Will Kareem Hunt get his wish to be traded, after all? (Cleveland Browns)
Second thoughts: Browns toeing the line of cashing it in as trade deadline looms
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Editor's note: Tony Grossi is a Cleveland Browns analyst for TheLandOnDemand.com and 850 ESPN Cleveland. He has covered the Browns since 1984.
Second thoughts on Browns’ 23-20 loss to Baltimore Ravens …
1. Two weeks ago, after being smashed on the ground by the Los Angeles Chargers, the Browns were in the mood to buy. They swapped a sixth-round pick in 2024 for Atlanta linebacker Deion Jones and a seventh-round pick. Now with the NFL trade deadline one week away, they may be sellers. What happened? Well, two more losses, virtually knocking them out of the AFC North division race. With only a game against the Bengals on Monday night standing in the way of 2-6, GM Andrew Berry has to look ahead to jumpstarting some major work on his roster for 2023. The Browns are without first-round picks in 2023 and 2024 as a result of the trade with Houston for Deshaun Watson, who still has four more games to sit out in NFL suspension. It’s inconceivable that Berry could recoup a No. 1 in 2023 in a trade before the Nov. 1 deadline. But he could collect a few more picks as collateral for more trades at the next draft. Logical candidates to be traded are running back Kareem Hunt and cornerback Greedy Williams. Both will be unrestricted free agents after this season and neither is expected back. So-called rentals – players without multiple years left on their contracts – don’t bring much in return. On Monday, the resurgent Jets traded for free agent-to-be James Robinson of the Jaguars. The price tag for the former 1,000-yard back was a conditional sixth-round pick. So don’t expect more for Hunt or Williams. The Browns have 11 other players whose contracts are up after this year. They include Jack Conklin, Jadeveon Clowney, Ronnie Harrison, Taven Bryan, Sione Takitaki, and Jacoby Brissett. Berry probably would wait for the outcome against the Bengals before dealing anyone. A win – which would lift the Browns to 2-1 in division games – might persuade Berry to stand pat and hope the Browns can get to 5-6 before Watson’s belated debut. A loss would end all hope. A trade would also send that message to the locker room, which will only make Kevin Stefanski’s job more difficult.
2. Hunt’s drop-off in usage the last two games has been startling. The first five games he averaged 11 rushes and 2.8 receptions. The last two games those numbers are down to 4.5 rushes and .5 catches. In his 3 ½ seasons with the Browns, Hunt energized the entire team with his furious running style as the second half of the Two-Headed Monster with Nick Chubb, and also the primary third-down back. Hunt has 1 catch for 3 yards in the last two games. In Baltimore, he carried the ball for minus-5, minus-5, 5, 1, 2 and 2 yards for a touchdown. “The run opportunities he had were not blocked correctly,” Stefanski said. “To Baltimore’s credit, they did a nice job so that is not on Kareem. He is playing hard like he always does. Opportunities didn’t come up necessarily, but he did a nice job on his plays and scored for us late. He will continue to do things that help us win.” Hunt staged a two-day “hold-in” in training camp after requesting a new contract or trade. Complicating a trade of Hunt is the fact fifth-round rookie Jerome Ford, whom running backs coach Stump Mitchell praised as an every-down back in training camp, suffered an ankle injury on a kick return in Atlanta and is stuck on injured reserve for at least another two weeks. Also, the high ankle sprain injury to tight end David Njoku, which could keep him out 2-5 weeks, makes a third-down back like Hunt even more vital for Brissett.
3. The game-tying field goal attempt by the Browns in Baltimore was a fiasco on all counts – Browns, game officials and CBS rules analyst Gene Steratore. There’s no question that Baltimore’s Calais Campbell jumped into the neutral zone and made contact with Jedrick Wills. Yet, the official called Michael Dunn for a false start. Dunn never moved. Way to Dunn’s left, Jordan Elliott did move, but only after Campbell jumped first. Ravens coach John Harbaugh argued that snapper Charley Hughlett picked up the ball to draw the Ravens offsides. But that wasn’t the case at all. Steratore merely confused the issue with his incomprehensible explanation. A day later, Stefanski said he not yet received any clarification from the league office. “Charley is a veteran long snapper. He did nothing differently than he has done his entire career,” Stefanski said. “We are in no way trying to draw them offside in that situation – the risk-reward is way, way, way, too high. You may do that if it is on the plus-10 and it is a short field goal – there are teams I see do that – but that certainly is not what we were doing there.”
4. After the five-yard penalty was assessed, Cade York’s game-tying field goal attempt should have been spotted just beyond the 50-yard line – making it a 60+ yard attempt. But Hughlett and holder Corey Bojorquez lost their bearings, apparently, and spotted the ball a yard closer. York’s kick then was blocked by Baltimore’s Malik Harrison. “With the penalty moving us back those five yards, I think we just didn’t adjust accordingly,” Stefanski said. “I don’t believe that was the reason the ball was blocked.” Still, it was another botched play on special teams that helped cost the Browns a game. Earlier, punt returner Donovan Peoples-Jones did a Willie Mays imitation and turned his back to track down a Baltimore punt at the 6-yard line. He returned it to the 12. That set up a Browns punt from their end zone, and the coverage team allowed a 46-yard return by David Duvernay, which helped set up a field goal and 10-6 Baltimore lead. Stefanski said, “We have to be better. We will coach real hard to make sure the guys understand that, and we will get better just from making sure that they understand what we are asking them to do and then we have to go execute.”
5. Ironman of the game: Rookie receiver David Bell played 34 of 60 snaps on offense. He had one reception for 7 yards. The week before, he played 44 of 70 snaps and had one catch for 13 yards.
6. Second guess: Why did the Browns throw for the end zone on third-and-2 from the Baltimore 34 with 2:24 to play and the Ravens ahead, 23-20? Why not call something shorter to get the first down, maintain possession and grind the clock? “You are looking for opportunities to score touchdowns,” Stefanski said. “We will take them whenever you can get them. If we have to play defense, we will play defense. I understand what you are saying, where you would love to take it all of the way down to 0:01 and score on the last play, but when you are playing a good defense and you have an opportunity with a one-on-one ball, you have to take it.” Brissett’s pass was caught by Amari Cooper for an apparent touchdown, but Cooper was flagged for offensive pass interference for pushing off Marcus Peters (a terrible call). The 10-yard penalty created third-and-12 at the Ravens’ 44. Brissett barely escaped a deep sack and ran for 7 yards to set up the field goal fiasco. If Cooper’s touchdown would have stood, the Browns would have gone up, 27-23, but Lamar Jackson would have taken over the ball probably with 75 yards to go after a touchback, and with 2:18 to play, plus two timeouts and the two-minute warning. Something tells me the Browns wouldn’t have stopped him.
