The Browns will enter the free-agency negotiating period armed with about $102 million in salary-cap space, a desire to retain wide receiver Terrelle Pryor and needs at virtually every position coming off a 1-15 season.
Beginning at noon Tuesday, all 32 NFL teams will be permitted by league rules to enter contract negotiations with the agents of impending unrestricted free agents from other clubs. Contracts, however, cannot be executed with a new team until free agency begins at 4 p.m. Thursday. Trades can also become official at that time.
The Browns want Pryor back at what they consider a fair value, and Pryor has said time and again he wants to continue to play for coach Hue Jackson.
Pryor’s agents, Drew and Jason Rosenhaus, will be able weigh offers from other teams and find out whether the Browns will match or beat them. Yahoo.com cited unnamed league sources who expect Pryor to make between $10 million and $12 million per season. The Browns have more cap room than any team in NFL history.
“I’m anxious and nervous,” Pryor, 27, tweeted Monday. “But everything [is] in gods hands.... We must follow his plans...”
The Browns could have avoided the drama by using a franchise tag on Pryor and thus securing him with a one-year deal worth $15.682 million. But they let last week’s deadline pass without tagging him.
“We want to have him here long term as opposed to kind of a one-year temporary option,” Browns head of football operations Sashi Brown said last week at the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis. “I think through my conversations he understands. We value him a lot.”
Brown repeatedly said the organization wouldn’t panic if it failed to re-sign Pryor. He also said Pryor would “be solicited by other teams” last week at the combine. The Pittsburgh Steelers, San Francisco 49ers, New York Giants, Tennessee Titans and Philadelphia Eagles have shown interest, according to Cleveland.com.
With or without Pryor, the Browns have holes pretty much everywhere on their roster, and owner Jimmy Haslam said Jan. 1 the team needed to be “appropriately aggressive” in free agency.
Several holes to fill
It would be appropriate for the Browns to ...
• Secure a veteran quarterback.
They have long been expected to pursue a trade for New England Patriots backup Jimmy Garoppolo.
But the Patriots are intent on keeping Garoppolo, 25, and if they can’t be convinced to deal him, signing Buffalo Bills starter Tyrod Taylor, 27, provided he’s released with contract options set to trigger about $31 million in guarantees, or trading for Cincinnati Bengals backup AJ McCarron, 26, would be logical contingencies for the Browns.
Jackson might love a quarterback in April’s draft. By all means, pick him. But a wise strategy would be to let a rookie develop behind a veteran before throwing him into the fire.
• Beef up the protection for whoever plays quarterback.
After allowing 66 sacks, 17 more than any other team, the Browns changed offensive line coaches. Now they need starters at center and right tackle. Incumbent starting right tackle Austin Pasztor, 26, is a soon-to-be free agent.
They could also look at guards because starters Joel Bitonio and John Greco are trying to come back from Lisfranc injuries.
Options at guard include the Bengals’ Kevin Zeitler, 26, the Green Bay Packers’ T.J. Lang, 29, the Detroit Lions’ Larry Warford, 25, and the Dallas Cowboys’ Ronald Leary, 27. Baltimore Ravens right tackle Rick Wagner, 27, is set to hit the open market along with centers Stefan Wisniewski, 27, of the Eagles and J.C. Tretter, 26, of the Packers.
• Reinforce the receiving corps.
Bringing Pryor back is the main objective. But even if the Browns achieve that goal, they’ll need more receivers. They’re believed to be interested in the Ravens’ Kamar Aiken, 27. Others available include the Los Angeles Rams’ Kenny Britt, 28, the Titans’ Kendall Wright, 27, the Cowboys’ Terrance Williams, 27, and the Miami Dolphins’ Kenny Stills, 24.
• Support Gregg Williams.
The new defensive coordinator of the Browns said in January on 92.3 The Fan, the team’s flagship radio station, he “would be shocked” if the franchise isn’t aggressive in free agency.
Williams had better hope the front office doesn’t surprise him because there are needs on every level of the defense as the Browns transition to the 4-3 base he employs.
Arizona Cardinals safety Tony Jefferson, 25, has been linked to the Browns, and New Orleans Saints defensive tackle Nick Fairley, 29, has played for Williams.
Nate Ulrich can be reached at nulrich@thebeaconjournal.com. Read the Browns blog at www.ohio.com/browns. Follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/NateUlrichABJ and on Facebook www.facebook.com/abj.sports.