Jameis Winston is the new Browns' backup quarterback after the team showed no interest in bringing back 2023 fan and locker room favorite Joe Flacco.
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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.
Takeaways from Day 2 of NFL free agency …
1. Despite public comments to the contrary, I’m not surprised the Browns didn’t want to bring back Joe Flacco as their backup quarterback.
They were horrified by the likelihood of this 39-year-old phenom, a certifiable fan- and locker room-favorite, casting a shadow over Deshaun Watson and complicating his job next year. The image of the home crowd adoring Flacco during and after the playoff-clinching win over the Jets never left the minds of the Browns’ owners and decision-makers.
They secretly hoped the 2023 NFL comeback player-of-the-year found a better opportunity in free agency. When a market didn’t materialize in the first 36 hours of the legal negotiating period, GM Andrew Berry put an end to the ruse of bringing back Flacco and agreed to terms with another quarterback less threatening to Watson.
The Browns did not even offer Flacco the minimum NFL contract, I’ve confirmed.
Repeat: The Browns did not even offer Flacco the minimum NFL contract.
What’s more surprising than that decision was the choice of Jameis Winston as Flacco’s replacement.
Is he younger than Flacco? Yes. More mobile? Yes.
But in Winston, 30, the Browns are bringing in a proven non-winner (34-46 record as a starter) with the highest incidence of interceptions of any active NFL quarterback with a minimum of 20 games played.
Yes, the Browns’ playoff run ended with two Flacco pick 6’s in the Houston wild-card game. But nobody approaches Winston’s career interception percentage of 3.4 (INTs divided by total pass attempts). Flacco’s career interception percentage is 2.4.
(Washington’s Sam Howell has a 3.5 interception percentage through 18 games played.)
Winston’s spotty off-field incidents over his athletic career, which began in his days at Florida State and included one in the NFL that resulted in a three-game suspension, assures fans won’t be chanting his name if Watson stumbles out of his recovery from shoulder surgery.
Berry’s apologists will say it doesn’t matter who fills the role of backup quarterback because the Browns will go only so far as their $230 million quarterback takes them. But the Browns proved last year they could win without Watson. It was their backup quarterback – actually Flacco was their third backup quarterback – who took them into the playoffs.
Because of what they’ve invested in Watson, the Browns don’t want to see that happen again.
And now you can be sure that it won’t.
2. Here’s the list of quarterbacks acquired by Berry through his fifth season as Browns GM:
2020: Case Keenum, Garrett Gilbert, Kyle Lauletta.
2021: Nick Mullens.
2022: Deshaun Watson, Jacoby Brissett, Josh Dobbs, Josh Rosen.
2023: Dorian Thompson-Robinson, P.J. Walker, Joe Flacco, Jeff Driskel.
2024: Jameis Winston.
3. The Browns added Nyheim Hines. Yes, his natural position is running back, but he’s not a running back who is going to the front of the rotation. He’s had only 306 rushing attempts for 1,202 yards in five NFL seasons.
Hines, 5-9 and 196 pounds, projects as the team’s new punt returner.
In four years in Indianapolis under Browns special teams coordinator Bubba Ventrone, Hines averaged 11.4 yards on 89 punt returns. He returned two for touchdowns in 2019. Hines also averaged 25.5 yards on 32 kick returns in his career, which includes the 2022 season with Buffalo. Hines also had two kickoff returns for TDs with Buffalo.
Hines missed the entire 2023 season after suffering torn ligaments in his left knee in a See-Do accident. Hines was hit by another personal watercraft while attempting to refuel his See-Do at a marina.
4. The Browns raised the number of their own free agents re-signed to four by agreeing to deals with offensive lineman Michael Dunn and defensive tackle Shelby Harris.
Harris rejoins Maurice Hurst in the rotation behind starter Dalvin Tomlinson. Look for the Browns to add another starting-caliber tackle in free agency. Incumbent Jordan Elliott defected to the San Francisco 49ers.
It’s possible the Browns could trade for a veteran defensive tackle, too.
So far, the Browns haven't added a new player to their defensive front. They've only re-signed three from last year's roster -- Harris, Hurst and defensive end Za'Darius Smith.
5. The Browns added swing offensive tackle Hakeem Adeniji in a one-year contract agreement. Adeniji has 15 starts at both tackle positions and right guard with the Cincinnati Bengals. He played with the Minnesota Vikings last year.