Cleveland Browns Free Agent Review: CB Terrance Mitchell

Next up on our 2021 review of the Browns’ unrestricted free agents is CB Terrance Mitchell.

Photo by Jason Miller/Getty Images

How and When He Joined the Browns: Drafted in the 7th round of the 2014 NFL Draft by the Dallas Cowboys, Mitchell spent two years with the Chiefs before signing a 3-year, $12 million deal with the Browns during the 2018 offseason.

Productivity Level Last Season: While Greedy Williams was out all season and Denzel Ward missed a lot of action, Mitchell was out there for darn near every snap in 2020. He finished the regular season with 54 tackles, 2 tackles for a loss, 13 passes defended, and 3 forced fumbles. In two postseason games, Mitchell registered 13 tackles and 1 pass defended.

According to Pro Football Focus, Mitchell played more snaps at cornerback this season than anyone in the entire NFL. Although he didn’t have a highlight-reel season, he played well, ranking as the league’s 36th best cornerback out of 121 players with a grade of 68.2.

Why Keeping Him Could Make Sense: With Williams set to return for 2021 and the team already having Ward, it’s hard to imagine the Browns being a big spender at the cornerback position in free agency or the draft. Given Ward and Williams’ issues staying healthy, it would seem crazy not to bring Mitchell back.

We’ve had the debate in the past of who should start between Williams and Mitchell; only time will tell with that again. Mitchell was a solid player on a bad defense, and I think he’ll pick up his game even more if the Browns improve the linebacker and safety positions. I also love Mitchell’s aggressiveness in trying to force fumbles.

What the Browns Should Do: It’s reasonable to think that Mitchell could draw eyes from another team that is looking for a second starting cornerback. However, given the health history of Ward and Williams, I think the Browns have to bring Mitchell back. Cleveland should offer him a 2-year deal worth $8 million, which would be a fair value given his production and uncertainty of whether he’d start. I’d also be intrigued to see if Mitchell could ever be the team’s nickelback, but the team didn’t seem to explore that in his three years with the club.

Let us know below whether or not the team should try to re-sign Terrance Mitchell.