2024’s March 11th is approaching. Each second, ratcheting closer. The 25th of April arrives soon after that. The free agency negotiation period begins on the first date. The NFL Draft’s opening in 2024 is the second. Before we know it, both will arrive.
There are many more significant days in between, such as the NFL Combine, the Senior Bowl, or even March 5 at 4 PM, which is when teams have to slap franchise or transition tags on players.
The Browns have been working all year to get ready, as they have staff dedicated to this purpose. The fans? Not as much, since we’ve been distracted by the actual playing of the 2023 season. We’ve had 36 hours to digest the Browns season-ending loss to the Texans, so it’s time to start switching gears. One season ends, and the next begins. The calendar doesn’t add a week just because we’re all bummed out about the blowout loss to the Texans.
So, let’s go. While we continue to look this week at what went wrong in Houston, we’re also going to start to look at what’s next. We’ve been really doing so all year via Jack Duffin’s work with the salary cap and roster projections, and we’re going to dive deep and hopefully provide you with the best off-season coverage we ever have.
While the OBR gears up to look to the future, today’s Newswire mostly looks at the recent past, with additional stories on Joe Flacco’s sad last moments after a terrific brief ride with the Browns. Kareem Hunt talked to reporters, expressing that he would love to be with the Browns but being realistic about needing to look at free agency. The Browns are likely to continue to look at young, fresh legs at the position.
That the team will be moving on from Flacco as starting quarterback was obvious from all the discussion that was put into the notion that Deshaun Watson would be ready to roll and healed up by the Spring. Head coach Kevin Stefanski continues to express enthusiasm about Watson’s ability to lead the Browns even as a new wave of quarterbacks like C.J. Stroud and Jordan Love show up to challenge the league’s defenses and Watson’s glory days fall further into memory
Ah, that quarterback situation. The Browns had one year where Watson was held out due to off-field issues. Another where he showed flashes but spent most of the season injured. That’s two mulligans. Unless he starts blowing the doors off in 2024, there are going to be a lot of big questions about the team’s future at the position and how they can compete at high levels. As we thought prior to 2023, so much will depend on Watson’s performance in 2024.
I wonder if an article or two will be written about that before the next season dawns? Maybe. Just a couple.
In the meantime, and regardless of how the Watson situation plays out, the top of the organization appears safe, and one can expect contract extensions for Kevin Stefanski and Andrew Berry this off-season. The major questions seem to be when they will announced and how long the extensions will be for. The team has benefited from stability at the top these past few years, and both men have shown themselves capable of working effectively under difficult circumstances.
In the meantime, I’m going to dive into a Webdorkian gopher hole for a little bit here, working on plans for this 2024 off-season and other schemes I’m hatching in an attempt to take the OBR forward. After 36 hours of darkness, I’m emerging back into the sunlight, remembering why I love this so much, and I hope you are, too.
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