. In 2017, he started nine games for Baltimore, but he did not show enough to prevent the Ravens from waiving him during final roster cuts last season.
Still, four teams submitted a waiver claim on him, and he was awarded to the Browns, who had No. 1 waiver priority. He could not crack Cleveland’s D-line rotation, but his draft pedigree and raw ability have earned him another shot with the club.
Browns Re-Sign Breshad Perriman
Wide receiver Breshad Perriman is staying with the Browns. On Tuesday, the two sides agreed to a one-year, $4MM deal, a source tells Mike Florio of PFT (on Twitter).
The former first-round pick and draft bust with the Ravens revitalized his career in Cleveland last year and the Browns did not want him to get away as an unrestricted free agent. John Dorsey said at the Combine he’d had multiple conversations with the UFA wideout, and it appears the Browns were serious about bringing back the 2015 first-rounder.
After joining the Browns midseason, Perriman had 233 yards and two touchdowns the final four weeks of the year. He clicked right away with quarterback Baker Mayfield and the 2018 No. 1 pick has one of his best weapons back in the fold.
Considering Perriman’s upside and this year’s lack of firepower in the free agent WR market, this appears to be a strong value for the Browns. Cleveland’s 2019 receiving corps could look quite similar to its previous contingent, with Jarvis Landry and Antonio Callaway coming back. The Browns also tendered wideout Rashard Higgins at the original-round level.
It’s possible Cleveland will add a big name via trade or through free agency, but it appears to like its most recent group.
Browns To Sign Sheldon Richardson
The Browns are signing former Vikings defensive tackle Sheldon Richardson to a three-year, $36MM deal, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. The Browns’ D-Line now looks pretty fearsome with recent pickup Olivier Vernon and Myles Garrett on the bookends and Richardson occupying a space in between. 
Richardson, a longtime Jets standout, was shipped to the Seahawks days before the start of the 2017 season. Then, last year, he signed with a one-year, $8MM deal with the Vikings.
It was a disappointing year for the Vikes, but Richardson had a solid year on an individual level. He finished out with 4.5 sacks and 49 tackles and graded out as the No. 47 ranked interior defender in the league, per Pro Football Focus.
It’s a massive upgrade for Richardson compared to the relatively small deal he settled for last offseason, and his decision to re-enter free agency in 2019 paid off handsomely. The former first round pick had some off-field issues early in his career and face questions about his motivation with the Jets, but he’s mostly put those to rest the past couple of years.
It’s the first splashy free agency signing by the Browns so far, and it likely won’t be the last with all the cap space Cleveland is sitting on.With fellow defensive tackle Larry Ogunjobi, the Browns now have a very solid run-stuffing duo on the interior. The Browns are looking to build on the momentum they had toward the end of last season, and are focused on building up the defense.
Ravens Increase Offer For C.J. Mosley
The Ravens chose not to franchise-tag inside linebacker C.J. Mosley, but that doesn’t mean they don’t want him back. The Ravens are working to retain him and “have sweetened their offer,” according to Jeff Zrebiec of The Athletic (Twitter link).
While the Ravens have upped their offer, Zrebiec notes there “is still a gap” between what Baltimore is offering, and the offers from the Jets and potentially more teams. The Jets have been strongly connected to the Alabama product, and we’ve also heard teams like the Browns and Redskins are interested.
Judging by the deal Kwon Alexander landed from the 49ers, Mosley is about to cash in. Mosley is widely thought to be the better player, and Alexander just got four years and $54MM while coming off a torn ACL. In a separate tweet Zrebiec notes that the Redskins’ signing of Landon Collins might’ve diminished their interest in Mosley.
In the same tweet Zrebiec highlights the Colts as a potential suitor for Mosley in addition to the Browns and Jets. He also says it “sounds like Jets have been the most aggressive with the offer.” The 17th overall pick of the 2014 draft, Mosley has made the Pro Bowl in four of his five seasons in the league and is still only 26, so it makes sense why so many teams are interested.
Browns In On Roby
- Broncos cornerback Bradley Roby is “getting a lot of interest” from teams, according to James Palmer of NFL Network (Twitter link). Palmer reports that the competition for Roby seems to have narrowed down to the Texans, Browns, Steelers, 49ers, Raiders and Broncos. Everything we’ve heard recently has indicated Roby will be walking in free agency, so it would be a bit of a surprise if he returned to Denver. A 2014 first round pick, Roby has been a solid player but has never quite lived up to his draft status. He started 15 games for the Broncos last year.
Browns Interested In C.J. Mosley
As expected, C.J. Mosley has generated immediate interest during the legal tampering period. In addition to the Jets’ and Redskins’ interest, a Ravens division rival would like to pry the linebacker away from Baltimore.
The Browns are in on the Mosley pursuit, according to Mary Kay Cabot of cleveland.com. They hold north of $68MM in cap space and recently released Jamie Collins, though Cleveland — which has Joe Schobert and Christian Kirksey — is not desperate for a linebacker addition. Mosley, however, is far more accomplished than the Browns’ incumbents.
The four-time Pro Bowler may want to reset the market for non-rush linebackers. Collins’ $12.5MM-AAV deal is no longer the standard, and Luke Kuechly‘s $12.4MM-per-year accord tops the market. Of course, with that deal having come several years ago, it would stand to reason Mosley’s camp would want him to top that price.
With Washington having just authorized a safety-record $14MM-AAV pact for Landon Collins, it can be fairly safe to assume that will be the team’s big-money defensive deal. The Browns have far more cap space than the Redskins, but the Jets hold more than both teams. Eric DeCosta said he believed Mosley would be back in Baltimore; that will be a big test for the first-year GM, with the pursuit heating up.
Browns Notes: Robinson, Perriman
- Greg Robinson signed a one-year deal to return to the Browns a couple of weeks ago, and now we have the details on the contract. Interestingly, his new pact includes $500K in weigh-in bonuses, according to Dan Graziano of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Robinson will have weigh-ins around once a month starting in April all the way through the regular season, which suggests Cleveland wasn’t too happy with the weight he played at last year. Robinson’s deal has a base salary of $5.5MM with a $500K signing bonus, $400K in per-game roster bonuses, and a $100K workout bonus. He could face competition from a rookie, but right now the former second overall pick projects as the team’s starting left tackle.
- Speaking of the Browns, the status of receiver Breshad Perriman is still up in the air. The former first round pick and draft bust with the Ravens revitalized his career in Cleveland last year, but is now set to be an unrestricted free agent. The “two sides aren’t close” on a deal, but Perriman “wants to be back, and realizes that Baker Mayfield helped him resuscitate his career,” according to Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com. Kay Cabot writes that Perriman’s agent, Drew Rosenhaus, “wants to let the market” set the price for the 25-year-old receiver. After joining the Browns mid-season, Perriman had 233 yards and two touchdowns the final four weeks of the year.
Browns Release TE Darren Fells
The Browns have released tight end Darren Fells after failing to trade him, according to Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk (Twitter link). The Jets were mentioned as a possible suitor for Fells after reports emerged Saturday that he was on the trade block, but no deal came to fruition.
Fells, 33 next month, signed a three-year, $12MM deal with Cleveland just last offseason. He’d been scheduled to earn a base salary of $2.65MM in 2019, and would have carried a cap charge of $3.7MM. Instead, the Browns will now take on a dead money hit of $1.4MM by cutting Fells.
In his lone season in Cleveland, Fells appeared in all 16 games, but played on just 38.5% of the Browns’ offensive snaps and managed only 11 receptions. While he wasn’t given many opportunities behind starting tight end David Njoku, Fells was effective when targeted. Among tight ends with fewer than 25 catches, Fells finished third in Football Outsiders’ DVOA, meaning he was productive on a per-play basis.
While Fells has historically been praised as a blocking tight end, 2018 wasn’t a banner year for him in that regard, at least according to Pro Football Focus. PFF assigned Fells a 72.9 pass-blocking grade, which put him near the middle of the pack among his position group, but a 55.9 grade in the run game, a mark which ranked near the bottom of the league.
Browns Shopping Darren Fells, Jets Interested
The Browns have showed a strong willingness to make trades under new GM John Dorsey, most recently sending guard Kevin Zeitler to the Giants in exchange for defensive end Olivier Vernon. He isn’t done yet, as the team is shopping tight end Darren Fells in trade talks, a source told Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk.com (Twitter link).
Fells signed a three-year, $12MM deal with the Browns in March of last year, but they’re apparently looking to move on just one year into that pact. Fells has never offered much in the passing game, and is much more of a blocking tight end than anything else. He was an occasional redzone threat for the Browns last year, catching three touchdowns. He had just 11 receptions for 117 yards overall, although he did start 11 games.
With David Njoku the future at the position for Cleveland, the Browns don’t have too much of a need for an expensive blocking tight end. They can find a decent blocker on the open market for a cheaper price. Fells has only been in the league for five seasons, but he turns 33 in April. He never played college football, and made the leap to the NFL after playing professional basketball overseas for several seasons.
As for teams that might be interested, the Jets “have had internal discussions about trading for” Fells, sources told Manish Mehta of The New York Daily News (Twitter link). Mehta adds that New York “is in the market” for a blocking tight end. Fells did receive slightly above average marks from Pro Football Focus last year. If they can’t find a trade partner, it’s definitely possible the Browns could just release Fells outright.