Center JC Tretter has been a warrior and the glue to the offensive line for five seasons, but his time may be up with a year left on his contract. (Getty Images)
Predictions on Browns decisions on Clowney, Ward, Landry, Tretter and the quarterback
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Editor's note: Tony Grossi is a Cleveland Browns analyst for TheLandOnDemand.com and 850 ESPN Cleveland …
Andrew Berry’s biggest season yet is drawing nearer.
The Browns’ GM has a lot on his plate in his third year on the job. This is the calm before the storm.
Berry’s major transactions last year occurred in the month of March. In fact, nothing of substance happened before then. But the game plan was formulated right about now, while the pandemic stretched into Year 2. There wasn’t a Combine last year because of COVID. Now it’s back to business as usual.
The next time we hear from Berry and coach Kevin Stefanski will be at the NFL Combine in Indianapolis next week. They won’t divulge their game plan, of course.
But the Combine serves as the NFL gathering-place for trades to be sown and free agent strategies to be explored in after-hours cocktail meetings with agents and team executives in darkened hotel lounges.
Berry has to make decisions on 20 free agents on his roster, along with calls on major players under contract or eligible for extensions.
These are my predictions on what he will happen in the coming weeks. They are listed in the chronological order of when they occur.
1. Jadeveon Clowney returns with a multi-year contract.
The Browns have exclusive negotiating rights with the defensive end until he becomes a free agent on March 16. Because of that arbitrary deadline, Berry would be wise to make this his first priority. Clowney has a history of playing the field, and although the field has turned its back on him in recent transaction seasons, Clowney finally has a solid season on tape to sell and a clean bill of health. Berry has some chips in this poker game, too. He’s shown Clowney love for multiple seasons when few other team execs have. And the presence of Myles Garrett assures Clowney won’t be pressed as the No. 1 pass rusher on the Browns. Teams that view Clowney as their No. 1 are sure to be disappointed, but Clowney as Robin to Garrett’s Batman is a win-win situation.
2. Denzel Ward signs a blockbuster contract second only to Myles Garrett’s $125 million.
Ward’s fifth-year option guarantees him $13.294 million in 2022. The Browns will rip that up and add four years in making him the second highest-paid player on the roster. The new deal will reduce Ward’s salary cap number in 2022 in exchange for a life-changing cash signing bonus and desired security with his home-town team. After a season in which Ward elevated to a higher level, produced the biggest defensive play of the season (99-yard Pick 6 v. the Bengals), proved his durability, and earned the team’s Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year nomination, it’s inconceivable that the Browns would not re-invest in Ward.
3. Jarvis Landry, JC Tretter and Case Keenum will have their contracts terminated.
Landry’s parting is inevitable, a most likely mutual decision as a result of Landry’s disillusionment with the direction of the offense and his high salary vs. an undeniably amazing drop-off in production. This separation likely was in the works before the messy divorce of soul mate Odell Beckham Jr. and Baker Mayfield. Tretter’s exit with a year to go on his contract is a risky move. He is a warrior and the glue of the offensive line. But Nick Harris’ promising replacement start in Tretter’s place – ironically, in Green Bay, Tretter’s former home – probably clinched the deal. Harris was drafted to take over for Tretter and now offensive line guru Bill Callahan must make Harris’ development his project for 2022. Keenum has been splendidly paid for merely two starts over two seasons. The Browns gave an unvarnished opinion of his declining skills by refusing to play him over a badly slumping and injured Mayfield in the key games that cost them a playoff spot in 2021.
4. The Browns will use the 13th overall pick in the first round on a wide receiver.
This means the Browns will not go “all in” on a trade for a top-tier quarterback -- i.e. Aaron Rodgers, Russell Wilson or Deshaun Watson – which would require parting with this pick in the first round. Some old-school NFL evaluators believe that even the best of the 2022 crop of draftable receivers doesn’t rate in the top half of the draft. Sure, it’s a deep pool and good ones will be available in the second, third, and fourth rounds, and beyond. But the Browns need an elite No. 1 receiver and they’re not likely to overpay for one in free agency after going through the Landry and Beckham experience. Taking a receiver 20th rather than 13th just to squeeze more value out of the pick doesn’t make sense. The cheapest way to acquire a No. 1 receiver is to draft him, whichever the round.
5. The situations with tight ends Austin Hooper, who has two years left on his contract, and David Njoku, who is a free agent, will not be resolved until after the draft.
Njoku has surpassed Hooper as the best all-around tight end on the team, with the highest ceiling and best ability to affect games. But Njoku likely will test the market and not re-sign before free agency. Hooper has been an enigma since signing a four-year deal for $42 million in Berry’s first foray in free agency as GM. But the coaches and Berry know that Hooper could still blossom when the quarterback situation is improved. He’ll count $13.25 million on the salary cap if he stays and $11.25 million if he leaves. I expect them to keep him another year. Njoku should return, also, unless some team overpays for him, which is possible.
6. The Browns will continue to explore options to improve the quarterback position.
I’m not going into details at this time; we post a Quarterback Sports Book every week to gauge where this decision is heading. But I am more convinced than ever that staying status quo at quarterback is not the team’s favored course of action.
