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Our next undrafted free agent preview looks at WR Breshad Perriman.
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How and When He Joined the Browns: A former first-round pick by the Baltimore Ravens, the team waived him at the start of the regular season. He didn’t even last a week with the Redskins in September, and no one was claiming him off waivers. The Browns signed Perriman off the street on October 13, just before their Week 6 game. His addition was needed thanks to injuries to WR Rashard Higgins and WR Derrick Willies.
Productivity Level Last Season: Perriman had what can be called a bit of a career revival with the Browns. In 10 games, Perriman caught 16 passes for 340 yards and 2 touchdowns. He also ran the ball 4 times for 2 yards. It was really the last four games of the year in which his involvement took off, though. He caught 8 passes on 10 targets for 233 yards and 2 touchdowns, with longs of 66 and 63 yards. He wasn’t used often, but he was delivering as both a deep threat receiver and a big-sized red zone target, with no dropped passes. “Why did the Ravens give up on this guy?” became a common question.
Why Keeping Him Could Make Sense: Perriman’s chemistry with Baker Mayfield was great, and he performed way above expectations. Cleveland may have 4-5 good receivers, but it’s important to retain that group at a cost-effective rate. Perriman could turn out to be Cleveland’s gem: his lack of productivity the past few years won’t make him a high free agent target, and he knows he has a chance to succeed in Cleveland with increased usage if he is here for the offseason too.
What the Browns Should Do: You can read about how Mayfield believing in Perriman helped resurrect his career, and he’s going to want that to continue. He knows no team is going to give him a big contract, but will have to decide if he wants a one-year “prove it” deal in Cleveland to market himself better, or commit to a longer contract, where he could be minimizing his potential earnings if he performs well. That makes it tough to predict what type of contract he will command, but I will go on the cheap: 2 years, $4 million.
Let us know below whether or not the team should try to re-sign Breshad Perriman!