Browns reportedly not ‘in the market’ for recently unrestricted free agent

As aggressive as the Cleveland Browns have been this offseason, more is always the goal. A team can never have enough good players and enough completion on their roster unless the salary cap gets in the way.

For the Seattle Seahawks, who made some sizeable moves in NFL free agency, the salary cap did get in the way which led them to withdraw the restricted free agent tender to safety Ryan Neal on Friday.

As we covered, Neal was important to the Seahawks playoff push last year with his versatility and ability to step in as a starter. After signing Julian Love to go with Jamal Adams, Seattle decided Neal was the odd man out.

Their salary cap still needs some work so they can sign their draft picks later this year.

While Neal could have filled a couple of interesting roles for the Browns, slot cornerback and backup safety, it looks like they aren’t in the running at this point:

It is likely that Neal is either looking for a solid contract for a starting safety or a one-year deal where he can prove his worth for a longer deal next offseason. Cleveland is unlikely to fulfill the first desire given their other contracts and future needs and the depth on the roster, including set starters at safety, means they don’t provide him the latter opportunity.

That doesn’t mean that the market won’t change and GM Andrew Berry jump back in on Neal but, for now, Neal isn’t likely to come to Cleveland.