S James Butler to Visit Browns Saturday

by ChrisPokorny on Feb 28, 2009 2:38 PM EST in General News Comment 40 comments

Continuing the news on the Browns showing interest in defensive backs early on in free agency, safety James Butler is scheduled to visit the team Saturday night. Butler was the Giants' starting safety last season, and would be an option to replace Sean Jones. Butler had 68 tackles and 3 interceptions last season.

In other news...

It looks like QB Matt Cassel has been dealt to the Kansas City Chiefs for the No. 34 overall pick, which is almost a first-rounder. This eliminates one team possibly interested in Derek Anderson.
Browns fans don't have to worry about seeing Andra Davis on our team anymore. He signed a two-year deal with the Denver Broncos today, according to reports.

Is it hard to sit back and watch the Browns be inactive in free agency? Denver, for example, has made a big splash already by signing the following players:

Houston Texans WR David Anderson* (restricted offer sheet)
Arizona Cardinals RB J.J. Arrington
Philadelphia Eagles RB Correll Buckhalter
New England Patriots WR Jabar Gaffney
Miami Dolphins S Renaldo Hill
New England Patriots LS Lonie Paxton
Indianapolis Colts DT Darrell Reid
Philadelphia Eagles S Brian Dawkins
Cleveland Browns LB Andra Davis

The Browns have -1 players since the start of free agency, while the Broncos have 9 new players and counting.

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Comments

Stallworth

All I have to do is think Stallworth and I don’t wish for any more free agents.

by vincefitz on Feb 28, 2009 4:14 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

Dawkins is the only of that 9 that I would even bet interested in and he is old

by Roger Dorn on Feb 28, 2009 4:44 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

True.

I think it is a good move for Denver who has some young talent on the team but not a lot of veteran leadership. They just had to win one of their last 4 or so games and they were in the playoffs last year (and their offense was sicknasty). I think it would have been a substantially worse move for us as we seem to be in full on rebuilding mode. I do like to watch Dawkins, though.

by rufio on Feb 28, 2009 8:45 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

I would have loved to get Reid back

he’s a great special teamer (just ask the Titans’ Chris Henry) and he’s a good versatile reserve lineman.

I ain't tryin' do you, I'm just tryin' do me
Last album did two, I'm just tryin' do three.
-Young Jeezy "I Luv It

by shake n bake on Mar 1, 2009 6:17 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

+2 draft picks… free agents haven’t seemed to work out well in football or at least the odds of them being successful are low and overpaying them is high

Hopefully we can trade DA to get a 3rd rounder

by Guage80 on Feb 28, 2009 7:10 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

Cassel vs. DA

Cassle + Vrabel brought a #34 pick, early second round. DA and Cassle are much a horse race as to who is better. I am thinking a high #1 to a mid #2 for him.

Who is left that may want him? Tampa Bay and Detroit? Who’s left? May not happen now, but with all the recent trading we should try to get in on the run of players. Certainly by draft day.

by vincefitz on Feb 28, 2009 7:48 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

Wait, didn’t we just have a season where we used 4 starting QBs? I look at the Winslow trade as a point of dealing from strength. Also, TE weakness (depth and quality) isn’t going to kill a season like QB weakness. Unless someone approaches us and is willing to make a siginificant offer, I plan to have both back. As far as the KC trade goes, 2 players warranted a 2nd round pick. What does that mean for Anderson, not as high. I think maybe we should look at trading Anderson for front 7 defender. Someone close to Anderson’s age of course.

Baseball fans are junkies, and their heroin is the statistic. - Robert S. Wieder

by jerseywahoo on Feb 28, 2009 7:58 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

What’s Vrabel’s contract status. The NFL is no different from MLB in one way: you don’t trade players you trade contracts. Once we pay DA’s bonus (thanks for the cap room from K2), he will cost like 2 million against the cap for his new team in 09, and 8 million in ‘10. The team acquiring him is doing so at very low risk, for a 26 year old w/ 40 starts and Pro Bowl on his resume. Conversely, Cassel was franchised and is gonna cost FIFTEEN mil against the cap just this year, AND they’re going to have to give him a new long term deal.

I think this re-asserts DA’s market value as a mid-second rounder at least… if there’s a buyer.

www.lowbrowsophisticate.com

by kwoog on Feb 28, 2009 10:26 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Good points. It’s interesting (delightful??) to hear New England fans frantic about getting only a 2nd rounder for Cassel. The media had fans thinking he was worth a top-10 pick. But, as you point out, that $15 Million against the cap is a mighty big chunk of change to swallow.

We also have to remember that the Patriots had no bargaining power. They had to get rid of that $15 Mill or else not be able to sign any FAs

Mid-second rounder? Let’s hope that as we get closer to the draft, teams in-need realize that the DA and his low cap-hit is a very good return from a second round pick. (Plus, a little feeding frenzy might heighten his value).

"Ignorance more frequently begets confidence than does knowledge..." C. Darwin

by Spidey on Feb 28, 2009 11:14 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Oh, one other point – this puts last year’s trade market for Anderson into perspective. Many were arguing that Savage should have gotten a 1st and 3rd (or at least a 1st) for DA. Obviously, Phil got no phone calls with those kind of offers…

"Ignorance more frequently begets confidence than does knowledge..." C. Darwin

by Spidey on Feb 28, 2009 11:17 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Note to self:

Draft QBs with big arms in round 7.

by rufio on Mar 1, 2009 1:45 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Why did the pats franchise Cassel at all? If they hadn’t done that, and still wanted to be aggressive and sell high on him, couldn’t they have gotten a bigger return?

by joeee on Mar 1, 2009 7:45 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

He would have been a free agent if he hadn’t been tagged in someway, I think.

www.lowbrowsophisticate.com

by kwoog on Mar 1, 2009 8:34 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

I guess I’m just wondering allowed if franchise tag is the cheapest way to retain a backup QB – I guess that the pats just wanted him guaranteed so they could deal him quick.

by joeee on Mar 1, 2009 9:05 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

allowed should read “aloud”

by joeee on Mar 1, 2009 9:05 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

i’m not sure what the other options would have been…i guess some other kind of “sign and trade”, whereby the pats negotiate a free agent contract w/ cassel and then deal him?

i guess they wanted to ensure that they’d get something, anything, back for cassel. by franchising him, you set the ceiling, obviously (he can sign w/ someone else at the bargain-basement price of 2 first rounders), and then do the best you can from there. any other tactic, as far as i can tell, would have meant the risk of losing him in FA, or signing him to a longer deal which may or may not have been acceptable to another squad.

by DontCallMeJoey on Mar 1, 2009 9:28 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

This is right. Franchising is just a way to ensure you get compensation for the player instead of letting him walk. Also why there is no chance the Browns wouldn’t franchise Braylon next year even if they didn’t want him back

by Roger Dorn on Mar 1, 2009 10:52 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

So, the Broncos still love former Browns for their front seven, and the Lions still love them some former Browns CBs. Some people never learn.

Carmona for Cy Young 2009

by danvail on Feb 28, 2009 8:44 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

Seattle Seahawk forums are abuzz with a radio station in Seattle reporting that the Browns are discussing Braylon to Seattle for a 2nd round pick. Obviously, a grain of salt is necessary.

by gahnki on Feb 28, 2009 10:13 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

I heard that this morning too from a few users on the OBR. If someone would’ve heard a rumor beyond a few Seattle radio guys speculating, I would’ve posted an article.

Dawgs By Nature - Find out why Pittsburgh still sucks.

by ChrisPokorny on Feb 28, 2009 11:08 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

dear lord I hope not.

by rufio on Mar 1, 2009 1:46 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Reports are coming out that Denver was trying to get a 3 way trade going with Tampa to ship Jay Cutler out and acquire Cassell. Cutler is now “infuriated” and wants out of Denver. A lot of people are calling the situation “beyond repair”, etc.

Next thing you know, we’ll trade Rogers for Cutler straight up.

by rufio on Mar 1, 2009 1:50 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

well the browns arent going to fix themselves in just 1 draft. Kokinos is getting more draft picks for 2009 via trades and setting the team up for compensatory picks in 2010. edwards is going to command BIG money next year & he’s made his feelings about cleveland pretty clear. also there is no guarantee that he’ll fix his drops in 2009. trading him for a 2nd and say a 4th isnt a bad deal especially if you send him to a team you’ll see once every 4 years. the new regime is thinking long term and i wouldnt even be surprised to see quinn or anderson gone to TB before the draft.

by sleepy042 on Mar 1, 2009 10:44 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

Quinn is not going anywhere.

by Buckeye Brad on Mar 1, 2009 11:25 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Trading Braylon Edwards for a 2nd and a 4th is crazy. The Lions got a 1st for Roy Williams. Braylon’s stock is at the very lowest. Keep him. Simple.

by Bernie19Kosar on Mar 1, 2009 11:30 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

I love how the management is going about things right now. Play the percentages and amass picks. If you can get a solid first (Top Fifteen) for Edwards then do it.

by gahnki on Mar 1, 2009 12:43 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

i agree with this. i’m fine with being quiet in the early days of free agency — that list of denver signees is decidedly unimpressive. move edwards for even a top-20 pick if you can, in my mind. a friend in football told me that even now the market for him is likely to be in the area of a 1 and 3, for whatever that’s worth.

by DontCallMeJoey on Mar 1, 2009 7:26 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

sorry i meant a 1st & 4th for edwards.

by sleepy042 on Mar 1, 2009 12:27 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

Read This re: Buccaneers, Lions, Pats.....

……Lions were interested in Cutler here is the story between Buccaneers, Lions and Patriots…..still hope for DA to go for a 1st rounder. IMO.

http://blogs.nbcsports.com/home/archives/2009/03/on-cassel-pats-werent-waiting.html

by vince fitz on Mar 1, 2009 11:33 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

I don’t see any way that we get a first rounder for DA. That’s just false hope by Browns fans. I know Grossi has been saying this in the PD but I have no idea why he thinks DA is worth a first round pick — did he watch him last year? I’d be thrilled with getting a second rounder for him.

by Buckeye Brad on Mar 2, 2009 7:27 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

He could be fully aware that as someone in the mass media he can inflate the value of the pick—even if it is just by filtering/changing public opinion.

by rufio on Mar 2, 2009 5:40 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

IMO DA’s deficiencies are coachable. When he’s on his game and everybody is catching the ball, running game is working, and the line is doing their job, DA is unstoppable. I can still see the look on Coughlin’s face toward the end of the game, he looked down at his play sheets and said “what do we do now?” WE were killing ourselves with penalties, but it didn’t matter because DA was converting 3 and 20’s.

by athensdawg2 on Mar 2, 2009 12:40 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

I had hoped that Anderson would figure out the short passes before or early into the ‘08 season. Maybe that can still be coached, but if we can get picks for him then I think that’s the better way to go right now.

On another note, does anyone know how much Igor Olshansky will likely go for? If the price is right, would he be a viable option for the Browns?

I’m not sure how much cap space the Browns have, but three picks in the top 50 would seem to require some wiggle room in the old checkbook. And if DA gets traded for decent picks, then I would think an even greater cash reserve would be required. So, would they be restricted to focusing strictly on backups in FA this year?

by JustBob on Mar 2, 2009 5:24 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

I have no idea how much Olshansky will go for, but would not mind seeing him in a Browns uniform at all. I loved him in SD’s attacking 3-4. Not as much as Williams, but still. We need a RDE and seeing as how he isn’t signed yet I don’t think he will be looking to break the bank.

by rufio on Mar 2, 2009 5:45 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

From what I’ve read DA’s cap hit is ours, as well as the $5mil roster bonus. we cannot simply trade him and have more cap room, it is our mess to deal with.

by athensdawg2 on Mar 2, 2009 7:33 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

He will be tradeable after the bonus is paid. Only $1.5 million to a team that trades for him

by Roger Dorn on Mar 3, 2009 12:44 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

But we still take a cap hit. I have no idea what he(?) is replying to, but I think he(?) is correct.

He will look more attractive to other teams, but he won’t clear any room on our cap.

by rufio on Mar 4, 2009 12:42 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

At this point though it looks like we have plenty of cap room that is not going to be spent. Making a trade that either results in no cap hit or a small one (say up to 5 million) would be completely worth it if it means getting a nice draft pick in return

by Roger Dorn on Mar 4, 2009 6:15 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

No one was saying that we should or should not trade him. Athensdawg simply said that we cannot clear cap room by trading DA, which is correct.

Trading him anyway and his attractiveness to other teams was not being discussed, unless I missed something.

by rufio on Mar 4, 2009 11:26 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Sorry, I missed that. The cap ramifications of trading DA is something I haven’t paid any attention to because I just don’t think it matters that much in the decision

by Roger Dorn on Mar 5, 2009 3:43 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs