Longtime Browns left tackle Joe Thomas will be in the Pro Football Hall of Fame someday. But as good – er, great – as he is on the field, he is just that smart off it. He really is.
So when All-Pro Joe speaks, I listen to him. Why wouldn’t I?
Phil Dawson was like that, too, but the Browns – actually, just Joe Banner — were such geniuses back then that they let him walk away in free agency. That, however, is another story for another time.
Back to Thomas. He has lamented the fact that the Browns have let a lot of young, so-called talented, free agents walk away with nothing to show for it in return – except more defeats. Joe may have something there. Letting safety Tashaun Gipson go falls into that categories, but failing to retain right tackle Mitchell Schwartz does not. For whatever reason, Schwartz has become confused with Mike McCormack, Cody Risien, Monte Clark and John Sandusky. He is not very good. We know that in Cleveland.
But perception is 90 percent of reality, and so many people believe that Thomas is 100-percent correct. As such, they – along with Thomas, the other core members of the team and Browns fans as well – will be watching closely to see what happens with two soon-to-be free agents in linebacker Jamie Collins and wide receiver Terrelle Pryor.
Both are explosive, big-time playmakers. Actually, they are each the No. 1 playmakers on their respective side of the ball. It’s not even close. The No. 2 guys are far behind.
Will the Browns sign them both? Or just one?
Or – gulp! – neither?
If I had my druthers and could have just one of them, then it would be Collins. He is just coming into his own – entering what should be his prime seasons – and has said he’d like to stay “if the money is right.”
The Browns have been crying for offensive playmakers since the beginning of the expansion era in 1999. With that, then, Pryor would be a welcome addition to their franchise quarterback, or any quarterback, really, who goes under center for the start of next season.
Some people claim Pryor is too much of a disruptive force. So was another Terrell, as in Owens, who is under consideration for enshrinement into the Hall of Fame. That contention, then, needs to be dismissed.
So, what will the Browns do? Who knows? That’s up to them.
But what should the Browns do? That’s up to us to determine.
Here’s the bottom line: The Browns are in dire need of difference-making players. That’s the obvious conclusion you can take out of a 1-15 season. They have tons of money to spend in free agency. They are so far under the salary cap that they would need binoculars to see the cap.
Thus, if they have the bucks, if they have two great players with whom only they can negotiate for a good while and if they have all these needs on their roster, then why wouldn’t they get the deals done and seemingly, and immediately, get a whole lot better?
That’s what Thomas – and the others – are wondering, and have been wondering for some time now. If the Browns want to show everyone that they’re serious about changing this losing culture, then they had better be aware of what’s on the line as they work through these negotiations.
Uh, they are going to negotiate with Collins and Pryor, aren’t they?
Well, aren’t they?
