Cleveland Browns wait to make a free agent in 2024.
Why did the Browns snub fan favorite Joe Flacco — who hopped off the couch mid-season to propel Cleveland all the way to the playoffs — in favor of signing
While worthy of scrutiny, that the backup quarterback position was the main topic of dicussion during the opening week of free agency underscored what the Browns had done thus far — mainly, opting to run back last year’s team.
Re-signing its own free-agent veterans was Cleveland’s most noteworthy move following the trade for Denver Broncos wide receiver Jerry Jeudy, a former first-round choice who the Browns had sought for more than a year.
The Browns had high expectations going into free agency in the hopes of signing a top defensive tackle who could make plays, according to many sources. However, after top target Christian Wilkins agreed to a four-year, $110 million contract with the Las Vegas Raiders and Chris Jones of Kansas City, Leonard Williams of Seattle, and Justin Madubuike of Baltimore re-signed with their respective teams, Cleveland turned its attention to Plan B, which involved bringing back a number of important players from its top-ranked defence.
Za’Darius Smith, a defensive end, was signed by the Browns again for a two-year, $23 million contract. Additionally, they re-signed defensive tackles Maurice Hurst (one year, $3.2 million) and Shelby Harris (two years, $9 million).
The Browns added more guys to help strengthen the defensive front-end depth chart. After Dalvin Tomlinson, Hurst, and Harris as the starting defensive tackles, they added Quinton Jefferson (one year). During the previous season, Jefferson, 30, started 14 games while recording six sacks for the New York Jets. In order to fill the void left by captain Anthony Walker (who signed with the Miami Dolphins) and Sione Takitaki (who left for the New England Patriots), Cleveland also signed Ohio native Jordan Hicks and 2019 Pittsburgh Steelers first-round pick Devin Bush.
