Next up on our 2021 review of the Browns’ unrestricted free agents is WR JoJo Natson.
How and When He Joined the Browns: Cleveland signed Natson in March 2020 to a 1-year deal worth $1 million, after having spent a couple of years with the Rams.
Productivity Level Last Season: Natson had 1 carry for 3 yards, 3 punt returns for 25 yards, and 1 kickoff return for 31 yards in the 3 games that he played. A torn ACL in the third game ended his season. Prior to the injury, Natson was schemed into the offense for some plays where he would come in motion as a diversion to the defense.
Why Keeping Him Could Make Sense: He would require no more than a minimum-salary contract coming off of an injury, and as I said in the previous section, it was clear that Kevin Stefanski was intrigued by utilizing his speed and shiftiness on endarounds.
What the Browns Should Do: The Browns don’t need to re-sign Natson. The primary reason he was signed last year was to be a contender for the punt return job, but Donovan Peoples-Jones proved that he can comfortably fill that role. While a star player like Odell Beckham gets the benefit of a team being patient with him returning from a torn ACL, Natson isn’t going to get that same luxury (also, Beckham is still under contract, while Natson is a free agent).
Let us know below whether or not the team should try to re-sign JoJo Natson.