Off-season thoughts (Vol. XIV)

Remember when the Browns' offensive line was rated one of the best, if not the best, in the entire National Football League? Of course you do because it was just two seasons ago.

Well, kiss those days goodbye. That lofty ranking is trending downward with the release Tuesday of center JC Tretter after five solid seasons in the middle of that line. Money was the deciding factor. He made too much of it.

His release cleared about $8 million against the salary cap as the club set the financial parameters for the 2022 season in an effort to wipe out the ignominy of an 8-9 season. Production, and talent, it seems, are not the deciding factors in the shaping of a roster. It's all about being fiscally wise. 

Tretter is 31 years old. Despite having the knees of a man many years older, his solid anchoring of the front five drew lavish praise from the evaluating community. More than a few ranked him among the top three centers in the league.

The importance of having a smart, tough and reliable center cannot be emphasized enough. Tretter embodied all of those characteristics. COVID-19 caused him to miss his only game in those five seasons against Green Bay last Christmas Day. Nick Harris, who filled in for Tretter that day and will succeed him, will soon see he has a tough act to follow.

Not only will the quality of the offensive line go down with his departure, so will the average age and size of the unit. Harris, drafted a couple of years ago with this move in mind, won't be 24 until November. He reaches 6-1 on his tiptoes and looks up at the 6-4 Tretter.

An exhaustive (pardon the hyperbolizing) search of the NFL's depth charts reveals Harris is, by a scant quarter of an inch, the shortest center in the league. He is that much shorter than Brian Allen of the Super Bowl champion Los Angeles Rams, who checks in at at 6-1 and an eighth. A majority of the others average out to between 6-3 and 6-4.

One would think Harris' relatively short stature, especially for a pivot, will be a problem. A majority of the defensive linemen he will see are tackles, who check in anywhere from 6-4 to 6-7 and between 300 and 370 pounds. A clear physical mismatch.

In his lone start at center against the Packers, Harris' quickness off the snap enabled him to get to the second level in the ground game. But -- and here is where his size comes into play -- his pass sets showed his main weakness. 

Pass protection was a Tretter strength. Rarely did he need help from either of his guards. Judging strictly from the Packers game, Harris is not nearly as strong asTretter at protecting the quarterback. Baker Mayfield was sacked five times (not all Harris' fault), knocked down another half dozen times and hurried on numerous other snaps.

With an obvious weakness at left tackle with Jedrick Wills Jr. and the uncertainty whether right tackle Jack Conklin will be ready for the 2022 season following patellar tendon surgery in late November and now the Tretter release, offensive line moves up with regard to areas of concern and need.

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In another roster-massaging move Tuesday, the Browns and New England Patriots swapped linebackers, shipping inside backer Mack Wilson to the Pats for outside linebacker and edge rusher Chase Winovich.

After a nice rookie season, Wilson apparently fell into disfavor with the Kevin Stefanski defensive staff the last two seasons and did not see much of the field. Winovich experienced the same fate in New England. After recording 11 sacks in his first two seasons with the Pats, starting nine games, he was virtually ignored last season.

At 6-3, 250 pounds, the former Michigan star is better suited to play in pass defense packages with the Browns. Expect him to become a fan favorite with his long blond mane flowing outside his helmet.