Browns Work Out CB Leodis McKelvin
The Browns worked out veteran cornerback Leodis McKelvin on Tuesday, according to Field Yates of ESPN.com (Twitter link).
Because McKelvin wasn’t on a roster at the conclusion of the 2017 season, he’s eligible to sign with a club immediately. McKelvin, 32, spent last year out of the NFL after being cut by the Eagles in February, but he did attract interest throughout the campaign, as he met with the Saints, Rams, and Falcons at various points during the season.
McKelvin wasn’t exactly a superstar the last time he was on the field, as Pro Football Focus graded him as the No. 71 cornerback among 112 qualifiers. In his first (and only) season with the Eagles, McKelvin appeared in 13 games (12 starts), managing 16 passes defensed and two interceptions, one of which he returned for a touchdown.
Although McKelvin may no longer be the difference-maker he once was, the Browns have had success with seemingly aging defensive backs in the very recent past, as 30-year-old Jason McCourty posted one of the best seasons of his career with Cleveland in 2017.
Alex Smith Addresses Browns Rumors
The conversation pivoted to the Browns, a proposition that has been mentioned recently. A team that has lost 31 of its past 32 games does not sound like an ideal place to go for a veteran quarterback that’s been to the playoffs four times in the past five years, and Smith seemed to confirm as such during his interview.
- The Cardinals’ running backs coach during Emmitt Smith‘s farewell season in 2004, Kirby Wilson is close to a deal to return to the desert. Alex Marvez of the Sporting News reports Wilson interviewed for the job and is considered a strong candidate to again fill that role. Wilson coached Arizona’s backs from 2004-06 before moving on. He spent the past two seasons as the Browns’ run-game coordinator. Wilson’s coached seven teams’ running backs, dating back to 1997. One of Wilson’s stops was in Minnesota, where he oversaw Adrian Peterson‘s third rushing championship season in 2015.
Browns’ QB Plans Include Veteran, Rookie Upgrades?
The Sashi Brown regime will likely be most associated with the decisions to trade out of draft spots that ended up producing Carson Wentz and Deshaun Watson. Well, that and an unprecedented losses in a two-year span.
But John Dorsey may be preparing for a multifaceted approach to fixing the Browns’ quarterback situation. The Browns are expected to pull the trigger on a quarterback at No. 1 overall, and Dorsey said several could be on the radar at this juncture, but Mary Kay Cabot of cleveland.com expects the Browns’ Week 1 starter will be a veteran not currently on the roster.
Cabot writes the Browns will acquire an experienced passer, adding this player would play in front of the to-be-determined rookie to start the season. This would differ from Cleveland’s 2017 approach, which included giving DeShone Kizer the reins immediately. Cabot mentions Alex Smith as a candidate the team will attempt to acquire via trade.
Cabot expects Dorsey to attempt to trade for Smith, whom he acquired in 2013 for two second-round picks while with the Chiefs, and still draft a quarterback at No. 1. Smith has one year and $20.6MM left on his contract, and the Chiefs are reportedly ready to explore a trade and turn to Patrick Mahomes in 2018.
This would be interesting given how far the Browns may be from contention, but Hue Jackson said this multi-pronged solution at quarterback would be in play this offseason despite its perceived redundancy. The Browns having gone 1-31 over the past two seasons, it would seemingly make sense to not waste additional resources on a franchise-quarterback salary instead of letting the rookie learn from the start, but the team does have a warchest of cap space. Cleveland’s expected to possess $110MM in space, so just about anything could be in play come March.
As for the rookie the Browns will pair this to-be-identified veteran with, Cabot does not see it being Baker Mayfield. While a report emerged over the weekend that Mayfield may be the type of player Dorsey covets, Cabot still sees the Browns as having multiple other QBs above him on their early board. Jackson’s proclivity for bigger quarterbacks could well play a role here, Cabot writes.
A Mayfield play could look similar to the Browns’ Johnny Manziel gamble, with Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk writing that Jimmy Haslam could well enter the decision-making process as he did in 2014 when he pushed for Manziel. Noting it would be difficult for Dorsey to say no under these circumstances, Florio writes the Browns would be hoping the Oklahoma product that shares some on-field traits with Manziel doesn’t share enough of the off-field troubles with him. Haslam reportedly intervened this spring in Brown and Co.’s draft process in hopes of a quarterback pick, so it wouldn’t be out of character for the owner to step in again.
Several scouts and execs Cabot spoke to at the Senior Bowl see the similarities between Mayfield and Manziel, but Dorsey came to the former’s defense this week.
Browns Considering Baker Mayfield At 1?
Having already been connected to Josh Rosen, Josh Allen and Sam Darnold, the Browns are midway through an all-hands-on-deck offseason when it comes to their quarterback choice. However, Charles Robinson of Yahoo.com reports the Browns may not be dismissing a Baker Mayfield pick. Multiple evaluators informed Robinson that the Browns are going to be down to Darnold or Mayfield.
Browns Notes: Draft, Mayfield
Armed with the No. 1 overall pick and a ludicrous amount of cap room, could the Browns sign/trade for a big-name veteran quarterback and draft a top prospect? Head coach Hue Jackson won’t rule it out.
It seems likely Browns will take a quarterback with the top pick in the draft, but it’s hard to imagine them also signing someone like Kirk Cousins and creating an expensive logjam under center. What the Browns realistically could do, however, is acquire a bridge quarterback who could start in 2018, giving their No. 1 pick a year to sit on the bench and learn.
- There are some concerns about the character of Oklahoma quarterback Baker Mayfield, but Browns GM John Dorsey doesn’t seem fazed by that talk as others. “Every young man will make a mistake in his life, I bet you,” he said (via Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com). “And I think he’s very remorseful of that mistake and I think he’s moved forward from that, and he’s trying to make himself a better person, going through the process.” Mayfield made some questionable decisions this past season, including taunting Kansas fans with a crotch grab and a flag on the field after beating Ohio State, right in the middle of the Buckeyes’ “Block O” logo at midfield. Dorsey isn’t ruling out Mayfield, but one scout and one high-level exec told Cabot that they see a lot of Johnny Manziel in him.
Hue Jackson Explains 2018 Role
Hue Jackson will be taking on a CEO-style approach this season and shed light on why he thought Todd Haley‘s experience was sufficient to unseat him as Browns play-caller. Jackson confirmed Thursday that Haley will call plays, just as he did in Pittsburgh.
Jackson, who called Browns plays the past two seasons and did so without an offensive coordinator, said Haley became his top OC choice once the Steelers did not renew his contract. While the third-year head coach said Haley will run the show come game day, with Jackson’s recommendations, he will be hands-on with the quarterback the Browns select in the draft. They are widely expected to pick a quarterback at No. 1 overall
Latest On Johnny Manziel
Johnny Manziel’s agent says that he is giving the Hamilton Tiger-Cats of the CFL until Jan 31 to work out a ”fair deal.” The Tiger-Cats say they will not abide by any deadline. 
“A lot of stuff happens in the negotiation process,” Hamilton GM Eric Tillman said (via Alex Marvez of The Sporting News). “We have a lot of respect for Erik. Our meetings with Johnny have been good. We’ll be patient. I know the deadline is there but will be fluid. There’s a lot of time between now and the beginning of camp (in May).”
The Tiger-Cats, who own Manziel’s CFL rights, showed interest in signing the quarterback to a deal last year However, CFL commissioner Randy Ambrosie blocked the deal, saying that Manziel would first have to satisfy certain off-field conditions. In late December, Ambrosie opened the door for Manziel to join the league. The Tiger-Cats remain intrigued by Manziel’s potential, though they are unwilling to cave to demands by Manziel’s agent.
“I see a lot of good in Johnny. We see a lot of upside in him,” Tillman said. “We visited with him and looked him in the eye. I think he’s a guy who wants to reestablish himself even more as a person than a player. If he comes, I think it will be a win-win situation.”
Manziel, 26, has not played in the NFL since the 2015 season and the CFL could be a launching pad for his NFL return. If his camp can’t come to terms with Hamilton, he could always look into joining the XFL 2.0.
Browns Notes: Allen, Mayfield, Thomas
Browns GM John Dorsey holds the No. 1 pick in the draft and he is considering a larger pool of players than you might expect. Speaking to reporters at the site of the Senior Bowl this week, Dorsey indicated that both Oklahoma’s Baker Mayfield and Wyoming’s Josh Allen are in the mix.
“In 2013, I had the first pick in the draft with the Kansas City Chiefs, and there really wasn’t a quarterback prospect there,” Dorsey said (via Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com). “Actually in this class there are four to five prospects that make you think at least are they worthy of that position. So now I think what you do is you let the process unfold.”
USC’s Sam Darnold and UCLA’s Josh Rosen, of course, are also believed to be in the running. It’s not immediately clear who the fifth player might be, if there is one.
Here’s more on the Browns:
- We’ve heard rumblings of rookie quarterbacks not wanting to go to the Browns in the past, but Allen says that he would embrace the opportunity to help engineer Cleveland’s comeback. “If I’m fortunate enough to become a Cleveland Brown, you can expect everything from me,” Allen told 92.3 The Fan. “I want to be the guy that turns around the Cleveland Browns. The guy that does that is going to be immortalized in Cleveland forever.”
- Tackle Joe Thomas, who is still undecided about whether he’ll play in 2018, endorsed the team’s decision to retain coach Hue Jackson in an essay for The MMQB. Thomas was also optimistic about what the future may hold for the Browns, citing the team’s cap room and draft capital. It’s possible that these factors will motivate Thomas to return, but he may also wait until we get closer to the start of free agency to announce his plans.
- On Wednesday, the Browns formally announced the hiring of former Pittsburgh play caller Todd Haley as their new offensive coordinator.
Browns Officially Hire Todd Haley
The Browns have their man. On Wednesday morning, the Browns formally announced the hiring of Todd Haley as their new offensive coordinator. 
“We’re thrilled to bring Todd Haley in as our offensive coordinator,” said head coach Hue Jackson in a press release. “I’ve known Todd for a very long time and have respected and admired the job he’s done as a play-caller in this league. He’s a coordinator that has been successful in every place he’s been. He has been a guy that has adjusted his offense to successfully complement and taken advantage of the skillset of his personnel. I’ve witnessed firsthand how prolific his offenses have been in the AFC North over the last six seasons. As I reflected after the season and contemplated adding an offensive coordinator to the staff, my first thought was obviously improvement. If I was going to turn over the play calling duties to someone else, it had to be to someone that was experienced and had a long history of success in this league….When Todd became available, I jumped at the opportunity to meet with him. Once we sat down and talked, it became quickly evident that Todd would be a great fit.”
Of course, some will speculate that Jackson didn’t have much choice when it came to hiring an offensive coordinator. Jackson has been the team’s play caller for the last two years and the team has won just one game over that span. At the same time, Jackson previously intimated that he would have hired an OC for 2017, but he did not want to saddle a new hire with such a talent-poor offense.
Haley has spent the past 21 years coaching in the NFL, including the past six as the Steelers’ OC. Under Haley’s guidance, the Steelers had one of the best offenses in the NFL. Wide receiver Antonio Brown and running back Le’Veon Bell flourished in Haley’s system and they were among the six offensive players from the Steelers to be selected to the Pro Bowl this past season. Meanwhile, quarterback Ben Roethlisberger has earned four straight Pro Bowl nods and tied for the NFL lead in passing yards in 2014. The Browns are dying to those kinds of results from their next quarterback, whoever he may be.
In addition to Haley, the Browns announced that Amos Jones will be the team’s new special teams coordinator and Freddie Kitchens will serve as the running backs/associate head coach.
Browns, Todd Haley Nearing Deal
The Browns are close to an agreement to make Todd Haley the team’s new offensive coordinator, according to a league source who spoke withPat McManamon of ESPN.com (Twitter link). 
Haley boasts eight years of offensive coordinator experience, broken up by nearly three seasons as the Chiefs’ head coach. He has spent the last six seasons as the Steelers’ OC and the on-field results have been largely tremendous. Over the past four seasons, the Steelers were second in NFL scoring behind only the Patriots.
Off the field, however, is a different story. Haley has been in the papers for the wrong reasons as of late, including a frosty relationship with quarterback Ben Roethlisberger and a scuffle on New Year’s Eve that left him with a shattered pelvis. The Browns have dealt with their fair share of headaches from players, but they apparently feel comfortable with the fact that Haley
Before zeroing in on Haley, Cleveland interviewed former Giants head coach Ben McAdoo and Texans quarterbacks coach Sean Ryan for the job. Hue Jackson has gone without an OC the past two seasons and the results have been worse than any other two-year span in league history.