And the hits keep on coming

The purge of the Browns’ roster continued Saturday with no apparent end in sight as General Manager John Dorsey relentlessly seeks to reimage his new football team.

In a full-steam-ahead approach to massaging a roster that has starved for solid football talent the last two seasons, Dorsey followed Friday’s three-trade flurry with yet another move Saturday.

He shipped disappointing nose tackle Danny Shelton and one of the Browns’ two fifth-round draft picks this year to New England for the Patriots’ third-rounder in 2019.

For those of you keeping score, Dorsey has reduced the number of draft picks the Browns own from a dozen to nine with only four selections in the final four rounds.  Considering how quickly he is moving, though, that number should not be chiseled in anything hard.

Shelton, the club’s No. 1 pick in the 2015 draft, played up to his potential on occasion. That was the problem. He lacked consistency. Free agent Trevon Coley and rookie Larry Ogunjobi outplayed him last season, a development obviously noted by Dorsey.

The 6-2, 340-pound Shelton, who arrived with the reputation of being a force against the run who can apply pressure on opposing quarterbacks, was anything but. Switching to a 4-3 scheme under new defensive coordinator Gregg Williams seemed to hurt him.

It’s entirely possible the Patriots envision Shelton in the same mold as former great nose tackle Vince Wilfork, who toiled effectively for Bill Belichick for 11 seasons before ending his career in Houston.

It is slowly becoming quite clear that the 2018 Cleveland Browns will in no way resemble the team that has represented Cleveland in an historically embarrassing manner the last two seasons.

It is becoming obvious Dorsey did not like what he witnessed after taking over as GM in early December. He saw enough blemishes in the last month of the 2017 season to realize the enormity of the task he faced.

In dealing Shelton and quarterback DeShone Kizer, he is sending a message that he wasn’t nearly as impressed with the roster as others in the organization. And he is just getting started.

In short order, he has used the draft capital accumulated by Sashi Brown (before he was cashiered) to bring in young veterans to strengthen obvious weaknesses. In doing so, he held on to the club’s five choices in the first two rounds, including picks one and four in the opening round.

You can almost bet there are many more salvos to fire from his arsenal that will be made between now and the college draft late next month. The opening of free-agent season next week probably will see a resumption of his journey toward eliminating and reshaping a significant portion of the 2017 roster.

With Shelton’s departure, Dorsey has added defensive line to his list of areas that require strengthening. And the draft class this year is loaded with talent in the defensive interior.  

He still needs to further address the quarterback situation after obtaining Buffalo’s Tyrod Taylor Friday. That acquisition narrows the likelihood of Cody Kessler and/or Kevin Hogan remaining on the roster this season. which means the Browns conceivably could open the new season with an entirely different quarterbacks room.

Dorsey is also not done revamping the wide receivers corps. Holdovers Rashard Higgins, Ricardo Louis, Kasen Williams and Sammie Coates, acquired under Brown’s leadership, are in danger there.

So much work to do and all the time in the world to do it.

Talk about changing a team’s culture.

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Browns receiver Josh Gordon and newly acquired cornerback/safety Damarious Randall have a history that stems from an incident when the two teams met last December during the regular season.

Gordon caught three passes for 69 yards and a touchdown in the Packers’ 27-21 overtime victory in Cleveland, but only one of the receptions (not the TD) was against Randall in man coverage.

The Browns buttoned down their offense after grabbing a 21-7 lead late in the third quarter and Gordon was not targeted at all. Asked about it after the game, Randall pointed out Gordon had just the one catch against him. “Any more questions?” he wondered.

Retorted Gordon on Twitter: “Great Win for them but let’s be serious . . . Considering several of our disadvantages as a team, this kid couldn’t hold my jock strap on my worst day lol . . . @RandallTime

As usually happens in instances like this, it will all blow over now that they are teammates. If anything, it should spice up practices when they line up against each other.

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Don’t be surprised if Dorsey attempts to improve the offensive line, too. He knows he is solid at the guards with Joel Bitonio and Kevin Zeitler and at left tackle with Joe Thomas (I don’t see him retiring yet).

He will look for Thomas’ heir apparent (why not move Bitonio out to left tackle when the future Hall of Famer finally retires?) and an upgrade at right tackle and possibly center. Shon Coleman was just OK last season and center JC Tretter needs to get a lot stronger at the point of attack. He got pushed around a lot last season.

On defense besides the line, Dorsey will be on the hunt for a free safety in order to allow Jabrill Peppers to play where he should have last season, strong (or box) safety. Randall most likely will start out as a cornerback, but he played free safety on occasion with the Packers.

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Don’t be surprised if Dorsey also attempts to pick up a veteran journeyman quarterback in free agency to add some wisdom to that room. Or it is entirely possible he chooses to get that third quarterback late in the draft.

Dorsey, it would appear, paid scant attention to coach Hue Jackson and quarterbacks coach Ken Zampese, who lobbied hard for AJ McCarron, opting instead for the more experienced Taylor.

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Noting . . . Taylor doesn't have to travel far to join his new team, moving just 180 miles south and west on I-90. . . . Jarvis Landry wore uniform No. 14 with the Miami Dolphins. He won't wear it with the Browns, who retired that number when Otto Graham ended his great pro football career in the mid-1950s. . . . The Browns are still roughly $80 million under the salary cap in spite of Dorsey's 24-hour spending spree that brought Taylor, Landry and Randall to town.

Kizer departure addition by subtraction

John Dorsey ended a busy day Friday by reportedly shipping quarterback DeShone Kizer, whose National Football League debut provided a historical season for the Browns, to the Green Bay Packers for young cornerback Damarious Randall.

As if dealing three drafts picks for quarterback Tyrod Taylor and wide receiver Jarvis Landry wasn’t enough, the Cleveland general manager completed the trifecta shortly before exiting the merry-go-around.

In obtaining Taylor from the Buffalo Bills earlier in the day, it almost meant the departure of Kizer, whose presence in Cleveland would have created an overcrowded quarterbacks room.

The move for Kizer, who now backs up future Pro Football Hall of Famer Aaron Rodgers in Green Bay, is probably best for the former Notre Dame quarterback, whose record as a starter in the NFL is 0-15.

His historic performance last season is best forgotten and his new destination should more than help his state of mind. Joining a winning organization such as the Packers should be a positive.

Randall was a starter for three seasons with the Packers, recording 10 interceptions, two of which he returned for touchdowns. Like Landry, he is a young veteran who will provide much needed help at a position of weakness on defense.

Dorsey is now a solid three-for-three with his latest moves, having helped the Browns on both sides of the football. One can only imagine now how many more this-just-in surprises he has in store for the fans.

Dorsey nails his first two strikes

It most likely took much more than day’s work to accomplish it, but the Browns’ offense took a major step toward respectability Friday with two major announcements.

New General Manager John Dorsey launched his first two strikes toward his avowed goal of making the Browns relevant again in the National Football League by taking care of the quarterback problem for the immediate future and strengthening the weakest area on the team.

In two deals that have been agreed upon but won’t be announced until next Wednesday, the first day of the new league year, Dorsey shipped two draft choices (one this year, one next, each between rounds three and seven) for Miami wide receiver Jarvis Landry, and reportedly the club’s third-round pick this year for Buffalo Bills quarterback Tyrod Taylor.

It automatically makes the Cleveland offense, easily the worst in the NFL last season, at the very least respectable. It also ends speculation as to which quarterback will help mentor whomever Dorsey selects in next month’s college draft

The trades stabilize the quarterback situation for the time being and add an established veteran presence to a wide receivers room that has qualified as the worst in the NFL the last couple of seasons.

New offensive coordinator Todd Haley has to be extremely pleased to welcome the productive Landry and Taylor, a quarterback who will not overwhelm you with his statistics, but is one of the best in the NFL at protecting the football.

In his three years with Buffalo, he threw a modest 51 touchdown passes and only 16 interceptions, a sharp contrast to DeShone Kizer’s 22 picks last season as a rookie for the winless Browns. He has completed 62.6% of his passes. Kizer completed just 53.6% of his throws.

Taylor, who will be 29 in August, will be perfect bridge quarterback to Dorsey’s first-round selection in the draft, perhaps serving as long as two years in that role.

Landry, arguably one of the NFL’s best and most productive slot receivers, will provide the new quarterback with the ability to do something Cleveland wideouts were unable to do the past two seasons – get open frequently and catch the football.

He led the NFL in receptions last season with 112 (Browns receivers caught just 134 as a group) and held on to 69.6% of targeted throws (the Browns checked in at 45.1%).

Landry, who turns 26 in late November, has been a Pro Bowler the last three seasons and should provide the Browns with numerous opportunities to sustain drives. The days of multiple three-and-outs a game theoretically are history.

Josh Gordon and injury-prone Corey Coleman, should the Browns choose to hold on to him, are expected to be the outside receivers who can stretch the field with Landry providing help mostly over the middle and in short-yardage situations.

The only negative with Landry, who has booked 400 career receptions, 4.038 yards and 22 touchdowns in four seasons, can be found in these numbers. He is not a big yards-after-catch receiver, averaging a shade more than 10 yards a reception.

As one pundit put it: “If you needs five yards, Landry will get you seven. If you need 10 yards, Landry will get you seven.”

It appears as though Dorsey targeted Landry, franchise-tagged by the salary-cap-strapped Dolphins in an effort to deal him, because the wide receivers class in thos draft is not as strong as other years and Cleveland’s receivers room needed a significant boost.

Rather than going through free agency, the new general manager took the more immediate route to boost the talent-starved area. Besides, it opens up the distinct possibility of strengthening other more important areas such as the secondary in the draft.

The Browns, more than $100 million under the salary cap, reportedly are working on a multi-year contract with Landry, but are willing to take on his $16 million price tag this season until a deal can be worked out to the satisfaction of both parties.

It has also been speculated that Terrelle Pryor, who bolted the Browns for Washington last season after his bust-out season with them in 2016, might be headed back to Cleveland after a disappointing and injury-filled season with the Redskins.

A pass-catching corps of Landry, Gordon, Coleman, year tight end David Njoku, running back Duke Johnson Jr. and possibly Pryor, in addition to a pass-catching running back in the draft, gives fans a lot to look forward to this season.

In a matter of hours Friday, Dorsey gave his coach a new quarterback, who is the antithesis of his mistake-prone quarterback of last season, and a young veteran wide receiver whose past production instantly elevates the offense exponentially.

He has quickly shown he is a man of action. As a result, the offense won’t just be better in 2018. It will be a whole lot better.

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Now they all want to come to Cleveland

The city of Cleveland has not been considered one of the elite landing spots in the National Football League the last 19 seasons because losing seems to have taken up permanent residence there.

Being drafted by the Browns has been like a sentence to NFL hell with no chance of experiencing winning football. In 19 seasons since the resurrection in 1999, this franchise has enjoyed just two winning seasons and occupied the basement 15 times.

With no AFC North titles and a lone season with double-digit victories (10 in 2007), is it any wonder many players who enter the annual college draft do not list Cleveland as one of the places they prefer to land?

That attitude, it would appear, has changed if the words of the top four quarterbacks in this year’s draft class are to be taken seriously, especially with the Browns taking dead aim on selecting one of them in an effort to finally land their franchise quarterback.

All of a sudden, Cleveland isn’t such a bad place to play football. Take it from Baker Mayfield, Sam Darnold, Josh Rosen and Josh Allen.

All four were presented the same question by the media at the NFL Combine a few days ago in Indianapolis. What do you think about playing in Cleveland? they were asked. It didn’t seem to bother any of them.

Mayfield was the most vociferous. The brash Heisman Trophy winner from Oklahoma, known for his supreme self-confidence and devil-may-care style of quarterbacking, practically campaigned for the Browns to take him with the No. 1 overall pick.

“I think if anybody is going to turn that franchise around, it would be me,” he said. “They’re close. They’re very close. They have the right pieces. I think they need just one guy, a quarterback to make that difference.”

Sound familiar?

Remember this? “I wish you guys would come get me. Hurry up and draft me because I want to be there. I want to wreck this league together.”

Yep, that was Johnny Manziel texting Browns quarterbacks coach Dowell Loggains during the 2014 NFL draft. Loggains showed owner Jimmy Haslam III the text and the boss said, “Pull the trigger. We’re trading up to get this guy.”

Manziel was correct about the wrecking. He just didn’t know at the time it would be his professional football career.

Darnold was somewhat more reserved than Mayfield, but still welcomed the opportunity should the Browns take him.

“I think turning a franchise around is obviously a hard thing to do,” he said, “but I’m always accepting a challenge and I think it would be an amazing thing to do. It’s another opportunity to show why I’m a good quarterback.”

Rosen, on the other hand, tried to walk back an earlier ESPN report that indicated he would prefer to play anywhere but Cleveland.

“I’ve never said anything about not wanting to play in Cleveland,” he told Michael Silver of the NFL Network. “I don’t know where that came from. There is absolutely no foundation in reality in that report

“I don’t know anything about Cleveland. I’ve never been there . . . so it’s impossible to form opinions when you haven’t really done any research on the actual place. I’m probably going to visit there, hang out with them, then whoever picks me I’ll be excited to play for.”

Allen had two different takes when asked. “I want to be the guy that turns around the Cleveland Browns,” he said in late January at the Senior Bowl, then was more cautious at the Combine.

“I don’t know because I’ve never (turned around a team) before,” he said, “but I’d go in there with everything I have and try to instill a winning mind-set and that type of attitude, try and become a leader of the team with . . . the understanding of what we needed to do to try and turn things around.

“I love football. Everything I can do to play this game I’m going to do and if they are willing to step out on a ledge and take me with the No 1 overall pick, I’m going to give them everything I have.”

The goal of all four, of course, is to be the prestigious top overall selection and there is nothing wrong with lobbying the Browns to be that young man. But they will have competition from the best non-quarterback in the class.

Penn State running back Saquon Barkley had all the right answers when asked the same question by the media. You could tell he was either coached very well or had studied hard about the Browns.

He knew the Browns had a new offensive coordinator, had won only one game the last two seasons and were in their fair share of games. “You want to be a part of something like that,” he said. “Something that will leave a legacy. Being a part of something special.”

Five different opinions of players worthy of consideration as the first overall selection, all saying the right things because they want to be that pick.

Now it’s up to Cleveland General Manager John Dorsey to parse those words, factor in how they would fit into his plans for his new team and make what is hopefully a wise decision and a positive impact on the immediate future.

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Draft the running back first

The following is not a prediction. Far from it, in fact.

It is a hope, a wish. It could also qualify as a plea.

It has to do with the future of the Cleveland Browns as a National Football League entity; a seminal moment in the history of this once-proud franchise.

In exactly eight weeks, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell will call to order the 2018 college draft in Arlington, Texas, and place the Browns on the clock. That precise moment is the subject of this rant.

Speculation as to which name the Browns should write on that initial card has run rampant the past couple of months, centered around the notion this team has slogged along for the last 19 seasons minus a so-called franchise quarterback.

Browns General Manager John Dorsey now sits in a unique position with picks one and four in his gun belt this year and a team starving for help on the offensive side of the football.

He has the luxury of choosing from what arguably could be the best quarterback class since the great 1983 group that produced six first-rounders, including three Hall of Famers.

Whether Dorsey uses that shot on a quarterback with his opening draft salvo is the focal point of all the speculation by the thousands (it seems) of draft pundits throughout the NFL universe.

Barring unforeseen circumstances, it is almost dead certain Dorsey will place a quarterback’s name on one of those first two cards. It might be Josh Rosen of UCLA or Sam Darnold of USC, maybe even Oklahoma’s Baker Mayfield or Josh Allen of Wyoming.

Part of the fueled pundit speculation also centers on one other player whose collegiate résumé warrants strong consideration for the top spot. And he is not a quarterback.

He is a (gasp!) running back, a position that for the last 22 lotteries has been stigmatized, relegated to the relative scrap heap of draftdom regarding the first overall selection.

His name is Saquon Barkley from Penn State. It is the name I believe Dorsey should place on that first card Goodell will announce on April 26 for a myriad of sound reasons, not the least of which is he is the best player in this draft class.

Dorsey, hopefully a proponent of taking the best player available, is in position of nailing the best running back and the possibility of also adding his franchise quarterback with the first two picks.

It is a win-win situation, but only if he makes his selections in that order. If he chooses quarterback – and Darnold would be the best choice there – with the No. 1, kiss Barkley goodbye. He won’t be there at No. 4.

Either the New York Giants at No. 2 or Indianapolis Colts or some other team that trades up will grab him and feature him in their attack for the next decade.

Avoiding selection of a running back with the top pick has become de rigueur in the NFL. The quickest way to get a failing grade from pundits is to take a running back with that pick. For some reason, the position has been devalued with regard to the overall top pick.

It stems from the spectacular failure of Kenneth Leonard (Ki-Jana) Carter, ironically another Penn Stater, to assimilate smoothly to the NFL and become a star, or at the very least a success. He didn’t come close and thus established the dreaded avoidance of taking a running back with the No. 1 pick.

Selected there in the 1995 draft by the Cincinnati Bengals, Carter in eight NFL seasons played for three teams, rushed for 1,144 total yards and scored 20 touchdowns. Little did he know at the time that he established a draft hex on the top spot for his position.

Since the lottery began in 1936, 23 running backs have been selected No. 1 overall, but only one since 1986 – Carter. The previous longest gap for running backs was eight years (1969-77) between O. J. Simpson and Ricky Bell.

What makes Barkley so appealing that it vaults him above the quarterbacks? First of all, he is a generational talent. That one player who comes along only once in a generation and immediately makes a difference. He is a game changer.

Or as draft guru Mel Kiper Jr. put it, Barkley “is a once-in-a-lifetime talent.” And you do not pass on him. He is an immediate starter. Besides, whomever Dorsey takes for a quarterback will sit at least one season.

The Browns, at one time known for their stud running backs, need a stud running back and Barkley checks off all the boxes. He is powerful, quick, fast, has great hands for the passing game and is a strong, willing blocker.

New Browns offensive coordinator Todd Haley coached Le’Veon in Pittsburgh the last five seasons and developed him into a star running back. Barkley would be his Le’Veon Bell in Cleveland.

Those who argue quarterback first and then running back are correct when they suggest the running back class this year is deep. But when you have a chance to get the best at two positions instead of settling for less than the best, you take it.

Derrius Guice, Ronald Jones, Sony Michel, Nick Chubb and Rashaad Penny are fine running backs in this class. But Barkley is clearly the best of the lot, a perennial Pro Bowler for the next 10 seasons.

But what, some argue, if the Browns target only one quarterback in this class and he’s not there at No. 4? What do they do? They settle and take the No. 2 quarterback on their board.

Again, it’s a win-win situation because that quarterback – whether it’s Darnold or Rosen or Allen – is still going to be the future leader on offense and Barkley will be his main running back.

There are more reasons to take Barkley at No. 1 than pass on him and grab the quarterback. His impact will be more immediate no matter who Dorsey brings in to mentor the new rookie quarterback.

He would make the offensive line, the right-now-slightly-better-than-average offensive line, become that much better. He and Duke Johnson Jr. would be a dynamite pair and a nightmare for opposing defensive coordinators.

Then there’s this: Dorsey is not drafting for the Kansas City Chiefs anymore. He’s drafting for a team that gets a shot at the best player at the beginning of each round. The mind-set there is totally different than picking for a team roughly two-thirds of the way into each round.

Well what about Dorsey’s terrific selection of running back Kareem Hunt for the Chiefs in the third round last season? Hunt stepped in when Spencer Ware went down in the exhibition season and had an outstanding rookie season. Doesn’t that count?

Yes to a certain extent, but the GM also was very fortunate. His main focus was drafting the Chiefs’ next franchise quarterback in the opening round and he traded up for Patrick Mahomes. Besides, the draft’s best running backs went very early and he settled on Hunt.

The best reason, though, to take Barkley No. 1? He will not become the next Ki-Jana Carter. He will change that don’t-draft-a-running-back-No. 1 stance once and for all.

Again, this is not a prediction. It is clearly a plea for Dorsey to make wise decisions for a team that so desperately needs help, primarily on the offensive side of the football.

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McCarron not the answer

Now that Cincinnati Bengals quarterback AJ McCarron has gained unrestricted free-agent status, we are about to find out just how much clout Hue Jackson has in Berea.

The Browns’ head coach all but frothed unashamedly when his front office and the Bengals agreed on a deal that would have brought the fourth-year quarterback to Cleveland for a pair of high-round draft choices at the trade deadline last season.

Jackson campaigned hard for McCarron midway through last season’s winless journey through the schedule. He had coached Andy Dalton’s backup for a couple of seasons as the Bengals’ offensive coordinator and wanted him in Cleveland.

Not certain what Jackson saw in McCarron that made him push so hard to obtain him. He hadn’t been able to beat out Dalton for the starting job and was destined to be a career backup with an average arm.

DeShone Kizer was a disaster in his rookie season for the Browns and Jackson apparently wanted to right the ship. He needed to save the season and McCarron, a fifth-round pick by the Bengals in the 2014 lottery, was his only hope.

But the trade-deadline deal fell through due to an e-mail glitch at the deadline. Sometimes, it has been said, the best deals you make are the ones you don’t make. This one qualified as one.

When McCarron secured his unrestricted free-agent status the other day, fans and observers alike naturally thought Cleveland would be his next professional football stop.

Only one problem. His new status means 31 other National Football League teams also have a shot at signing him once free-agent season opens up in a few weeks. Most the teams in the market don’t need an AJ McCarron, of course, but some might and that’s when it will become interesting.

So how does Jackson and his fading clout fit into this picture and how much of a factor will he be if the Browns make a run at McCarron? Or will they?

Now that John Dorsey is running the show, he will make the big decisions. He’s the one who will decide which direction the Browns will head when it comes to the quarterback situation.

When Sashi Brown called the shots for the Browns, Jackson’s words and thoughts with regard to the quarterback situation carried some weight. After all, Brown’s football acumen barely filled a thimble.

Look for Jackson to renew his efforts to bring McCarron to the northern part of Ohio. The only difference this time is the person he will lobby this time knows a tad more about the NFL than his predecessor.

Dorsey is not looking for a young, untried veteran like McCarron. He is looking for that veteran quarterback on the downside of his career who can be a mentor to whomever the new general manager selects in the college draft.

McCarron, who will be 28 in September, is an NFL infant by comparison. He has started only four games (three regular season and one playoff) in four seasons. Why the Browns would even consider him is a mystery.

McCarron replaced Dalton, who broke the thumb on his throwing hand in game 13 of the 2015 season, Jackson’s last season as offensive coordinator, and completed two-thirds of his passes with six touchdowns and a pair of interceptions.

He doesn’t seem to fit the mold Dorsey envisions. The guess here is the Browns at least monitor the interest in McCarron around the league before making a decision. Gauge how much value he has.

Count on Jackson sticking his nose in there one more time, though, and making yet another pitch for McCarron. This time, it should fall on deaf ears.

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Sayonara to bad offense

There is no question whatsoever that the weakest side of the football for the Browns the last two seasons has been the offense.

There is no argument, rational or otherwise, that can refute that claim. It is chiseled solidly in National Football League history. A 1-31 record is a mute and accurate testimony to that fact.

That’s why the recruitment and subsequent signing of Todd Haley as the club’s new offensive coordinator is easily and unquestionably the most important addition to the team this season.

This team has been on life support on offense under the guidance of head coach Hue Jackson the last two seasons. In that short period of time, the Browns provided some of the most inept and stupefyingly bad football when in possession of it.

The offense owned the football for just 28 minutes a game in the last two campaigns. In last season’s winless journey through the schedule, that offense produced a meager 26 touchdowns, two fewer than 2016, and 227 of the league-worst 234 points.

Wait. It gets worse.

That offense scored 20 or more points in a game only four times last season and 10 or fewer points seven times. That’s almost half the games for the fabled Jackson offense.

In seven games in front of the home folks last season (not counting the loss to Minnesota in London), the Browns managed to score a measly and embarrassing 86 points.

Every week for 16 weeks last season, it was like Groundhog Day for the Cleveland offense. It was the same thing over and over and over with the same results. Jackson wore the same bewildered look on his face on weekly basis as his offense struggled.

He had no clue as to why the mistakes and losses piled up even though the answer was plainly evident. He tried to force-feed his stretch-the-field scheme to a group of players incapable of executing it effectively. It was a misfit from the start.

That will change this season and Jackson, thankfully, will not be a part of that change although Haley, whose offensive philosophy differs from his new boss, said he would work in concert with Jackson and incorporate some of his offense.

He said as much during his first news conference with the Cleveland media Wednesday. I don’t believe that will happen.

Haley’s coaching style and philosophy are the opposite of the stubborn Jackson. He is much more flexible. Something he said during the news conference supports that contention.

“I’m not a system guy, so to speak,” he said. “What I believe in is playing to every player’s strength that you have as best you can. Putting players in position to succeed, playing to their skill set.”

How refreshing. Catering to the individual talents of the players he coaches. Actually giving them a chance to be successful.

In other words, the exact opposite of Jackson. And that is why the Browns’ offense you see next season and hopefully many seasons after that will look nothing like it has the last two laborious (for the fans) seasons.

Haley also pointed out something that has resonated throughout this franchise the last two seasons, but has not been adhered to – the running game.

“In this division,” he said, “you better be able to run the ball at some point in games when they know you’re going to run it, whether it’s running out the clock when you have a three-point lead or having to run it because the weather’s bad and it’s snowing sideways or whatever your variables are.”

Jackson promised his offense would place more emphasis on the ground game the last two seasons. He broke that promise almost on a weekly basis, calling pass plays nearly two-thirds of the time.

That’s about to change.

“I told all the coaches when we sat down and met for the first time that our job is to take the players we have and put them in the best possible chance to succeed and not worry about a lot else,” Haley said. “That’s really what the focus is and will be.”      

In other words, Browns fans can look forward to a much more diverse – and less predictable and stodgy – offense this season. With the upcoming free-agent season and college draft, there should be plenty of new faces on that side of the football.

General Manager John Dorsey is most likely in the throes of the planning stages for his housecleaning and it would be surprising if his top priority isn’t fixing an offense badly in need of repair.

And when he is done reshaping and upgrading that offense, his head coach no longer will be able to blame everyone but himself, as he has done the last two seasons, for whatever failures lie ahead.

Cousins not in Browns' future

For those of you who harbor the notion Kirk Cousins will be the Browns’ next quarterback, time to move on.

Cousins will make a lot of money in the free-agent market this year, but none of that money will emerge from the pocket of Jimmy Haslam III no matter how much he offers.

Why in the world would the hottest quarterback in the free-agent market even think about signing with the Browns? To play for the not-even-arguably worst head coach in the history of the National Football League? He would have to be fitted for a straitjacket if those thoughts coursed through his mind.  

The Browns, rebuffed in their efforts to deal for Kansas City’s Alex Smith, undoubtedly have set their sights on Cousins. But it would be stunning if he ends up in the Seal Brown and Orange.

Money is usually the great dictator in decisions such as this, but in this case, Cousins is going to see tens and more likely well over $100 million from suitors other than the Browns.

Money like that, especially from teams far better than the Brown from a potential and talent standpoint, far outweighs whatever number General Manager John Dorsey, through Haslam, throws at him.

Why sign with a team just now reaching for its bootstrap in an effort to yank itself out of the dunghill, and one that can offer the most money, when he can sign elsewhere with a more promising team for boatloads of dollars, anyway?

Cousins will make a ton of money in the process as no fewer than four teams will throw outrageous amounts of wealth in his path. He most likely will wind up with a franchise that has a legitimate shot to play more than 16 regular-season games.

He is in the unique position of choosing where his future lies. Cleveland might be on his radar out of courtesy and he probably will go through the motions of entertaining their offer. But don’t read anything into that.

“At the end of the day,” Cousins told SiriusXM radio Friday, “I want to win.” That says it all. It also means either Denver. Minnesota or Arizona will emerge as the winner with the Broncos and Vikings the favorites.

If it’s the Vikings, the Browns have a shot at the Minnesota spoils, which means Case Keenum, Sam Bradford or Teddy Bridgewater might wind up in Cleveland as the mentor to whomever Dorsey selects in the college draft.

The Browns naturally will go through the motions of extending their offer to Cousins unless, of course, his agent tells the Browns not to bother. That offer likely will be outrageous for a quarterback who will turn 30 in training camp and sports a record of 28-33-1 as a starter.

Hampering Dorsey’s efforts to recruit Cousins is his head coach. If he was anyone other than Hue Jackson in that position, then maybe the argument could be made that the table has been wiped clean from top to bottom and the losing culture that has gripped this franchise for nearly two decades is in the throes of disappearing.

As long as Jackson remains in the picture, the Browns' ability to lure free agents is hindered by his mere presence. That 1-31 record the last two seasons hangs like a 100-pound anvil around his neck.

Who is the bridge quarterback now?

Well, well, well. Didn’t see that one coming.

Neither did Browns General Manager John Dorsey and it sent him back to the drawing board.

Late Tuesday, the Kansas City Chiefs (unofficially) traded quarterback Alex Smith to the Washington Redskins, a move that directly impacted the Browns. It is unofficial because it cannot be consummated officially for another month or so.

It had a direct impact on Dorsey’s plans to remodel his team from the studs out on offense. Smith was to be the key piece of those plans. The GM reportedly attempted to deal for Smith, but apparently with not enough ammunition to pull it off.

The Redskins had been looking for a reason to disinvite Kirk Cousins back for another season and found it through the Chiefs, who made Smith available to pave the way for Patrick Mahomes to take over their offense.

Smith would have been a perfect bridge quarterback for the Browns, the veteran presence who would immediately improve a moribund Cleveland offense and serve at least a couple of seasons as a teacher for the young quarterback Dorsey is certain to select in the college draft.

That radically changes the initial plans for Dorsey, who now faces the distinct possibility of having to choose from seconds as his choice to become an interim quarterback until the next rookie quarterback is ready.

The list past Smith and Cousins is weak at best. That means Plan B for Dorsey. Or C. Maybe D and E.

Unless Jimmy Haslam III opens the vault completely for Cousins and says, “How much is enough?” and even that might not be enough to land him, the list of possible bridge quarterbacks is not encouraging.

Cousins is more likely to wind up with either Arizona, Denver or Buffalo, teams desperate for a quarterbacks with solid defenses, strong running games and decent receivers.

At this point in his career, money might not be the deciding factor. It is entirely possible he would take less money than the Browns can offer in order to land with a franchise that has a much better chance than the Browns to make the postseason. He is also too young to be a bridge to the future quarterback.

There is also the remote possibility Dorsey can convince Cousins Cleveland is where he should be. In that case, he most likely would abandon his search for the young quarterback, at least at the top of the draft, and concentrate on filling other vital areas on the roster.

If that fails, leading candidates are the Minnesota Vikings trio of Teddy Bridgewater, Case Keenum and Sam Bradford, Cincinnati’s AJ McCarron, Tyrod Taylor of Buffalo, Blake Bortles of Jacksonville and Chase Daniel, who backs up Drew Brees in New Orleans and was a backup in Kansas City when Dorsey was GM there.

Then there are Jay Cutler and Matt Moore in Miami, Tampa Bay’s Ryan Fitzpatrick and the freest of free agents, Colin Kaepernick, the toxic quarterback whose name inevitably lands on lists such as this.

Forget Jimmy Garoppolo. There is no way the San Francisco 49ers let him go after he pumped life back into a staggering franchise at the tail end of last season.

The Browns also might consider bringing back Josh McCown, who played surprisingly well for the New York Jets last season, to guide the high draft pick in the right direction as he acclimates to the National Football League.

The Vikings most likely will keep two of their quarterbacks – Keenum, who led then to the playoffs, and probably Bridgewater, who is still young enough to overcome an injury-filled career. Bradford, who has missed 32 games in seven seasons, is an injury waiting to happen.

Unless the quarterbacks landscape around the NFL changes drastically in the next six week, the leading candidates are Bradford, Daniel, Taylor (if released by the Bills), Bortles (if released by the Jaguars) and McCarron, who almost became Cleveland’s quarterback last season before the front office screwed up the deal.

Then again, it is entirely possible new offensive coordinator Todd Haley thinks he might be able to unlock the mystery that was DeShone Kizer last season, something head coach Hue Jackson was unable to do, and Dorsey concentrates on the draft selection.

What looked promising as recently as a few days ago now joins the Browns’ mounting scrap heap of disappointments and serves a reminder of just how difficult Dorsey’s new job is.

Silly season

It’s that time of the pro football year again, sports fans. And I don’t mean Super Bowl LII.

It’s the time of the year when normal fans of the sport like to play general manager. They believe they can forecast the future.

They jump all over rumors – real and otherwise, mostly otherwise – with regard to the annual National Football League college draft. They analyze, overanalyze and draw all kinds of conclusions, a vast majority of them incorrect.

It’s silly season once again and the draft zealots are off and running at a dazzling and incredibly dizzying pace. By the time the April 26-28 event unfolds in Arlington, Texas, what we see and hear today will not be even remotely close to what eventually transpires.

Who will the Browns select with the No. 1 pick? Will it be a quarterback over super duper running back Saquon Barkley? Will they trade it? Discuss. 

The lottery is exactly 87 days away and already, a fever has gripped its fandom. They try to make sense out of rumors spread throughout the NFL leading up to the big and very popular event.

They jump on a variety of Web sites and inject their thoughts based solely on their belief they have a good idea of what is going to happen. They do not hesitate to offer suggestions to those in charge of their favorite team.

There is no more vocal, ardent and emotional fan base than that of the Cleveland Browns. The brand new front office has given that starving fan base renewed energy and hope the immediate future is not nearly as dismal as the past 19 seasons have been.

And thus, they closely – and I mean real closely to the point they hang on his every word – follow the utterings of General Manager John Dorsey as he begins his quest to turn the NFL’s annual loser into a winner.

They attempt to parse his words during a time when general managers, head coaches, scouts and front-office people in general flirt with the truth to the media. Can you say smoke screens? Prevarication has become an art form with these guys.

What people on that level say at this time of the year means nothing. It’s not what they say that counts. It’s what they don’t say. Deception is the name of the game and it’s a game they enjoy playing.

Never let the opposition know you’re thinking. Keep them guessing. Sometimes it works. Much more often than not it doesn’t.

The gullibility factor lures ordinary fans into the picture and gives birth to nonsense, providing crazy scenarios that have absolutely no chance of eventuating. With two of the first four selections, for example, some fans openly suggest trades that makes sense to them at the time.

They are swayed by the thoughts of, in this case, Dorsey when asked of his thoughts on this player or that player. Those thoughts are taken seriously.

Case in point the Senior Bowl game last weekend in Mobile, Ala. Dorsey, who almost certainly will grab a quarterback with one of his two early picks in the first round, praised quarterbacks Baker Mayfield and Josh Allen.

Pundits, draft experts and fans jumped all over that and had Dorsey homing in on one of them with one of those choices. One site predicted the undersized Mayfield was a virtual lock to be the top pick in one of its early mock drafts.

Mel Kiper Jr. the venerable college draft expert with ESPN, is convinced, at least right now, that Dorsey will make Allen, who has a bazooka attached to his right shoulder, the No 1 selection. Hang in there. That will change soon enough.

That’s all part of silly season. Between now and late April, Kiper and his draft brethren will change the top of their mocks based on rumors and inside information. They almost certainly will look entirely different at the top by the time NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell puts the Browns on the clock.

In the meantime, we’ll all be subjected to the wild scenarios that exist in the minds of those faux general managers who valiantly continue to tap into Dorsey’s thoughts as they vicariously help him turn this franchise around.

Next up on the college draft rumor mill circuit, the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis Feb. 27-March 5. That’s when quarterbacks Sam Darnold and Josh Rosen step front and center.

This will be the first time many teams will be able to see the top-rated underclassmen perform in person. They are solidly in the crosshairs of pundits, several of whom have the Browns taking Darnold, a few others believing Dorsey will select Rosen.

It will be interesting to see how the new Cleveland GM discusses them with the media. His words no doubt will further influence fans and pundits alike and once again change the course of conversation.

For the next 87 days.