The Cleveland Browns will be the No. 5 seed in the playoffs. With a mini-bye followed by a meaningless game against the Cincinnati Bengals, the storylines surrounding the team have generally been limited to who’s hurt and who might get to rest on Sunday.
As such…
A Ridiculously Early Look at the Browns 2024 Season
The Cleveland Browns entered 2023 knowing they had a talented roster. Now, the rest of the league knows it, too. Despite their litany of injuries, the team is tied for third in the league in wins. They’re also the only team in the league to beat both of the league’s No. 1 seeds: Baltimore and San Francisco. That said, the Browns clearly got here the hard way. The team is without a first-round pick in April and up against it salary cap-wise (the answer to WHY on both of these wears No. 4 for the Browns). But there are some budget fixes the team can make in the coming months.
Ideally, the Cleveland Browns Will NOT Start Four Quarterbacks in 2024
The Deshaun Watson injury was a huge blow to the Cleveland Browns. That led to the feel-good story of the year: Joe Flacco’s resurgence. But there’s a certain element of luck to that. The Browns leadership thought they could save a few million off the cap by letting last year’s top backup Jacoby Brissett depart, and they tried to hand the job to Joshua Dobbs instead. Dobbs was well-traveled in 2023 and had some success, but he looked horrifically bad in Cleveland’s cap and preseason games. That prompted the team to anoint fifth-round pick Dorian Thompson-Robinson QB2. That move didn’t go so well. Thompson-Robinson was drafted as a project and looked it – neither he nor head coach Kevin Stefanski seemed to have much confidence. That led to PJ Walker for a while, then back to Thompson-Robinson after Watson’s second (and final) injury, and then ultimately to Flacco.
In a year that saw (probably) a record number of quarterback injuries, 2024 should be the year of the eight-figure average for QB2s around the league. If they can’t keep Flacco, the Browns need to be aggressive in shoring up that spot on their roster.
A New Cleveland Browns Training and Strength Staff
The apocalyptic level of injuries for the Cleveland Browns in 2023 has been well documented. Nearly 30% of the salary cap is on injured reserve. The offense has only two starters who made it through the season relatively healthy, and none of those were the top two quarterbacks. Oddly, as well, the team is terrible when they play at any time other than 1 pm ET. They’re 10-1 when playing at that time and 1-4 when they don’t. These two items combined should shine a light on the training staff.
Start with the Watson injury. He injured his shoulder first in Week 3. Watson was supposed to play in Week 4. He didn’t. All was supposed to be well after the Week 5 bye. It wasn’t. Cleveland played him in Week 6 when he clearly couldn’t play. It was a shoulder bruise. Then, a rotator cuff strain. Eventually, a series of microtears in his rotator cuff. Missing the microtears the first time happens, but it’s inexcusable that it was missed at least three times, and Watson was allowed to play long before he was ready.
It’s also the job of the training and strength and conditioning staff to ensure the players are in top condition on gameday. For them to play so poorly at any other time besides their standard start time indicates a preparedness issue. This was especially notable when the defense looked flat and listless against the Denver Broncos and Los Angeles Rams in back-to-back weeks. The defense also took over a quarter to truly get going in Week 17’s win against the Jets, allowing 17 points to a terrible offense before finally locking things down.
An Upgraded Second Option at Running Back
This one can be started immediately: The Cleveland Browns should take a good, hard look at Dalvin Cook. Cook was released by the New York Jets this week in a mutual decision. Cook hopes to catch on with a contender. Though Cook’s numbers were clearly terrible in 2023, he clearly was never comfortable in New York. Adding Cook to the Browns now could give the team an additional dimension as they move into the playoffs.
The Browns hope to get all-world running back Nick Chubb back in prime form in time for the start of the 2024 season. But given the severity of Chubb’s knee injury, the Browns need to have a better second option. Running back Jerome Ford, who has been starting for the Browns since Chubb’s injury, has shown good athletic ability, but his field vision hasn’t improved. He consistently shows indecision when hitting holes or redirecting in the backfield, and often his game-rushing averages are under two yards a carry.
Kareem Hunt has had an admirable season. He redefined himself from an athletic slashing back to a bruiser who will not be denied in short yardage. But he’s not a primary back either and should be viewed as a specialist rather than part of a heavy rotation. Cook – or someone like him – would have been hugely beneficial to the Browns at points during the 2023 season and could be as well in 2024.
Another Anthony Walker Jr.
Linebacker Anthony Walker Jr. is the acknowledged quarterback of the Cleveland Browns defense. He plays in the middle and makes all the signal calls. He’s also had injury problems the last two years. He was lost early in 2022 with a knee injury. His missed games in 2023 generally coincided with a downturn in defensive productivity. The Browns chose not to pursue any free-agent linebackers entering 2023 despite losing four in the previous season. If the team chooses to resign Walker, they must, at a minimum, find a Walker apprentice as well. That probably involves finding an undervalued free agent as well as drafting a project in the later rounds.
An Upgraded Cleveland Browns Blindside Blocker
The Cleveland Browns drafted OT Jed Wills in 2020, hoping he’d be the team’s next Joe Thomas. Wills started immediately and showed some early improvement. But he has generally been the weak link in an otherwise solid offensive line. Before he was lost to injury, Wills was having his worst season statistically, with just a 54.0 grade from PFF. With a quarter of a billion dollars invested in their franchise quarterback, the team needs to do better in protecting that investment.
Great left tackles are generally hugely expensive. But the Cleveland Browns might have a potential replacement in-house: Left Guard Joel Bitonio. Bitonio has played left tackle before and has shown little drop-off. Trading Wills and getting out of his $14.175 million 2024 contract would free up more than enough money to add a veteran guard. Adding a mid-round choice at guard as a future replacement would give the team immediate depth and an eventual replacement.
[Scott Galvin] – USA Today Sports
