Cleveland native Frank Clark would be a perfect addition to round out the Browns' rotation at defensive end.
Two positions the Browns still need to address in free agency
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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.
With the onset of the Browns’ offseason conditioning program on Monday, their veteran roster has been paused at 73 players.
That means 17 players will be added to reach the full roster limit of 90. Those spots will be filled by drafted players, undrafted free agents and, yes, another round of veteran free agency.
According to the Websites keeping track of NFL salary caps, the Browns have between $7.76 million (Overthecap.com) and $8.673 million (Spotrac.com) in salary cap space.
They can still use up a good portion of that cap room because they will add about $10 million more in cap space after the June 1 cuts of John Johnson and Jadeveon Clowney take effect. The $10 million boost then would cover rookie draft picks and leave a cushion for potential emergency spending during the season.
So, where might the Browns look to spend in the free agent bargain basement?
Two areas stick out – defensive end and safety. Here is a closer look at each.
Defensive end
Presently, the Browns have only five defensive ends on the roster, as opposed to nine defensive tackles.
The projected starters are Myles Garrett and Ogbonnia Okoronkwo. The top projected backups are 2022 draft picks Alex Wright and Isaiah Thomas. The fifth end is Sam Kamara, a 2021 Chicago Bears undrafted free agent from Stony Brook who joined the Browns practice squad in 2022 and was re-signed in January.
While this position group is likely to be addressed with one of the Browns’ top two picks in the draft – No. 74 and No. 98 in the third round – I would be surprised if the Browns didn’t add a veteran defensive end, also.
Garrett has averaged 79 percent of the team’s defensive snaps through his six seasons, and that includes missing six games in 2019 in an NFL suspension. New coordinator Jim Schwartz reportedly wants to reduce Garrett’s snap total in hopes of keeping him fresher late in games and late in the season.
Right now, there is not an adequate candidate to form a three-man rotation with Garrett and Okoronkwo.
Free agents to consider
1. Frank Clark: The Cleveland native and Glenville HS product was cut by the Kansas City Chiefs after Super Bowl 57 because of his scheduled salary cap number of $29 million. In four years with the Chiefs, Clark had a so-so 23.5 sacks in 58 games. He was a different player in the postseason, however. Clark had 10.5 sacks in 12 post-season games, including three Super Bowls (two wins). Clark also had 3.0 sacks in five post-season games with the Seahawks. Overall, his 13.5 sacks in post-season games are third-most in NFL history. If Clark, 29, is agreeable to a short-term contract of, say, two years, he would be a fantastic addition to the end rotation.
2. Robert Quinn: At the age of 31, Quinn set the Bears’ single-season mark with 18.5 sacks in 2021. He was traded to the Eagles in the middle of 2022 for a fourth-round draft pick. Though he didn’t record a sack for the Eagles, he was considered a valuable rotational player on their deep defensive line. He’ll be 33 in May and can still fill the role of third defensive end – especially in Schwartz’s pass rush-or-bust system.
3. Yannick Ngakoue: Seemingly perennially linked to the Browns, the peripatetic pass rusher-for-hire has signed short-term contracts three years in a row and played for four different teams in that time. After serving his four-year rookie contract with the Jaguars, he’s played for the Ravens, Vikings, Raiders and Colts. At 28, he’s the youngest available end with a pretty good sack history (65 in 110 games).
Safety
After Johnson was released, the Browns added Juan Thornhill in free agency to play deep safety and solidify third-year Grant Delpit as the box safety.
The only other safeties on the roster are D’Anthony Bell, a 2022 undrafted free agent who was limited to special teams core duty as a rookie, and Bubba Bolden, a Seahawks’ undrafted free agent in 2022 who came to the Browns practice squad and then re-signed for 2023.
The Browns apparently don't want to bring back Ronnie Harrison, whose one-year contract expired. It's doubtful he would return for another minimum deal.
Schwartz reportedly is in favor of riding the trend of more three-safety sub packages to replace a third linebacker with a more athletic (read: faster) third safety. It’s possible Schwartz could adapt to adding a natural free safety or strong safety as his third, considering the versatility of Delpit to stay in the box or be used in intermediate coverage.
Free agents to consider
1. Adrian Amos: After eight seasons of fairly consistent play split four years with the Bears and four with the Packers, Amos, who turns 30 on April 29, probably has entered the stage of short-term prove-it deals. He was a Packers defensive captain last year, but was released after a sub-par year and high salary cap number.
2. Duron Harmon: An original third-round pick of the Patriots in 2013 – for whom he collected three Super Bowl rings – Harmon has played with four teams in the last four years. Since leaving the Patriots after 2019, his snap counts have soared to 98 percent with the Lions, 92 percent with the Falcons and 96 percent with the Raiders. He has 23 interceptions in 10 NFL seasons.
3. Dan Sorensen: Nicknamed “Dirty Dan” for his scrappy style, not for ear-holing Rashard Higgins in the 2020 playoff game against the Browns, Sorensen left the Chiefs in 2022 after eight seasons for a veteran minimum contract with the Saints. He played mostly on special teams until late in the season and turned in two interceptions in the last four games, including one of Deshaun Watson in the Saints’ epic Christmas Eve win over the Browns. His defensive snap counts plummeted drastically last year. It might be a stretch to re-position him as a third safety, but you’d expect special teams coordinator Bubba Ventrone to give a thumbs-up.
