Cleveland Browns Free Agent Review: DT Taven Bryan

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Next up on the Browns’ list of free agents is arguably their top defensive tackle from a year ago: DT Taven Bryan.

How and When He Joined the Browns: After being a first-round pick by the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2018 (I completely forgot he was taken in the first round), the Jaguars declined their fifth-year option on him, making him a free agent heading into 2022. The Browns then signed him to a 1-year, $4 million deal.

Productivity Level Last Season: Bryan has been durable throughout his career. Last year, he played in 16 games, logging 22 tackles, a career-high 3 sacks, and 1 pass defended.

Why Keeping Him Could Make Sense: The Browns lack depth at the defensive tackle position and still need to overhaul it, and Bryan has a degree of athleticism to him. As a former first-round pick, perhaps there is still more unlocked potential to tap into with him.

What the Browns Should Do: Like many of the Browns’ pending free agents, I would pass on trying to re-sign Bryan. I viewed him as a one-year stop gap signing to temporarily fill a need. Now, it’s time to fill that need more aggressively, and throwing another $3-4 million at Bryan isn’t going to improve the defense or get anyone excited.

Let us know below whether or not the team should try to re-sign DT Taven Bryan.