Browns free agency watch/rumor thread

[ajz20]

Here is a brief list to get started. No particular order here.

1.DE Charles Johnson- young guy with 11.5 sacks would give us a nice young DL of Taylor Rubrn, Sheard and CJ.

2.Steve Smith( Giants) WR-I know the FO claims we are not getting a WR in FA but I think they may see if they can steal a guy like Smith who is comming off injury, who would be a great fit in the offense.

3. Jason Babin DE- Great stats. Is he a one year wonder? Hard worker who could be a great fit.

4 Ray Edwards - Not a prolific pass rusher, but on overall good player that would deff help the d line.

5. Tamba Ali- LB can rush the passer and would really help on third and long.

6. Lamar Woodly- LB Makes us better and the Steelers worse. Enough said. Steelers do not have a ton of cap space. Could be a chance for us to steal him.

7. Darren Sproiles- RB Hardesty is never healthy and this would be a perfect change of pace to Hillis.

8Quintin Mikell (PHI) Heckert connection, and we need to replace Abe Elam.


Thoughts ?

 

[Silky Smooth]

Re: FA you want the browns to go after.

I'm looking forward to seeing Hardesty play. Hopefully he can actually play a game or 2.

 

[The Voice]

Re: FA you want the browns to go after.

Isn't it a bit pre-mature to say Hardesty is always injured?

 

[mofire]

Re: FA you want the browns to go after.

Charles johnson, ray Edward, eric weddle, santonio Holmes

 

[Gimme Some Mo]

Re: FA you want the browns to go after.

Isn't it a bit pre-mature to say Hardesty is always injured?

Considering that is a fact, no. It would be premature to say he WILL always be injured.

 

[Soda]

Re: FA you want the browns to go after.

Eric Weddle. Long-term Safety solution. And a DE.

 

[di0p]

Re: FA you want the browns to go after.

1. Ray Edwards

2. Weddle/Mikell/Whitner (Don't think Weddle will come here, he will have many teams chasing him)

3. Sidney Rice (Although Holmgren said we aren't adding WRs...not sure why not)

4. Darren Sproles / Reggie Bush (Call me crazy, but Bush would be a perfect compliment to Hillis. I just can't count on Hardesty until he survives a season.)

 

[Remi]

1. Ray Edwards

2. Weddle/Mikell/Whitner (Don't think Weddle will come here, he will have many teams chasing him)

3. Sidney Rice (Although Holmgren said we aren't adding WRs...not sure why not)

4. Darren Sproles / Reggie Bush (Call me crazy, but Bush would be a perfect compliment to Hillis. I just can't count on Hardesty until he survives a season.)

Well I don't think Reggie Bush can be considered reliable. He's had a large amount of injuries and I'm trying to think of how many full seasons he's played. One or two maybe? Granted it is more than Hardesty can say, but far from being someone you can count on to stay healthy.

 

[Bob_The_Cat]

Re: FA you want the browns to go after.

Woodley got franchised, so you can kiss that goodbye. I think Ali did as well. My top targets would definitely be Weddle, Edwards, Johnson, and Sproles. I guess Ronnie Brown could be available as well, which could certainly be an interesting combo with Hillis and Hardesty. Sproles would probably be a better fit though.

I just hope we target young vets if we sign anyone for obvious reasons.

 

[Amherstcavsfan]

Re: FA you want the browns to go after.

I'm not one for correcting people, but guys, It's Tamba Hali, not Tamba Ali.

My dream would be that we sign Edwards and Mikel/Whitner and maybe Sidney Rice if he's available.

 

[The Voice]

Re: FA you want the browns to go after.

Considering that is a fact, no. It would be premature to say he WILL always be injured.

That's not a fact because he's not injured right now. Which makes him 100% healthy.

If the cap numbers are what they're rumored to be at, the Steelers will be over the cap.

 

[Ohdang]

Re: FA you want the browns to go after.

Eric Weddle, Charles Johnson or Ray Edwards, maybe a starting RT, but I think Womack will play there pretty well when Pashos goes down.

And I don't understand why people keep saying Whitner. Is it just homerism? Do people not realize he plays the same position as TJ Ward, and would be a colossal failure to play them together? Be prepared to scream at the TV a lot when our corners get beat and there's no safety help where there should be because we're playing 2 strong safeties and no free safeties again.

 

[col63onel]

Re: FA you want the browns to go after.

1.DE Charles Johnson- young guy with 11.5 sacks would give us a nice young DL of Taylor Rubrn, Sheard and CJ.

Love him. He'd be my #1 target for the Browns. All things considered, I think he's a better fit for the Browns than Asamough.

2.Steve Smith( Giants) WR-I know the FO claims we are not getting a WR in FA but I think they may see if they can steal a guy like Smith who is comming off injury, who would be a great fit in the offense.

Holmgren's and Heckerts teams had a decent track record of developing WRs, as opposed to FA or high draft pciks. Also, I do want to see Robo, Mass and Little for a year with Colt and Shurmur. And his big year 2 years ago might drive his price up. I think he's a solid player, but not a great fit.

3. Jason Babin DE- Great stats. Is he a one year wonder? Hard worker who could be a great fit.

More of a 3-4 guy, IMO. I like Edwards ahead of him.

4 Ray Edwards - Not a prolific pass rusher, but on overall good player that would deff help the d line.

If we cant get CJ, I'd really want Edwards.

5. Tamba Ali- LB can rush the passer and would really help on third and long.

Again, I see more of a 3-4 guy. I also see Hali as similar to Marcus Benard, only more expensive. I'll pass.

6. Lamar Woodly- LB Makes us better and the Steelers worse. Enough said. Steelers do not have a ton of cap space. Could be a chance for us to steal him.

He is more a 3-4 guy as well, but he might have enough bulk to move to a 4-3. However, I am going to guess his price tag will be too high.

7. Darren Sproiles- RB Hardesty is never healthy and this would be a perfect change of pace to Hillis.

Sproles best attribute, IMO, is his pass catching ability, and we have Hillis for that role. Plus, I can guarantee the FO will give Hrdesty every opportunity.

8Quintin Mikell (PHI) Heckert connection, and we need to replace Abe Elam.

Didn't realize he was a FA. He'd be worth looking into, although I have a higher opinion of Abe than most.

 

[col63onel]

Re: FA you want the browns to go after.

That's not a fact because he's not injured right now. Which makes him 100% healthy.

If the cap numbers are what they're rumored to be at, the Steelers will be over the cap.

What are the Browns at?

 

[SixPACK]

Re: FA you want the browns to go after.

What are the Browns at?

Got this off a site. Don't know if 100% accurate but my best guess as of now.

2011 NFL cap as of now: $120 mill - $82 mill = $38 mill in free space (estimated)

We're going to have to spend at least $108 mill, so that's at least $26 mill in cap space we must spend on our rookies and free agents. You figure our rookies aren't going to be too highly paid with the new rookie scale and it's going to leave quite a bit we're going to HAVE to spend in free agency.