Browns trying to build competent team
The Cleveland Browns have nowhere to go but up, but general manager John Dorsey is taking an express elevator instead of the stairs. Well, he’s trying to anyway.
Dorsey was aggressive in March before the start of free agency. The former GM of the Kansas City Chiefs went out and acquired quarterback Tyrod Taylor from the Buffalo Bills and wide receiver Jarvis Landry from the Miami Dolphins in exchange for a hoard of mid and late-round draft selections. Dorsey still has three of the top 35 selections in the upcoming NFL Draft, including the first and fourth-overall selections.
On Thursday afternoon, Dorsey locked Landry in for the long haul, inking the 25-year-old to a robust five-year, $75 million contract with an eye-popping $48 million guaranteed. Prior to this signing, no receiver had ever hit the $40 million mark in guarantees, making this an epic haul for a player with 22 career touchdowns.
Over the past two years, the Cleveland Browns has won just one game total. The Browns have been the laughingstock of the NFL for the better part of 20 years. They have only made the playoffs once since being reintroduced into the league in 1999. Now, Dorsey is looking to infuse talent into the roster, even if he has to pay a premium for it.
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The Cleveland Browns should have a capable offense next season, built around some star talent. Cleveland has Landry to go with Corey Coleman — a former first-round pick. It also has Josh Gordon on the outside, with Carlos Hyde in the backfield. Dorsey also has two of the top four picks in the draft. They could turn into a franchise quarterback and Penn State Nittany Lions running back Saquon Barkley.
No matter what Dorsey does, Cleveland isn’t going to contend for anything meaningful this year. The Browns will still be picking in the top 10 of the NFL Draft a year from now. Although that won’t mean that significant progress wasn’t made in the meantime. Dorsey seems hellbent on finding a way to turn this moribund franchise into something respectable in short order, and thus far, he’s taken meaningful steps.
The only question is whether Dorsey can do that without wrecking Cleveland’s long-term cap flexibility. The Chiefs moved on from Dorsey not because he couldn’t identify talent — he’s one of the best in the game at that — but because he mismanaged the cap. If the veteran personnel man can navigate the dangerous waters of contracts and big paydays, the Browns should be in good shape.
Landry’s signing was certainly expensive, and that’s a red flag toward the former point. Still, the Browns might have to overpay at the moment to land some bigger fish. Let’s see if that trend continues once Dorsey gets Cleveland near the top floor.
