Will Browns Target Anthony Harris in Free Agency? Difficult to Imagine They Won't
When introduced as the team's general manager, Andrew Berry said the Cleveland Browns would be aggressive acquiring talent. Without being specific in terms of how that will take shape, the Browns may not be throwing a ton of money around in free agency, but they will certainly pick their spots and try to add players that can help them. One player that could fit the mold perfectly is pending free agent safety Anthony Harris from the Minnesota Vikings.
Harris had an outstanding season, starting 14 games, breaking up 11 passes and intercepting six others. He excelled in coverage as well as being an effective tackler, making the most of a contract year and stands to get a lucrative deal from a team when free agency opens on March 18th.
This marked only the second season where Harris started even half the season. In 2018, Harris played in 15 games, starting nine after an injury to Andrew Sendejo. That year, he intercepted three passes and deflected another six. The previous three seasons, Harris started in a total of eight games.
An undrafted free agent out of the University of Virginia, Harris had a torn labrum in the draft process and after only participating in the 40-yard dash at the NFL Scouting Combine, had surgery to repair it and watched as he went from a likely draft pick to falling out of the draft entirely, then choosing to sign in Minnesota. He's set to turn 29 in June.
Harris has had a nice run the past two years, but he's not someone that a team will lock up for an extended period of time and will have to determine what they want to pay him for what he's done on an abridged contract, which could be Harris's only opportunity to cash in as a player.
The Vikings are currently over the salary cap by $12.3 million, so they have work to do just to maintain their roster, so it's possible, but not terribly likely they will try to re-sign Harris. It's also worth noting that many of the coaches he was playing for in Minnesota are no longer there, save for head coach Mike Zimmer.
The team that might offer the most familiarity outside of the Vikings may be the Browns. It's anyone's guess how much he interacted with head coach Kevin Stefanski or tight ends coach Drew Petzos when they were with the Vikings the previous five years, but Harris definitely knows Browns defensive backs coach Jeff Howard, who was the assistant defensive backs with the Vikings last year.
George Edwards, who served as the Vikings defensive backs coach last season was let go and is now the Senior Defensive Assistant for the Dallas Cowboys. Theoretically, they could go after Harris as well, but for the moment, they have a lot to sort out with their own free agents like Dak Prescott and Amari Cooper, which could limit their ability to go after a player like Harris.
It's important to note that Joe Woods and Mike Zimmer do not run the same defensive schemes. Their may be numerous similarities, but it's not as if Harris signing with the Browns would give the the rest of the secondary added insight into the defensive scheme they plan to run.
However, Harris would fill a massive hole for the Browns at free safety, since it's incredibly unlikely the team has any interest in re-signing Damarious Randall, who not only played poorly last year, but proved unreliable as well. They'd add a veteran, who hopefully acts like a veteran, to a secondary, which is largely a young group and would give them a second quality starter along with Denzel Ward.
The Browns could use the draft to try to address free safety, but it's just not a good class for that particular position. There are some nice prospects in it, but if they go chasing after one of them out of need, they could end up getting butchered on value. Meanwhile, if they can sign Harris, they can play more to the strengths of the draft while still being able to address needs, particularly at offensive tackle.
Whether it's the draft or free agency, they would still need to find a strong safety to pair with Harris, which is all the more reason for the Browns to pursue him. Be it a rookie or someone like Juston Burris or Eric Murray re-signed to play that role, the Browns would benefit immensely from having a capable free safety playing the back end of the defense.
Not having a stud like Harrison Smith next to him and some of the other players on the Vikings defense might not have him play to the elite level he showcased last year, but if adding Harris can get the Browns defense to look more like it did in 2018 on the back end, that would be a massive improvement. The fact that he played better last season than Randall has ever played means that it could be far better than that.
The Browns aren't likely to be big spenders in free agency, but Harris is the player that stands out that could improve their team, eliminate a need in a draft that isn't a strength and would count as a splash for the critics who think they need to make one. A new collective bargaining agreement could change things, but based on where contracts have been going, it seems like Harris could end up getting a three-year contract worth around $35 million with an out in the third year.
If the Browns can sign Harris and re-sign Joe Schobert, that would go a long way in shoring up the middle of their defense. Maybe they make another big move elsewhere, but at least as far as free agency is concerned this year, they will otherwise try to sign middle or lower tier free agents to fill holes while they get some contracts off their books.
