Cornerback gets a two-year deal

Associated Press CLEVELAND: The Browns signed veteran cornerback Terry Cousin to a two-year contract Friday to help their thin secondary.

[SilentBob]

Allow me to start a speculative ball rolling. I keep hearing that the Browns still have a lot of cap space, but at the same time Savage says that guys like Law and Sheppard won't fit into the remaining budget. So just how much cap space do the Browns really have?(okay, here comes the really speculative part) Are they perhaps holding some money back in anticipation of reworking some contracts?

[Jopa-n]

SilentBob wrote:

Allow me to start a speculative ball rolling. I keep hearing that the Browns still have a lot of cap space, but at the same time Savage says that guys like Law and Sheppard won't fit into the remaining budget. So just how much cap space do the Browns really have?(okay, here comes the really speculative part) Are they perhaps holding some money back in anticipation of reworking some contracts?

There's always money available. it's just a question of how bad you want to get the player and how concerned you are about dealing with financial burden in the future.
A contract can be backloaded with a huge signing bonus to offset restricted cap space but, then you have to face the problem down the road.
As you stated, renegotiation creates space and the players love it, since it means more bonus- i.e. guarenteed money for them.
The Chad Johnson affair is the downside. You want to get rid of the player but can't get out of paying a huge bonus penalty once the contract is voided. keep the player or bite the bullet and swallow hard.
Lesson- If you want the player bad enough it can be done, but with the understanding that a cleaning of the house may have to occur at some point.

[PDT1420]

I think I've read somewhere that Savage said they have Cap space, but that doesn't really mean anything since the cap is so high. He said it has to work into the "Brown's Budget" also, meaning the internal budget.

I know this will mean guys like Grump will freak out about cheap_a$$ness, but I disagree because

a) over the past few years the Browns have made huge splashes in FA, so it's not like they're penny pinchers

b) I trust Phil

and c) I wouldn't feel comfortable with a Front Office who was willing to throw huge amounts of money after some older, way overpriced players.

[Hanford Dixon]

We need a shut-down corner; currently we do not have one. Until this happens, we will have teams tossing it into our secondary incessently. Where do we get one? Who is available? Find the best player and pay whatever they want...otherwise the hole that was in our running defense since coming back into the league will now be in our secondary.

Hopefully now since I believe we have an excellent front 3 the opposing QB will have less time to find a possible open receiver and will be less likely to pointlessly run the ball on us; let's just hope Savage does the right thing and sign a great shut-down corner; otherwise, we will be helpless against some of the big-name receivers we are looking to face this season...it needs to be done. If not now; then when??

[SilentBob]

I noticed there are still quite a few UFA's at corner, so help could still come from there. Or perhaps the coaches have found another "diamond." I agree that I'd love to see the Browns with the best corner in the league, but I think this is going to be the year of the 'sufficient' corner. I think better that than to start giving up next year's draft picks. The Browns are going to be okay for this year, but will need next year's draft to build beyond the immediate future.(Please, God, let the union and the league reach an agreement so that we can have more than just a few good years.)

[Josh]

I think they're holding tight until training camps open, at which point players are often released to meet the 53 man roster requirement. There will be corners available at the end of the summer. Maybe an above-average one.

Plus, it isnt like trying to sign an offensive player who has to digest an entire playbook and system. Most NFL teams run similar stuff defensively, so the learning curve wouldnt be too tough for a corner, especially a veteran. I say wait and see who else becomes available if you're going to make a big signing.

In Savage we trust.