Browns To Visit With Vonn Bell, William Parks
- The Browns, Buccaneeers, Lions and Saints are gracing Ohio State safety Vonn Bell‘s itinerary for workouts and/or meetings, Rand Getlin of NFL.com tweets. The early-entry Buckeyes safety already met with Tennessee.
- Arizona safety William Parks will visit the Seahawks and Browns after showing well in his workout, Tony Pauline of Draftinsider.net reports. Wildcats offensive lineman Lene Maiava has visits scheduled with the Chargers and Seahawks, Pauline reports.
Browns Notes: RGIII, Draft, McCown
With Robert Griffin III now a member of the Browns, the Jets have lost one of their backup plans at quarterback, as Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News writes. According to Mehta, RGIII would have been an “acceptable fallback choice with upside” for the Jets, who continue to prioritize Ryan Fitzpatrick. With their alternatives dwindling, the Jets should increase their offer to Fitzpatrick and get something done, in Mehta’s view.
- Charles Robinson of Yahoo! Sports suggests the Browns were the only team with legit interest in RGIII, noting that teams in need of a backup like the Cowboys and Chiefs never engaged.
- In a slideshow at Cleveland.com, Mary Kay Cabot breaks down five things the Griffin signing means for the Browns, suggesting that the team will likely still draft a quarterback early, and that Josh McCown figures to be a goner.
- Pat McManamon of ESPN.com echoes the idea that the Browns should still select a quarterback early in the draft, writing that signing Griffin is just the start of the team’s QB search — not the end of it.
- Jason Fitzgerald of Over the Cap examines the contract signed by the former second overall pick, explaining that the deal suggests the Browns gave him the best chance to start. As Fitzgerald points out, if Griffin thought he could get a starting job somewhere, it might have made more sense to take a one-year, prove-it deal to try to land a bigger contract a year from now — instead, he locked himself into a two-year pact that will be team-friendly if he ends up starting and playing well.
- Browns head coach Hue Jackson was extremely impressed with what he saw from Griffin when the QB worked out for the team last week, as Jeff Darlington of NFL.com details. Given Jackson’s reputation for understanding quarterbacks “as well as anyone,” his endorsement helped convince the team to get a deal done.
Browns Draft Rumors: Treadwell, Coleman
Mississippi receiver Laquon Treadwell says the Bengals, Browns, Bears, and Cowboys have shown interest in him, Mike Florio of PFT writes. The first-round prospect also identified “New York” as a team with interest, but it’s not clear if that’s in reference to the Jets or Giants. San Francisco, which owns the No. 7 pick in the draft, has been said to have interest in Treadwell.
- Clemson DE Shaq Lawson has (or has had) visits/workouts with the Cowboys and 49ers, per Rand Getlin of NFL.com (Twitter links). The Jets, Titans, Saints, Panthers, and Browns have also linked up with Lawson, per previous reports. Matt Miller of Bleacher Report (on Twitter) opines that Lawson is a top 10 talent.
- Baylor wide receiver Corey Coleman has workouts and/or visits set with the 49ers, Bengals, Lions, Bears, Panthers, and Browns, Getlin tweets.
Robert Griffin III Contract Details
- Robert Griffin III, QB (Browns): Two years, $15MM. $6.75MM guaranteed. $3.5MM signing bonus. $750K annually in per-game roster bonuses. Base salaries of $3.5MM (guaranteed) and $6MM. $750K roster bonus on third day of 2017 league year. Up to $3.5MM in annual incentives based on playing time, yards, and passer rating (Twitter links via Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle and Tom Pelissero of USA Today).
Browns Eyeing Carson Wentz
It has already been an eventful day in the AFC North, where the Browns have officially signed Robert Griffin III to a two-year contract and ex-Browns linebacker Karlos Dansby is paying a visit to the division-rival Bengals. Those aren’t the only items of note worth passing along from out of the division today though, so let’s dive in and round up the latest…
- Newly-signed Browns quarterback RGIII told reporters, including Nate Ulrich of the Akron Beacon Journal (Twitter link), that it wouldn’t bother him “at all” if Cleveland drafts a QB early, adding that he’d “take the guy under my wing.” One potential target for the Browns is North Dakota State’s Carson Wentz, and Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com notes (via Twitter) that Hue Jackson, Pep Hamilton, and Andrew Berry were all at Wentz’s pro day on Thursday.
Browns Sign Robert Griffin III
12:40pm: The Browns’ investment in RGIII is not insignificant. Mike Garafolo of FOX Sports reports (via Twitter) that the two-year pact is worth $15MM, with a signing bonus of $3.5MM and $6.75MM in total guarantees.
According to Tom Pelissero of USA Today (Twitter links), Griffin can earn up to $750K in per-game active roster bonuses, and has a $750K roster bonus due on the third day of the 2017 league year. He can also make an extra $3.5MM in annual incentives based on playing time, yards, and passer rating, so the deal could max out at $22MM.
11:45am: The Browns have officially signed Griffin, the team confirmed in a press release. According to Schefter (Twitter link), it’s a two-year contract.
11:38am: Griffin and the Browns have agreed to a deal, per Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com (via Twitter).
11:31am: The Browns are expected to reach an agreement with free agent quarterback Robert Griffin III today, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (via Twitter). While nothing is official yet, Schefter reports that RGIII will become a Brown.
The move could have a domino effect on other quarterback situations around the NFL. Cleveland had been viewed as a potential landing spot for trade candidate Colin Kaepernick, but signing Griffin will take the Kaepernick option off the table for the Browns. As for RGIII, he had been viewed as a potential fallback plan for the Jets, so Ryan Fitzpatrick may get a little added leverage in his contract negotiations with New York now that the team’s alternatives have been reduced by one.
Still, as Schefter notes (via Twitter), the Browns’ deal with Griffin could result in another veteran signal-caller becoming available. With Cleveland still likely to select a quarterback in the draft, last year’s primary starter, Josh McCown, could land on the trade block.
Griffin, the 2012 offensive rookie of the year, hasn’t been the same since tearing his ACL in the playoffs that season. Although the former Pro Bowl quarterback completed a career-best 68.1% of his passes in 2014, he threw just four touchdown passes compared to six interceptions and fell out of favor with Jay Gruden. Subsequently, RGIII didn’t take a snap in 2015 as Kirk Cousins captured Washington’s starting job and ultimately received the franchise tag.
Griffin threw for 3,200 yards as a rookie, rushing for another 815, and totaled 27 touchdowns, including 20 through the air. In 2013, however, Griffin’s completion percentage dropped five points and Washington went 3-10 in games that the former Heisman Trophy winner started.
Injuries knocked Griffin out of the starting lineup in 2014 and ’15, the latter coming in the preseason, when Washington opted to shelve the former No. 2 overall pick and begin its exit strategy from its one-time franchise quarterback. The team released him earlier this month.
After Griffin reached free agency, he visited both the Jets and Browns, but the interest from Cleveland was always viewed as more serious — Jets GM Mike Maccagnan described RGIII’s visit to New York as a “meet-and-greet” situation.
With the Browns believed to be eyeing a quarterback like Carson Wentz or Jared Goff in the draft, the team could pair a first-round rookie with the 26-year-old Griffin this season, giving the franchise a pair of signal-callers with some youth and upside. Although Cleveland’s failure to develop quarterbacks in the past has been well-documented, there is perhaps some reason for optimism this time around, since new head coach Hue Jackson is widely considered to be a strong QBs coach.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Austin Pasztor Signs Browns' RFA Tender
- Austin Pasztor signed his RFA tender to stay with the Browns, Curtis Crabtree of Pro Football Talk reports. Pasztor will make $1.67MM after the Browns tagged him with the low-end tender. The 26-year-old lineman has 23 starts to his credit in four seasons in Jacksonville and Cleveland.
Hue Jackson To Visit Wentz's Pro Day, Skip Paxton Lynch's
- Hue Jackson will attend Carson Wentz‘s pro day Thursday but won’t trek to Memphis to observe Paxton Lynch‘s due to the Browns being in “training mode” by the time Lynch throws for scouts April 6, according to ESPNCleveland.com’s Tony Grossi (on Twitter).
Latest On Josh Gordon's Potential Reinstatement
- While no decisions have been made on Josh Gordon‘s potential reinstatement, Goodell expects his staff to update him on the Browns wide receiver’s case next week.
Browns, RGIII May Still Reach Agreement
Will Robert Griffin III ultimately sign with the Browns after visiting Cleveland last week? According to Jay Glazer of FOX Sports (via Twitter), the prevailing feeling at the owners’ meetings in Boca Raton is that the Browns will indeed be able to get something done with RGIII. There’s no agreement in place yet, but Tony Grossi of ESPNCleveland.com tweets that there’s a possibility of a deal by the end of the week.