Browns’ 2021 offseason moves two years later: Some short-term good but little long-term gain
The offseason the Browns have embarked upon over the last month is a critical one for general manager Andrew Berry as they try to get back to the playoffs.
It’s now been two seasons since the Browns last appeared in the NFL’s postseason. The last time they did was in 2020, when they went 11-5 and beat the Pittsburgh Steelers in an AFC wild card game before losing to the Kansas City Chiefs in the divisional round.
That sent Berry and the Browns into the 2021 offseason. It was an offseason of hope and expectation after such a stunning success story in the 2020 season.
In a continuing attempt to grade the moves of Berry’s tenure in Cleveland, it’s time to assess those moves with more context added with two full seasons having passed since those offseason moves transpired.
Jadeveon Clowney, defensive end
This was the biggest move of the offseason. It took until mid-April to get done, but the Browns and Clowney — who had been linked together the previous offseason as well — finally united on what was at the time a one-year deal. There were all sorts of questions about Clowney’s ability to stay on the field, as well as his, well, give-a-damn. However, the former No. 1 overall pick more than lived up to things in his inaugural season in Cleveland. Providing the perfect complement to his fellow top-pick pass rusher, Myles Garrett, Clowney had nine sacks and 19 quarterback hits, along with 11 tackles for loss and two forced fumbles, in 14 games. That performance earned him recognition as a Pro Bowl alternate. Clowney embarked on free agency again after the 2021 season, which eventually led him back to Cleveland. It, um, didn’t quite go the same way.
Grade: A-minus, for this one-year deal
Troy Hill, cornerback
One of two big free-agent signings from the Los Angeles Rams the Browns made immediately after the signing period opened in March. Hill was coming off arguably as good a season as he had posted up until that point. However, he was unable to come close to matching that in what turned into his lone season in Cleveland after signing a two-year, $9-million deal. Over 12 games, Hill did not have an interception and had just one pass defensed — but did have two sacks while mostly playing in the slot as the third cornerback. Once the Browns drafted Martin Emerson Jr. out of Mississippi State in the third round of the 2022 draft, Hill was traded him back to the Rams for a fifthrounder during the event.
Grade: C-minus
Malik Jackson, defensive tackle
Berry brought Jackson in to provide a veteran for the defensive tackle group. That’s exactly what the former Broncos, Jaguars and Eagles player did after signing a one-year deal just days after Philadelphia released him. Although Jackson’s tackle stats weren’t eye-popping, he still provided a presence for the younger linemen to emulate. He finished with 25 combined tackles, a half of a sack, two tackles for loss and seven quarterback hits in 16 games. The veteran defensive tackle, who turned 33 on Jan. 11, did not play this past season.
Grade: B-minus
John Johnson III, safety
Johnson was a signature signing for the Browns when they got him from the Rams on a three-year, $33.75-million deal. The first two years of that deal of been a mixed bag. In his first season, Johnson did intercept three passes, force a fumble and get in on 61 tackles in 15 games. However, there were multiple times during his second season with the Browns when things just seemed off at times for him. Some of it was due to comments to the media, such as calling out anonymous teammates on defense for not being “100% committed.” On the field, Johnson was part of a defense that never seemed to be completely on the same page. He actually had a better second year than first one statistically, at least in terms of tackles (101), tackles for loss (four), forced fumbles (two) and fumble recoveries (two). The possibility of Johnson being a post-June 1 cap casualty is one of the bigger offseason storylines.
Grade: C-plus
Malik McDowell, defensive tackle
Talk about catching lightning in a bottle. Berry and the Browns made a massive roll of the dice in bringing in the former 2017 second-round pick of the Seattle Seahawks who had literally never played in a game due to off-the-field troubles. McDowell’s off-the-field issues cropped up again, but not until after he played in 15 games for Cleveland in 2021. It’s hard to belittle what he did in those 15 games, especially after what the Browns got from the defensive tackle spot the following season. McDowell had 33 combined tackles, seven tackles for loss, three sacks, five quarterback hits, one fumble recovery and one pass defensed — absolutely solid numbers for someone on a one-year deal. McDowell’s off-the-field issues once again destroyed an opportunity when he was arrested in Florida last January for indecent exposure and assaulting a deputy.
Grade: D
Takk McKinley, defensive end
McKinley is yet another example of the kind of signing the Browns need to bolster their roster. At the time the former first-round draft pick was signed in midMarch 2021, it was seen as taking another chance on a scratch-and-dent sale. McKinley, though, became a solid backup end behind Garrett and Clowney. That is, until he sustained a season-ending ruptured Achilles in a Week 15 loss to the Las Vegas Raiders. McKinley, in 11 games and two starts, made 18 combined tackles, three tackles for loss, eight quarterback hits and one forced fumble for the Browns. McKinley spent the 2022 season bouncing from the Tennessee Titans’ practice squad to stints both on the active roster and practice squads of the Los Angeles Rams and Dallas Cowboys.
Grade: C
Chase McLaughlin, kicker
McLaughlin was absolutely automatic from just about everywhere in his one season in Cleveland. Everywhere, that is, except for between 40 and 49 yards. He made just 4 of 10 field goal tries between 40 and 49 yards, including a 47-yard miss at the end of the first half of what ended up a 16-14 loss to the Raiders. He did miss the Christmas Day game in Green Bay, an absence that had an impact on the Browns’ loss that day. McLaughlin was waived last May after the Browns drafted Cade York, and he signed with the Indianapolis Colts.
Grade: B-minus
Anthony Walker Jr., linebacker
Quietly, the signing of Walker, originally to a oneyear deal in March 2021, has been one of the more impactful ones of Berry’s time in Cleveland. As was seen when he returned on a second oneyear deal, the veteran middle linebacker has been a lynchpin for the Browns defense. That defense almost literally fell apart when he went down with a season-ending torn quad tendon in Week 3. However, in Walker’s first year with the Browns, he set the tone on and off the field. He led the team with 113 tackles, and was a leader in the locker room. That continued his second season, even after he went on injured reserve. One of the questions of this offseason is whether the team can bring Walker back.
Grade: B, if only because of the injury