The first wave of free agency is done, and the second wave is crashing to front offices around the NFL. The Cleveland Browns have been active in both, but there is still more to come.
The depth at several spots has picked up with some recent signings, notably CB Phillip Gaines and OL Bryan Witzmann. But there is still room for competition for starting jobs as well as reserve roles.
The Browns have enough cap room to make a worthwhile offer to any free agent they choose, though having the best offer doesn’t always mean the player will sign. Even so, here are six guys still on the free agent market who John Dorsey and the Browns should consider.
Tre Boston, safety
Jahleel Addae, safety
Obviously the Browns are not in the market for multiple safeties, but there are still several attractive options. Two of them were even teammates with the 2017 San Diego Chargers: Tre Boston and Jahleel Addae.
Boston, 26, spent last season with the Arizona Cardinals. That team was coached by new Browns defensive coordinator Steve Wilks. The North Carolina product began his NFL career under Wilks with the Carolina Panthers back in 2014. The coach knows his solid coverage skills, talkative energy and reliable back-end tackling well.
Addae is more of a strong safety and is also an experienced starter. The 29-year-old started every game the last two seasons for the Chargers and registered nearly 200 tackles.
Josh Bynes, LB
Rodney Gunter, DT
Why are two guys from different positions lumped together? Because both Bynes and Gunter are the same value of player at different defensive positions, and both played under Wilks in Arizona last season.
Bynes started all 11 games he played, and the 29-year-old journeyman played the best football of his NFL career. He can play inside or outside as a reserve and sub-package player. Knowing the basic defense is a real asset for a projected backup. And linebacker remains the thinnest position on the Browns defense even after signing Adarius Taylor.
That’s the same case with Gunter, a nose tackle with some ability to penetrate and push the pocket backward. He started 10 games for the woeful Cardinals but is better-served being an interior reserve behind Sheldon Richardson and Larry Ogunjobi. Gunter, 27, is a more dynamic player than Carl Davis, Devaroe Lawrence or Brian Price, the current depth at DT.
Alfred Blue, RB
Spencer Ware, RB
As it stands now, the Browns don’t really have a need at running back. Nick Chubb is entrenched as the starter, Duke Johnson is a versatile reserve and Dontrell Hilliard showed he was a viable NFL talent in his rookie campaign.
But if those pesky Duke Johnson trade rumors come true…
Blue has been a backup for the Texans for almost this entire five-year NFL career. He’s one of the more OL-dependent runners around, but when the Houston blocking was good, so was Blue. He can catch the ball well out of the backfield and operate from a pistol or shotgun formation.
Ware is an even better version of that same kind of back. As a bonus for the Browns, the 27-year-old Cincinnati native has a Chiefs connection with John Dorsey. He missed 2017 with a torn ACL but appeared just fine with the explosive Chiefs offense last season. He’s more of a share-the-load type of back than a true backup.
