Saturday Dawg Chow: Browns news (4/1/23)

Dawgs By Nature:

• New unrestricted free-agent safety could help fill Browns backup need (Jared Mueller) - With the strange ways things happen in the NFL, there is a new unrestricted free agent on the last day of March. Instead of a veteran being released, this new free agent had his restricted tender offer withdrawn.
• DBN Community Mock Draft: More Sign-Ups Needed ASAP! (Chris Pokorny) - We need more people to volunteer for our 2023 DBN Community Mock Draft! Only 11 people have signed up so far, so there are 22 picks remaining that need to be filled. Follow the instructions below to sign up. Also, if you already signed up for one pick, you are now welcome to fill out the form a second time to do a second pick.
• Where are your former Browns now? RB/FB Leroy Hoard (Barry Shuck) - Dawgs By Nature caught up with Leroy Hoard to find out what Bill Belichick is really like, tales of good and horrible Browns seasons, and what he thinks of his old boss Art Modell.
• Weekly Browns Mock Draft: Trade-up edition (Jared Mueller) - General manager Andrew Berry moved up two years ago to draft linebacker Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah. In this week’s Browns mock draft, we have them doing it once again to catch a talented defender.

Cleveland Browns:

• Browns try to surround Deshaun Watson with ‘great structure,’ particularly in QB room (Beacon Journal) - The Browns’ success is going to be tied heavily into what Deshaun Watson does this season. Making sure the quarterback has plenty of talent around him has been a major priority through the start of free agency. However, it’s not just about the pl
• Will Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah take a big step in Year 3? (cleveland.com) - With solid additions during free agency including Ogbonnia Okoronkwo and Dalvin Tomlinson, questions will spur for expectations with the current roster at hand for the Cleveland Browns. Including linebacker Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah, who performed under expectations in his second year after a sold rookie season.
• Will Browns still be able to find an impact rookie in 2023? (clevelandbrowns.com) - With the first wave of free agency over and the week of media discussions at the NFL Annual Meetings complete, we’re taking another dive into the Mailbag to answer your questions with one month until the next big date on the league calendar: the draft. This week, we’re talking about what talent the Browns could still find in the draft, the importance of one of the re-signings the Browns made in their linebackers room and the speed in the wide receivers room.
• Browns’ banner free agency could set up big 2023 (ESPN) - The Cleveland Browns didn’t make the splashy move, like last offseason when they traded for quarterback Deshaun Watson. But quietly, the Browns have had a banner free agency, addressing every one of their glaring needs on either side of the ball. As a result, Cleveland is positioned to challenge for a playoff spot and potentially more in 2023.

NFL:

• John Brockington’s hard-hitting style endeared him to Packers (packers.com) - John Brockington, a seemingly indestructible fullback when he took the NFL by storm in his first three seasons with the Packers, died Friday, March 31, in San Diego. Brockington was 74. Selected by the Packers with the ninth choice of the 1971 NFL Draft, Brockington rushed for 1,105 yards as a rookie, averaging 5.1 per carry, and was named the NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year.
• Five boom-or-bust signings from 2023 NFL free agency (PFF) - Some free-agent signings are significant bets on players who could fall flat or exceed their past production. Here are five such signings from the 2023 NFL offseason.
• Bengals’ Tee Higgins not ‘worried about’ extension ahead of contract year, wants to stay in Cincinnati (NFL.com) - Cincinnati Bengals receiver Tee Higgins recently executed the planned jersey switch from No. 85 to No. 5. Some thought the jersey announcement was a precursor to the Bengals and Higgins agreeing on a long-term contract. The reality is Higgins had been planning to change jersey numbers for more than a year but decided to wait rather than pay hundreds of thousands of dollars to do it last year.