NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE – DECEMBER 6: Larry Ogunjobi # 65 of the Cleveland Browns plays against the … [+]
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One of the Cleveland Browns’ most notable freelance agents doesn’t appear to be back for the next season.
According to a report by Mary Kay Cabot at cleveland.comLarry Ogunjobi will find the free hand without hitting a new deal with the Browns. And while Cabot finds that the Browns want Ogunjobi back at a fair price, the market could raise the price and take him out of Cleveland’s price range. At the end of the season, Ogunjobi said he was “chilling” when you think of a free hand.
Perhaps it’s possible that Ogunjobi won’t get an overly expensive deal in the open market. Over The Cap, an NFL salary database, estimates its value from last year at less than $ 5 million. If he’s around this number, he could absolutely be back, even if it’s for a year. There’s also the still unanswered question of what the NFL salary cap will look like due to COVID-19-related loss of income and how this will affect team spending. Ultimately, if the teams don’t spend, it could lower the price of ogunjobi than it could in a normal year.
It helps Cleveland that there are ways to replace Ogunjobi on the list and across the draft. Andrew Billings, who was a regular at Cleveland prior to his time with the Cincinnati Bengals, will be signed and retained for the next season or else he’ll cause the Browns a $ 3.5 million hit. Jordan Elliott, selected from Missouri in the fifth round last year, will also be on the roster and was about average in limited snapshots. Sheldon Richardson might not be back because of the crowd Cap savings cut him deals, but maybe one of them can be brought back for a reasonable price.
As for design, a defensive tackle is probably not as important as reinforcing the secondary game or finding a pass rusher to play against Myles Garrett. But it seems likely that both of last year’s starters could be gone if they put one on the draft. If they go this way in the first round Someone like Alabama’s Christian Baremore makes sense. Otherwise, the Browns have their own picks as well as an additional selection for the third round from the Saints and an additional selection for the fourth round from the Eagles.
So is Ogunjobi an absolute ban on leaving? No, but it makes sense when it goes that way.