CLEVELAND — Let it explode. Blow it all away. The wreckage is set on fire and tipped into Lake Erie, where it floats to Perry Island, Buffalo, or some point in between. The NFL's most expensive roster belongs next to other famous wrecks at the bottom, inaccessible without flippers and oxygen tanks.
Trade Za'Darius Smith, Dalvin Tomlinson, and Jed Wills. Cold call candidates looking for a backup quarterback and send Jameis Winston for market value (not much). Elijah Moore can go with him.
I don't know if anyone here is ready to have a conversation with Nick Chubb, but I also don't think he's going to give much value back anyway.
The bigger point is that players who are not under contract beyond this season are free to transfer. Because by January this situation will be so corrosive that no one will survive.
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The NFL trade deadline is Tuesday. This roster should change significantly by Wednesday, when general manager Andrew Berry has an awkward conversation with reporters during his bye week.
This will be the Cleveland Browns' version of a President's Day mattress sale. Buy now, pay later. Zero percent financing with approved credit.
After Sunday's 27-10 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers, several players walked out of the locker room with zombie-like stares, unsure of how they got here or what will happen next. Ta.
“I've never been in a situation like this,” one veteran said on his way out of the locker room. “I've never been to a place where the season ends before the bye week.”
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There's never a bad time for a week off in the NFL, but the Browns are going into a break where they need to get away from each other and cleanse. Remove dead skin. Get yourself a nice foot scrub.
The Browns have invested $337 million in cash spending on this roster, which is $15 million more than any other team in the league. This is not only the most expensive roster, but also the most expensive roster in NFL history.
They have two wins.
They exploded on offense and offensive coaching staff that overcame incredible injuries and adversity last year to make the playoffs.
They have two wins.
Firing Alex Van Pelt as offensive coordinator was clearly a huge mistake. Bill Callahan may also have been a victim. Whatever this was, the design and installation was a huge failure.
The Deshaun Watson trade destroyed the franchise. There's no other way to frame it. At the time of the deal, off-field baggage aside, Watson appeared to be the better quarterback. But it didn't work. The money they paid him, the future cap hit still looming, the trade capital they sent to Houston, and Watson's performance and inability to stay healthy slammed a window of contention that almost never opened. and closed it.
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The Browns struggled for two seasons in 2016 and 2017, then won one playoff game in the next seven years. And now it's over.
Joel Bitonio has one year left on his contract, and he just turned 33. Why would he want to return to his contract? Myles Garrett has two years left. At what point does he go upstairs and call out?
Chubb is in the final year of his contract. Honestly, how much does he have left? How much patience does he have left with an organization that wasted the career of one of the best running backs in team history?
The entire offensive line may need to be rebuilt. If you plan on shipping by Tuesday, you will need to exchange it.
And all of that must be done despite Watson's strangling cap hit, which still totals more than $170 million. If there's a worse combination of roster projection and future cap sheet anywhere in sports, I can't find it.
On Sunday, Winston threw interceptions to every corner of the field, but the secondary can't do simple things like properly communicate coverage, and the special teams are a special disaster. Blocked kicks are allowed. Big profits were given up.
Jameis Winston today
16-31
0 pass TD
3 INT
24.5 Passing Evaluation pic.twitter.com/ytYWdg8XgX— NFL on CBS 🏈 (@NFLonCBS) November 3, 2024
The Browns were leaning toward Dorian Thompson-Robinson a few weeks ago. The promotion from scout team quarterback to reserve player was supposed to take more than a week, even though no one bothered to tell him. Then Thompson-Robinson hurt his finger, so the Browns probably felt obligated to have their veterans play against Winston.
Well, there's nothing left to play for now. Garrett said the Browns could still win and go 10-7. These are the words a leader should say from the podium. The season is over and all the players know it.
This was very close to Jameis Winston's best play of all time pic.twitter.com/YopGOhepmh
— Football Digest (@FootballDigest) November 3, 2024
Thompson-Robinson probably isn't the answer. He is too small to stay healthy. But regardless of whether Winston is still here or not, his return from the bye week is the perfect time for him to begin his journey against an equally bad New Orleans Saints roster.
There's a good chance DTR will surprise everyone, or it'll be bad enough for the Browns to draft another QB in March and start this disastrous process all over again.
As for the fate of the front office and coaching staff, we don't know what will happen at this point. No one is safe. I thought last year was a test of Kevin Stefanski's mettle and his ability to hold the team together through a flurry of injuries. He grew up in this moment. This is a completely different challenge. The players have nothing left to play for except tape and their next contract.
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After the defense was introduced individually before the game, Smith trotted out of the tunnel wearing his No. 99 jersey and blew kisses to the crowd. If this was his last day in a Browns uniform, it was his farewell.
Who else will join him?
(Photo of Jameis Winston: Jason Miller/Getty Images)
