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Next up, we look at the Browns’ restricted free agents, starting with DL Jamie Meder.
How and When He Joined the Browns: Meder was an undrafted free agent in 2014 who signed on with the Baltimore Ravens. He spent all of camp with them and began the season on the practice squad. When the Ravens released him from their practice squad that November, Cleveland added him to their practice squad before calling him up to the 53-man roster in Week 17.
Productivity Level Last Season: After starting 15 games in 2016 and registering a career-high 48 tackles, it was a bit stunning to see the dropoff in 2017: Meder played in 10 games (1 start) and registered a total of 13 tackles. He was placed on injured reserve in November, missing the final six games due to a high ankle sprain.
Meder saw the ninth most snaps among Browns defensive linemen last year, amounting to just 16.7% of the snaps. Compare that to 2016, when he was second on the defensive line with 64.7% of the snaps played.
Why Keeping Him Could Make Sense: Meder has proven to be a reliable depth player who can sub in and play multiple spots. He is also the local kid who remains largely responsible for the Browns’ only win in the past two seasons. Defensive line is the one position where Cleveland’s depth is stacked, so there isn’t a pressing need to find somebody “new.”
What the Browns Should Do: The outside market won’t be high for Meder. They should slap an original round tender on him, keeping him with the club on a 1-year, $1.91 million deal. Let him compete in camp — if someone gets hurt, he will rise up the depth chart. If an undrafted free agent impresses, perhaps the team considers waiving Meder. Either way, there is no risk in tendering him.
Let us know below whether or not the team should try to re-sign Jamie Meder!