The Browns failed to achieve one of their main offseason goals Friday when wide receiver Terrelle Pryor left them to sign with Washington.
As owner Jimmy Haslam listed the team’s priorities for the offseason on Jan. 1, he said, “We’ve got to re-sign our key players.”
Pryor and linebacker Jamie Collins were the franchise’s only key impending unrestricted free agents this year. The Browns signed Collins to a four-year, $50 million contract in January, but despite entering free agency with an NFL-record $102 million in salary-cap space, they never secured Pryor.
Now he’s gone after leading the team with 77 catches for 1,007 yards and four touchdowns in his first full season since switching from quarterback to receiver.
Perhaps what’s most frustrating for Browns fans who wanted Pryor, 27, back is his departure could have been avoided. Pryor said time and again he wanted to continue playing for Browns coach Hue Jackson, but the player’s camp and the organization didn’t strike a deal.
ESPN reported he signed a one-year contract worth $8 million, including incentives. According to the network, the breakdown of his deal is as follows: $3 million base salary, $3 million signing bonus and $2 million in incentives.
The Browns had been trying to sign Pryor for a long time and presented with him with multiple offers for what they considered fair-market value. They originally proposed signing him to a long-term deal worth between $8 million to $9 million per year, but he decided to test the open market because he wanted to be paid like an elite receiver and make possibly as much as $15 million a season.
The team declined to use a franchise or transition tag on Pryor to prevent him from hitting the open market. The cost to franchise a receiver this year was $15.6 million. It would have been about $2 million cheaper to transition one.
Once free agency officially kicked off Thursday, the Browns thought there was still a chance Pryor would re-sign with them, but they also considered it unlikely.
They signed former Los Angeles Rams wide receiver Kenny Britt to a four-year deal worth $32.5 million, including $17 million guaranteed. Britt’s average annual salary is $8.1 million, an amount the Browns were initially willing to give Pryor. But if Pryor had attempted to return to the Browns after they agreed to terms with Britt on Thursday, the team’s offer would have been reduced.
Britt produced similar numbers to Pryor last year, but it was Britt’s eighth NFL season and Pryor’s first as a receiver. Britt started all 15 games in which he appeared and had career highs in catches (68) and receiving yards (1,002) to go along with five touchdowns.
Although fans and media members might view Britt as a replacement for Pryor, Britt isn’t interested in those comparisons.
“I’m not filling in anybody’s shoes,” Britt, 28, said Friday during a conference call. “I have my own shoes to fill to tell you the truth and walk around in. Whatever he did here was on him, and good luck to his career.
“But right now, it is moving forward. We have the players that we have here. ... Our main focus is us and who is going to be here.”
Speaking of the players on the roster, the Browns have a pressing need at receiver with Pryor in Washington. They drafted four receivers last year, but only first-round pick Corey Coleman showed some promise as a rookie, and even he had a disappointing season in part because a broken hand forced him to miss six games.
Another departure
Free-agent defensive lineman Stephen Paea agreed to a one-year, $2 million contract with the Dallas Cowboys, according to reports.
Paea, 28, spent last season with the Browns and played 13 games with one start. He had six tackles, including a half sack.
Nate Ulrich can be reached at nulrich@thebeaconjournal.com.