Two of the Cleveland Browns starting linebackers will hit free agency in March, which may put the team in the market for a new player or two at the center of its defense.
Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah still has a year left on his rookie deal and is the type of explosive playmaker around whom the Browns can build the position group. Anthony Walker Jr. and Sione Takitaki, however, are more expendable.
Joe Tansey of Bleacher Report on Monday, January 22, suggested multiple free-agent additions for Cleveland in the coming months, including linebacker Devin White of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
“The Browns could use an extra defensive player who can get after the opposing quarterback and also be a reliable tackler. Devin White and Nicholas Morrow [of the Philadelphia Eagles] fall into that category as well,” Tansey wrote. “Unless the Browns offload a ton of money, they will not chase the top free agents, so they have to navigate the second and third tiers of free agents at certain positions to build up their defensive depth.”
Devin White Will Cost Browns More than Money in Free Agency
White, a top-five pick of the Buccaneers in 2019, finished out his four-year, $29.3 million rookie contract in 2022. Tampa Bay picked up his fifth-year option, which paid him $11.7 million last season.
Spotrac projects White’s market value at $80.4 million over a new four-year contract. That amount could price out the Browns, who are currently $13.9 million in the red with regards to their 2024 salary cap.
Cleveland has some options to clear cap space, though some would hurt. The Browns can save $11.8 million by cutting or trading four-time Pro Bowl running back Nick Chubb this offseason. The front office can also save $3 million by parting ways with kicker Dustin Hopkins and $2 million by giving tight end Jordan Akins his walking papers.
Strange as it is to say, Chubb may be relatively replaceable considering Jerome Ford’s breakout second season. Hopkins was as crucial as he was clutch this year, making multiple game-winning fields goals and posting a perfect 8-of-8 mark from 50-plus yards.
The Browns could trim $20 million by cutting or trading wide receiver Amari Cooper after June 1, though he has been excellent in both of his seasons in Cleveland and earned Pro-Bowl honors for the fifth time in his career in 2023, which makes Cooper a more likely candidate for a restructure or an extension.
Browns general manager Andrew Berry spoke to reporters at a press conference Monday, during which he vowed not to let cap issues dictate the team’s approach to free agency.
#Browns GM Andrew Berry says salary cap constraints won't keep him from adding necessary players. Has lot of confidence in how they handle it, considers that a "strategic advantage."
— Scott Petrak ct (@ScottPetrak) January 22, 2024
“#Browns GM Andrew Berry says salary cap constraints won’t keep him from adding necessary players,” Scott Petrak of Browns Zone reported via X. “Has lot of confidence in how they handle it, considers that a ‘strategic advantage.’”
Anthony Walker’s Injury Issues May Lead Browns in Different Direction
White had a down season in 2023, per Pro Football Focus, which could lower his cost and/or the length of his next contract. He was a second-team All-Pro in 2020 and a Pro Bowler in 2021. However, White’s struggles last season and the resulting impact to his upcoming deal will potentially make him more attractive to a cap-strapped organization like the Browns.
One thing White has always been over the course of his five-year NFL career is available, appearing in 76 of a possible 83 regular-season games and starting 75 of those, per Pro Football Reference. Walker, who has been a defensive captain in Cleveland over the last two years, has seen injury cut both of them short.
Walker has appeared in just 15 of 34 regular-season games over the past two campaigns and has missed 23 total contests since joining the Browns in 2021. Largely because of his injury issues, Jacob Roach of USA Today’s Browns Wire on Sunday listed Walker as the No.1 free agent with whom Cleveland should part in 2024.
“The leadership on defense from Anthony Walker Jr is great but the injuries are adding up, and when he is on the field his play isn’t what it used to be,” Roach wrote. “He has never been a star player, but watching him this year it is clear he is losing more and more speed and just can’t physically make the plays [the Browns] need him to with his limited range.”
