CLEVELAND — Nothing can be made official until the start of the new NFL year on Wednesday, but the Cleveland Browns have been active in finding ways to bolster their roster through free agency during the “legal tampering period.”
Reportedly, the Browns have reached an agreement on a deal with defensive tackle Sheldon Richardson and agreed to send offensive lineman Kevin Zeitler and a fifth-round pick in the 2019 NFL Draft to the New York Giants for defensive end Olivier Vernon and a fourth-round selection.
Because of the deals structured during the tampering period, the Browns have drawn positive reviews from the national media.
Over 103 games in seven seasons with the Miami Dolphins and Giants, the 6-foor-2, 270-pound Vernon registered 326 total tackles, including 232 solo stops and 94 assists, with 51.0 sacks, two passes defended and one interception.
Vernon registered at least 6.5 sacks in each of the last six seasons.
Vernon figures to transition back to defensive end after spending last season as an outside linebacker for the Giants, and will be a bookend pass rusher with standout soon-to-be third-year player Myles Garrett.
Fully healthy coming into the 2018 season, Garrett emerged as a leader for the Browns’ defense and registered 44 total tackles, including 35 solo stops, while playing in all 16 games for the team who selected him with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2017 NFL Draft.
Of those 44 tackles, 13.5 were sacks on opposing quarterbacks for 75.5 lost yards and finished the year with the fourth-most sacks in a single season in franchise history.
With 20.5 career sacks, Garrett registered the most by a Brown in his first 27 games, as well as the most by a defender in his first two professional seasons. This past year, Garrett ranked sixth in the NFL with the 13.5 sacks and fourth in the AFC with four forced fumbles.
For his efforts, Garrett earned a Pro Bowl invitation and became the Browns’ first defensive lineman since Michael Dean Perry made the AP All-Pro Team in 1994.
Along with the Browns’ deals, their AFC North Division foes are struggling to keep their rosters intact.
The Baltimore Ravens are expected to lose linebackers Terrell Suggs and C.J. Mosley after parting ways with veteran safety Eric Weddle earlier in the offseason. Meanwhile, the Pittsburgh Steelers agreed to trade disgruntled All-Pro wide receiver Antonio Brown to the Oakland Raiders for third and fifth-round picks in the 2019 NFL Draft and are expected to lose running back Le’Veon Bell in free agency.
After being franchised for the second consecutive year, Bell sat out the entire 2018 season awaiting a new deal with the Steelers or a trade to another team. Bell had until mid-November to sign his franchise tag and maintain his eligibility for the 2018 season, but instead, continued to sit out for the remainder of the year.
The Cincinnati Bengals just recently rounded their new coaching staff into place after parting ways with Marvin Lewis and his top assistant, Hue Jackson, following the 2018 season.
