The Cleveland Browns are now officially in the off season after getting blown out by the Houston Texans in Wild Card weekend. The Joe Flacco playoffs magic has come to end after getting rocked by C.J. Stroud. While the game was close in the first half the Browns ended up burning out in the second half losing the game 45-14.
The Browns will now have to make some moves in free agency and they are already being linked to one of the top free agent receivers in the league – Cincinnati Bengals star Tee Higgins. Amari Cooper is on his last year of his contract and there would be nothing better for the Browns than getting one of the best receivers on the market from a division rival.
Kristopher Knox of Bleacher Report noted that the Browns have some salary cap issues to figure out if they want to go out and get a guy like Tee Higgins or Michael Pitman Jr. He was quoted yesterday saying:
“The Browns could also use a reliable perimeter receiver opposite Amari Cooper, though they probably won’t have the capital to chase one of the top names on the market,” Knox wrote. “If that changes, though, wideouts like Tee Higgins, Michael Pittman Jr. and Calvin Ridley should be near the top of Cleveland’s wish list.”
Cleveland Browns Would Need To Break The Bank For Tee Higgins
The Browns have confirmed that Deshaun Watson will be the starter again once healthy, and they will look to add more weapons if they want to go further in the playoffs next season. It was quoted in a report yesterday that Higgins is projected to land a huge contract:
“Spotrac projects his market value at $74.4 million ($18.6 million annually) over a new four-year deal.”
Cleveland would have to make some moves with the salary cap to bring in Higgins for a 74 million dollar contract but it would be more than worth it. To take one of the best weapons from a division rival is a huge move and would help the entire Cleveland offense while make the Cincinnati Bengals offense worse.
Higgins had the worst year of his young career so far this past season, but that was because of injuries that he had and his star quarterback had. Head coach Kevin Stefanski would be able to work wonders with Higgins in the line up, not to mention Cooper opposite him and Nick Chubb coming back to the lineup.
With Deshaun Watson and Nick Chubb coming back, adding Higgins could make this one of the best offenses in football. Higgins has the potential to be a wide receiver one in the NFL and with Deshaun not looking like his Houston self for the past few season, Higgins would go along way in helping the quarterback and the entire offense.
The Browns have a lot to do before they can offer Higgins what he is worth in free agency, but it is still very doable. This Cleveland team was looking very scary leading up to the playoffs but when it came time for the game, their offense was simply not good enough to get the job done. With Higgins opposite Cooper, the sky is the limit for how dangerous their offense can be next season.