Cleveland Browns Joe Schobert Agrees to 5-Year Deal, Headed To Jacksonville Jaguars

According to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network, former Cleveland Browns linebacker Joe Schobert has agreed to a five-year, $53.75 million deal with the Jacksonville Jaguars including $22.5 million guaranteed.

The top free agent the Cleveland Browns had entering free agency was linebacker Joe Schobert. Before free agency was set to begin, the Browns led by general manager Andrew Berry met with Schobert and his representation. At that time, the feeling was the Browns were going to allow Schobert to leave in free agency. Schobert has now agreed to a five-year deal worth up to $53.75 million according Ian Rapoport of NFL Network. The deal also includes $22.5 million guaranteed.

Former #Browns LB Joe Schobert is headed to the #Jaguars on a 5-year, $53.75M deal, source said. He gets an average of $10.75M per year. $12M to sign and $22.5M guaranteed. A new face on that Jax defense.

— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) March 17, 2020

Schobert receives the top deal among linebackers in overall money with only Cory Littleton receiving more per year, averaging $12 million in his reported deal with the Las Vegas Raiders. Littleton's deal is also shorter and has close to the same amount of guaranteed money.

The Jaguars get a fantastic linebacker that can do a little bit of everything. Schobert is a threat to make plays on both sides of the line, attack the quarterback and he's an effective coverage player. He can also be a leader on the field, making the calls and getting players lined up in position. And for all of his talent on the field, he's just as good and reliable off of it.

The Browns lose one of the top players in their defense by not retaining Schobert and now have to come up with an answer for a replacement. Currently, the Browns only an extremely young group of linebackers including a number of players entering their second seasons including Sione Takitaki and Mack Wilson, last year's third and fifth round picks respectively.