A Four-Point Plan for the Browns' Perfect Free Agency

The legal tampering period is mere hours away, and soon enough, free agency frenzy will become a reality for the Cleveland Browns and all other 31 NFL teams.

So, what should Cleveland focus on?

Let’s take a look at a four point plan that the Browns should stick to for free agency as the open market is set to open:

Don’t go overboard

If there’s one immutable truth about free agency: it's a place for overspending. Yes, Cleveland just freed a ton of cap space by restructuring Deshaun Watson’s deal once again, but he’s still gonna linger on the books for a ton of dead money for the 2027 and 2028 seasons, when he’ll most likely no longer be on the roster.

Cleveland would be very well served in remembering that, because agreeing to bloated contracts now that will be hard to fit under the cap in the next couple of years will only create more dead cap charges for the near future.

The Browns have a ton of needs and enough maneuvering ability to get something done, but roster depth is a huge issue and rebuilding it probably will take more than one offseason.

Focus on depth

At this moment, the Browns conceivably need three new starters on the offensive line, one -- or two -- new starters in the wide receiver group, a starting caliber tight end, a starting linebacker and a starting caliber cornerback... and that’s not even considering the quarterback situation.

Betting on another four-starter rookie class seems like asking too much, even with two first-round picks, so the Browns need to find at least four starters in free agency. That number could be brought down to just two, if they manage to re-sign a couple of their own free agents, for example, by convincing Joel Bitonio not to retire and agreeing with Devin Bush Jr. for another season or two.

But, that’s still a lot of work to do.

However, good quality depth is much easier to find on the open market, especially after the first wave of signings, which are usually the costliest. The Browns can’t fall into despair if they miss out on some big names early. Bargain shopping is crucial for this team.

Pay attention to cap casualties

These names are important because we’re talking about players that aren’t necessarily being cut just because of performance. And, some of these names might have some offset language in their contracts that would allow them to sign with another team for a lower number than he could conceivably fetch, but knowing that his former team’s still on the hook for guaranteed sums. Kyler Murray is a perfect example, as Arizona will pay him 36.8 million for the 2026 season after cutting him, minus whatever he could receive from another franchise.

Sometimes it’s a value versus cost decision. But other times, it’s purely a financial decision. Names like Taylor Decker -- already out the door in Detroit --, Elgton Jenkins in Green Bay and Nick Allegretti in Washington should be lloked at for the O-Line, while a wideout like Michael Pittman in Indy or tight ends Cole Kmet in Chicago or T.J. Hockenson in Minny could make sense if they get axed.

Don’t forget the trade market

The Browns already swung a deal to add offensive tackle Tytus Howard from Houston, but they shouldn’t stop there. Last year, they missed on the Cam Robinson trade, but hit a homerun with the Greg Newsome for Tyson Campbell exchange.

Yes, draft picks are valuable assets, but using them to acquire proven players is a big reason why they are valuable assets. Fifth-round picks or lower, are sometimes all it takes to add a known commodity who just needs a change of scenery to regain some productivity.

Even though they should fetch much more than a low round pick, the availabilty and conditions of young wideouts such as Marvin Harrison Jr. in Arizona and Brian Thomas Jr. in Jacksonville should be discussed, as well.