Browns Notes: McCloughan, Mayfield, Perriman
Former Redskins and 49ers GM Scot McCloughan is not working for the Browns this offseason, GM John Dorsey told reporters (via Nate Ulrich of the Akron Beacon-Journal). McCloughan hooked on with the Browns as a consultant last year and championed Baker Mayfield as the top selection in the buildup to the draft. The exec has consulted with multiple teams as a freelancer in recent years, so he may continue on that front in advance of the 2019 draft.
- Dorsey has spoken with wide receiver Breshad Perriman multiple times at the combine (via Mary Kay Cabot of The Plain Dealer). There’s mutual interest between the Browns and the speedster, though he could garner sizable offers amidst a weak free agent class for the position. The former first-round pick caught only 16 passes for 340 yards and two touchdowns in his ten games with the Browns, but he made some big plays.
Latest On Browns, Jamie Collins
Browns GM John Dorsey is scheduled to meet with agent Bus Cook on Friday to talk about the “long-term plan” for linebacker Jamie Collins (via Mary Kay Cabot of The Plain Dealer). Dorsey didn’t say it explicitly, but it sounds like the Browns will either ask Collins to restructure his deal or consider an outright release. 
The Browns acquired Collins from the Patriots via trade in 2016 and later signed him to a new four-year, $50MM contract. Collins missed the bulk of the 2017 season due to injury and had a so-so 2018, so the Browns probably don’t feel that he’s worth the expense. As it stands, Collins is under contract through 2020 with cap hits of $11.75MM and $13.75MM in each of the next two seasons. Releasing Collins would give the Browns an additional $9.25MM in cap room versus just $2.5MM in dead money.
Collins will celebrate his 30th birthday in October, midway through his seventh pro season. Last year, Collins registered 104 tackles and four sacks in his first 16-game season since his 2013 rookie campaign, but graded out as just the No. 58 ranked LB in the NFL, per Pro Football Focus.
“There were some inconsistencies,’’ said Dorsey. “You don’t know what leads to it. He may have been nicked. There’s certain things that come. All I know is he’s a very talented football player and you can’t have enough of those guys on your team.”
Dorsey also wondered aloud whether Collins would fit into new defensive coordinator Steve Wilks’ 4-3 scheme as an outside linebacker.
“Once you understand the concepts that Steve is trying to apply, what it takes to have a position of success within the linebacker position, you want to make sure he fits that model,’’ said Dorsey. “Jamie is a good football player, so we’re going to sit and talk to his representatives, we’re going to go back as an organization and talk about all these different things and then we’ll make a decision here moving forward.”
AFC North Notes: Brown, Ravens, Johnson
The Steelers‘ plan remains to trade Antonio Brown. But Kevin Colbert reiterated they will not pull the trigger if they do not believe the compensation is appropriate.
“We will only make a trade if it benefits the Pittsburgh Steelers,” Colbert said, via Kevin Seifert of ESPN.com. “He knows that. His representation knows that. That’s been clearly explained, and we’re willing to take a look. If there’s something that can be done to benefit both sides, great. If not, then we’ll deal with that when we get to it.”
Pittsburgh still wants to trade Brown to the NFC, but Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com tweets the organization is prioritizing compensation over a preferred destination. Colbert said an intra-division trade is not ideal but did not put the Bengals, Browns or Ravens as non-starter suitors, saying “we haven’t eliminated anybody” from the trade picture. Colbert added more teams have reached out, which makes sense with all 32 teams in Indianapolis for the Combine. The Steelers would seemingly prefer to deal Brown before March 17, when his $2.5MM bonus is due, but Colbert said (via Pro Football Talk, on Twitter) the team is open to paying him the bonus and trading him later.
Here is the latest from the AFC North:
- New Ravens GM Eric DeCosta has said the team wants C.J. Mosley back, and a report indicated they also want to re-sign Terrell Suggs for a 17th season. DeCosta on Wednesday said he expects Brandon Carr to stay put. However, the new front office boss was not as certain on Jimmy Smith and Eric Weddle joining Carr in the 2019 Baltimore secondary, Jeff Zreibec of The Athletic tweets. Carr, who will be 33 in May, is due $7MM. Weddle, 34, has one season left on his four-year deal. It would save the Ravens $7.5MM by cutting him. After indicating he would want to retire if the Ravens didn’t want him back, Weddle recently changed his tune. Smith is just 30, and a release would cost the Ravens more than $6MM. But they could save $9MM-plus by making him a cap casualty. Baltimore currently holds barely $20MM in cap space.
- With Kareem Hunt now in the fold, the Browns‘ backfield is crowded. Nick Chubb will likely be the Cleveland starter for much of this season, with Hunt in line for a suspension that could comprise more than half of the 2019 season. Duke Johnson remains, too, and although he has done his best work in the passing game, Freddie Kitchens said (via cleveland.com’s Mary Kay Cabot, on Twitter) the team is not planning to move its passing-down back to wide receiver.
- The Bengals refuted a report that they are trying to deal 2017 first-rounder John Ross.
Browns Re-Sign Greg Robinson
The Browns have re-signed tackle Greg Robinson, according to his agents. It’s a one-year deal with a $7MM base value, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. With playing incentives, the deal could reach up to $9MM. 
Robinson, 27 in October, hooked on with the Browns on a low-cost, one-year deal last year. He wound up appearing in all 16 games and started every game in the second half of the year in Desmond Harrison‘s stead.
The former No. 2 overall pick has not come close to living up to that draft slot, but he did show something in the Browns’ first post-Joe Thomas season. Pro Football Focus graded Robinson as its No. 63 tackle (out of 80 full-time qualifiers) in 2018.
Robinson was on the fringes of the NFL when he signed with Cleveland, but his career may finally be getting back on track. The Browns will work with him to try to keep the penalties down (ten penalties from Week 10 onward), but they believe his size will help to protect quarterback Baker Mayfield in the pocket.
Before joining the Browns, Robinson started in 42 of his 46 games for the Rams and made six starts for the Lions in 2017 before suffering an ankle injury.
Minor NFL Transactions: 2/25/19
Here are Monday’s minor moves:
Cleveland Browns
- Waived: WR Daniel Williams
Eagles Hire Andrew Berry
The Eagles and general manager Howie Roseman have made an addition to the club’s front office, hiring former Browns executive Andrew Berry as vice president of football operations, according to Ian Rapoport and Aditi Kinkhabwala of NFL.com (Twitter link).
Berry joined Cleveland’s front office in 2016 after ex-GM Sashi Brown hired him as vice president of player personnel. He’s now being hired away by the Eagles for what is considered a promotion, tweets Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com. Berry had reportedly drawn interest from several other teams in the past, per Rapoport and Kinkhabwala, but the Eagles make sense as a fit given Cleveland and Philadelphia’s shared interest in analytics.
A Harvard graduate, Berry first entered the NFL in 2009 as a scouting assistant in the Colts’ front office. He was eventually promoted through a number of roles, and ultimately served as Indianapolis’ pro scouting coordinator from 2012-16 before leaving for Cleveland.
Although Berry is departing the Browns’ front office, chief strategy officer Paul DePodesta is expected to remain in his current role, per Cabot (Twitter link).
Callaway Cleared Of Marijuana Charge
- Browns receiver Antonio Callaway had his marijuana charge from last October dropped recently, according to Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com. Callaway had maintained all along that he had no idea the small amount of marijuana was in his car, and apparently he was right. Callaway had previously tested positive at the combine before he was drafted, so his citation turned into somewhat of a big deal.
Steelers Rumors: Brown, Bell, Ravens
The Steelers are willing to explore Antonio Brown trade scenarios, but Gerry Dulac of the Post-Gazette senses that they would like to control where he winds up. He believes they would not want to trade him to divisional rivals (Ravens, Bengals, Browns), nor would they want to send him to the Patriots.
It’s not immediately clear whether Dulac has heard this first hand from the Steelers’ front office, but that certainly seems like a logical position for the Steelers to take.
Here’s more from Pittsburgh:
- Le’Veon Bell passed on $14.544MM in 2018, and he’ll have a lot of trouble recouping that loss in free agency, Joel Corry of CBSSports.com opines. Bell, he notes, would have to sign a deal giving him $33MM in total compensation in Year 1 in order to effectively replace the money he lost out on by rejecting the Steelers’ offer. For reference, Todd Gurley‘s recent extension will pay him $28.5MM in his first new year (2020), and Gurley is younger. Bell is also said to be seeking $50MM through the first two years, which may be unattainable given that Gurley is set to make $37MM in that span. Currently, Khalil Mack and Aaron Donald are the only two non-quarterbacks with a two-year cash flow of $50MM or more.
- The Jets are the most likely destination for Bell, in the opinion of Darryl Slater of NJ.com. Armed with $100MM+ in cap space and an obvious need for Bell, the Jets make a ton of sense. The Jets are not necessarily in a position to win right away, but Bell would probably have to accept less money to join a contender such as the Packers. The Eagles, Buccaneers, and Raiders also made Slater’s top five.
- On Friday, Steelers GM Kevin Colbert told reporters that three teams have inquired on Brown.
Browns Sign WR Jaelen Strong
The Browns have signed wide receiver Jaelen Strong, according to a team announcement. Strong, a former third-round pick, did not play in the 2018 season. 
Strong spent his first two seasons in the NFL with the Texans, but was released by Houston in September of 2017 and landed with the Jaguars as a depth signing. He was activated in the wake of injuries to starters Marqise Lee and Allen Hurns and responded by catching a touchdown pass in the first half. Unfortunately, he went down with a season-ending ACL tear in his left knee in that game. In April of 2018, the Jaguars cut him loose.
If Strong has fully recovered, he could be an intriguing weapon for quarterback Baker Mayfield. The Browns could use some fortification in their receiver group anyway – Jarvis Landry led the way with 81 catches last year, but no other Browns receiver topped 45 grabs.
Strong, an Arizona State product, has played in 20 career games with just three starts. Overall, he’s tallied 31 catches for 330 yards and four touchdowns.
Details On Kareem Hunt’s Deal With Browns
Kareem Hunt‘s one-year deal with the Browns includes a base salary of $645K, a $25K per-game roster bonus for each game that he is active, and a $55K offseason workout bonus, Field Yates of ESPN.com tweets. It’s not exactly a top of the market deal for a running back, but it’s actually a better deal that the one Hunt had with the Chiefs prior to his release. 
Hunt will be able to earn $420K more from the Browns on a new contract than he would under his his old contract, had he been claimed, as Jason Fitzgerald of Over The Cap notes (on Twitter). There’s also upside for next year – Hunt will have the ability to earn more as a restricted free agent in 2020 than he would have as a fourth-year rookie.
The Browns’ decision to sign Hunt has stirred up some controversy and the details of his new deal won’t help ease the criticism. Recently, GM John Dorsey admitted the Browns’ investigation into Hunt’s past did not include speaking with the victim of his hotel assault, which didn’t help matters.
“I talked to a lot of people (but) I didn’t get a chance to talk to that victim,” Dorsey said, via Mary Kay Cabot of cleveland.com. “That’s probably part of her privacy stuff.”
Hunt won the 2017 rushing title with 1,327 yards on the ground. Prior to his Kansas City departure last year, he compiled 1,202 yards from scrimmage and scored 14 total touchdowns in eleven games.