The 2017 offseason is fast becoming a nightmare for the Cleveland Browns as evidenced by all that has happened since then.
Their willingness to pass up Deshaun Watson in favor of two defensive players with considerable red flags is something worth talking about. Veteran cornerback Joe Haden was willingly let go and now he’s helping the Pittsburgh Steelers challenge for home field advantage in the AFC. Hard as it is to believe, their most questionable decision was elsewhere at wide receiver.
Last season it looked like the team had stumbled onto something with Terrelle Pryor. The former Ohio State cornerback had transformed himself to an able wide out. Despite all sorts of question marks at quarterback, he managed to produce 1,000 yards in 2016. It seemed like a foregone conclusion that Pryor would get a new contract from them for it.
Inexplicably the two sides never reached an agreement. Pryor left for free agency and signed with the Washington Redskins. Cleveland thought they could replace him with veteran Kenny Britt. That decision is coming back to bite them in a huge way. Not only is Britt ineffective as a starter, he’s also proving to be a headache in the locker room.
Cleveland tried to trade for Pryor and bring him back
Never is it clearer that a team knows it made a mistake than when they’re willing to trade for a player they could’ve kept just for money a few months ago. That appears to be what happened as word came out of Cleveland that the Browns attempted to get the big receiver back.
"“The Browns tried to get Terrelle Pryor back before the trade deadline last week, but the Redskins didn’t want to part with him, league sources told cleveland.com.Pryor, who caught 77 passes for 1,007 yards and four touchdowns for the Browns last season, has been benched by Washington in favor of second-year wideout Josh Doctson at the featured “X” position, and has only 20 catches for 240 yards and one touchdown through eight games.”"
No doubt they’d hoped to change their fortunes after an 0-8 start to the season. Getting him, Corey Coleman and Josh Gordon all back at the same time could’ve had an electrifying effect for their offense. Washington wasn’t willing to play ball, likely feeling Pryor could still be a key part of their scheme with more time.
Next: 2018 NFL Mock Draft: Browns Muck Things Up Again
As things stand they’ll have to hope Coleman and Gordon can be more reliable than they’ve proven in the past. If anything this is a vital lesson young GMs need to understands. When a productive young player is on the roster and you have the money, there is no reason in the world to let him walk out the door.