The only way to cope with a Browns loss is immediately shifting to an offseason breakdown:
QB
Under contract: Watson, DTR
Free agents: Flacco, Drisekl, Walker
Pivot point: Bringing in a veteran QB to compete with DTR, and whether or not that will be Flacco or someone else..
Likely addition: Minimum veteran
RB
Under contract: Chubb, Ford, Strong
Free agent: Hunt
Pivot point: Sorting through backup options behind Chubb.. Browns will miss Hunt's physicality and need more of Strong's speed but Ford seems to have coaching staffs trust.. It doesn't cost a lot to add competition at RB, and they have two under cost so expect this to be a lower-profile move..
Likely addition: Minimum veteran or late round draft pick
WR
Under contract: Cooper, Moore, Tillman, Bell, Woods
Free agents: Proche, Goodwin, Grant
Pivot point: Adding SPEED.. There are too many non-vertical WRs, and Goodwin was too far down the depth chart to make a difference..
Likely addition: Veteran who can be at least a #3 WR (Darnell Mooney, Gabe Davis, Curtis Samuel?)
TE
Under contract: Njoku, Akins
Free agent: Bryant
Pivot point: Browns can get out of Akins deal fairly easily so this could be a different looking room.. I would assume Bryant can be had on a fairly manageable deal and given his reliability and versatility, I would expect him back..
Likely addition: Minimum veteran or mid-late round draft pick
OT
Under contract: Wills, Jones, Conklin, Hudson, Watson
Free agent: Christian
Pivot point: Deciding how you want to handle your starters.. Conklin's health will play a major role in this but there's a case to be made to moving off of Wills salary to reinvest elsewhere (trade would provide $12M-$14M in cap space) and starting Jones at LT.. Christian played well enough to be given a shot to come back, and I'd like to see Hudson moved inside rather than continue at OT..
Likely addition: Veteran depth tackle if Wills is moved
OG
Under contract: Bitionio, Teller
Free agent: Dunn
Pivot point: Teller's deal makes it likely he's back and the Browns wouldn't save enough to seriously consider moving off of Bitonio.. Focus will likely be on depth which is why one is likely drafted, and they try to bring back Dunn on cap friendly deal..
Likely addition: Mid to early round draft pick
C
Under contract: Pocic, Wypler
Free agent: Harris
Pivot point: Seeing if Harris would be willing to come back on depth friendly deal, otherwise position is largely set..
Likely addition: none
DE
Under contract: Garrett, Wright, McGuire, Ogbo
Free agents: Smith, Kamara
Pivot point: Deciding if they want to re-invest in Smith or pursue EDGE on open market.. The light EDGE market combined with Smith's play makes me think they'll try to re-sign Smith to a short term deal so long as his asks aren't exorbitant..
Likely addition: Starting level EDGE if Smith leaves (Brandon Graham, Derek Barnett, Danielle Hunter?)
iDL
Under contract: Tomlinson, Ika
Free agents: Harris, Hurst, Elliott
Pivot point: Deciding if they want to retain their own and to what extent.. Harris was productive but they may elect to let him walk; Hurst was extremely productive and while injuries have always been his issue his age and skillset are worth extending..
Likely addition: Starting level iDL or high-round draft pick
LB
Under contract: JOK, Fields, Diabete
Free agents: Walker, Takitaki, Adams, Kunasyzk, Phillips
Pivot point: How much were they satisfied with the LB production, and how much are they willing to invest? The latter answer has always been minimal, and the former answer is likely good enough.. Walker has deal with injuries the last two years but is respected and has been productive when on the field.. Takitaki has developed into a really solid all-around player
Likely additions: Mid-round draft pick and short-term starting level veteran
CB
Under contract: Ward, Emerson, Newsome, Mitchell, Hailassie
Free agent: Ford
Pivot point: Sorting through long-term outlook of the position given talent and upcoming contracts..
Likely addition: Minimum veteran special teamer
S
Under contract: Delpit, Thornhill, Bell, Hickman
Free agents: McLeod, Harmon
Pivot point: How comfortable are they with Bell and Hickman as backups (answer is likely enough considering their salaries)
Likely addition: none
Specialists
Under contract: Hopkins, Hughlett
Free agent: Bojorquez
Pivot point: How much they want to invest in this spot given Bojorquez is up for a new deal and Hopkins is eligible to be extended.. Bojorquez has been fairly reliable and effective so guess is they re-sign him to short-term deal..
Likely addition: None unless Bojorquez leaves
TL;DR - Three largest offseason questions:
1. Browns will need to add some more playmakers to skill position spot with WR being the most needed place
2. They'll have to sort through tackle options as they have three starting level players but Conklin's health and Wills contract make it a bit foggy
3. The front seven could look completely different with 4 of 7 starters being FAs
Overall, I really think Browns are in good shape heading into this off-season.. They're currently cap negative but can get significant cap space with a couple of moves (restructures and offload Wills along with some bottom roster fodder)...
Some of the tweaks they need are obtainable but I would expect most of their off-season business will be retaining their own (Smith, Takitaki, Walker, Bojorquez, Hurst), extending some of the young talent (Newsome, JOK) and trying to add talent to areas of need (speed on offense, front seven depth on defense)..
