Sunday Dawg Chow: Browns news (3/19/23)

Dawgs By Nature:

• Browns salary cap: What has been spent and what is left (Jared Mueller) - Prior to the start of free agency, the Cleveland Browns salary cap was one of the biggest concerns for fans and media. But now we have an idea of how much cap space general manager Andrew Berry has spent so far this offseason with some information still not available.
• Meet Juan Thornhill, the Browns new free safety (Barry Shuck) - From a football standpoint concerning centerfield, the most apparent solution for the Cleveland Browns was to concentrate on locating an actual free safety to bookend Grant Delpit. Just so happens, general manager Andrew Berry was thinking the same thing as he signed Juan Thornhill of the Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs.
• Browns WR Donovan Peoples-Jones, TE Harrison Bryant, and DT Jordan Elliott earn proven performance escalator (PPE) for 2023 (Chris Pokorny) - If you’ve been a reader of Dawgs By Nature for years, then you’ll know about the “proven performance escalator (PPE).” Prior to the 2021 season, it would offer a fourth-year salary bump to players who were selected between rounds 3-7 of the NFL Draft and met one of these two conditions: (1) the player participated in 35% of the snaps in two of his first three seasons, or (2) posted a cumulative average of 35% of snaps in his first three seasons.
• Cleveland Browns Free Agency Live Blog (Weekend) - Rumors, Signings, and More (DBN Staff) - We have reached the weekend of Cleveland Browns free agency, otherwise known as Day 6 and Day 7. We will dedicate this particular live blog to any weekend news about the team, and then that will conclude our live blog format until the first three days of the 2023 NFL Draft in April.

Cleveland Browns:

• One year later, only certainty in Cleveland Browns trade for Deshaun Watson is uncertainty (Beacon Journal) - The Browns shocked the NFL world a year ago. A year later, their highly controversial trade for quarterback Deshaun Watson still generates as many questions as it does answers. There’s only one thing that does seem certain on the one-year anniversary of the deal: If Watson doesn’t look closer to the quarterback he was with the Houston Texans in 2020 this season, a lot of the individuals in the Browns organization who were in on the deal won’t be around Berea for the two-year anniversary.
• How Dalvin Tomlinson can fill the gap in the Browns defensive line: Film Review (cleveland.com) - In order to be successful, teams must run the football on offense and stop the run on defense. Even teams with elite quarterbacks will need to rely on the run in short-yardage and goal-line situations. The Browns defense certainly knows this.
• A year after Deshaun Watson trade, questions remain, pressure mounts (Browns Zone) - The Browns franchise changed immeasurably and perhaps irrevocably a year ago. The bomb dropped last March 18 late in the afternoon — Deshaun Watson was headed to Cleveland. Despite the time that has passed, it remains too early to forecast the final outcome from arguably the most controversial move in the history of the organization. The acquisition of Watson is loaded with complexities.
• 5 things to know about new Browns TE Jordan Akins (clevelandbrowns.com) - The Browns on Saturday completed their first free-agent addition on the offensive side of the ball with the addition of tight end Jordan Akins. Here are five things to know about the Browns’ newest tight end.
• Post-free agency mock draft as Browns add tantalizing youngsters (Browns Wire) - After adding Juan Thornhill on Thursday, the 2023 NFL Draft for the Browns will likely be with an eye past 2023. Having filled most of the starting roster holes in free agency the team won’t need rookies to have major roles barring injuries. Let’s look ahead at some young players that could develop into important role players in Cleveland.
• Browns 2023 free-agency tracker: Thornhill fills need at safety; Tomlinson, Okoronkwo bolster D-line (ESPN) - The Cleveland Browns on Monday restructured the record-setting contract of quarterback Deshaun Watson, clearing $36 million in cap space ahead of free agency, a source told ESPN. Now, Cleveland has cap space to use in the free agency negotiating window. Here’s a breakdown of every 2023 NFL free-agent signing, and how each will impact the upcoming season.

NFL:

• Saints RB Jamaal Williams on Lions’ ‘disrespectful’ offer: ‘They really didn’t want me to be there’ (NFL.com) - Jamaal Williams wrote his name in the Detroit Lions’ record books last season. It’s unlikely he’ll be writing them a thank you letter anytime soon, though.
• Odell Beckham Jr. hints at lowball offers in free agency | Could it help Giants, Jets land him? (nj.com) - There were rumors earlier this week, as NFL free agency got started, that Odell Beckham, Jr., was looking for something in the neighborhood of $20 million per year as he returned from missing all of 2022. But Beckham, who hosted a private workout days before the start of free agency, about 13 months after suffering a torn ACL in the Super Bowl, tweeted Saturday that he’s not looking for that kind of money, which should be interesting to both the Giants and Jets, who have been linked to the Beckham chase.
• Titans, Kevin Byard at crossroads over proposed pay cut (ESPN) - The Tennessee Titans approached Kevin Byard about taking a pay cut, but the Pro Bowl safety does not believe his play warrants a decrease in salary, sources told ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
• Most improved position groups from 2023 NFL free agency (PFF) - NFL free agency has been underway for a number of days, and some huge moves have been made that completely change the league landscape as teams look to remake their rosters and take aim at a new league year. Here are some of the most improved position groups after that flurry of activity.