Cleveland, OH (92.3 The Fan) – The Cleveland Browns will enter free agency with the largest amount of salary cap space to play with than any other team in the NFL when the new league year begins on March 13.
But don’t look for general manager John Dorsey to order up a Brinks truck and start throwing bags and bags of cash at players in a wild free agency shopping spree come mid-March.
Thursday afternoon Dorsey explained to Adam ‘The Bull’ and Dustin Fox in an interview on 92.3 The Fan his philosophy when it comes to team-building and whether he believes it is best to build by buying players in the offseason.
“Me, personally, no, but I think if you do it right, if you're prudent and you get the right player who really cares about the game of football and is competitive, then you can go make your mark,” Dorsey said. “You just can't go spend like a drunken sailor. To me, you just can’t do that.”
Dorsey believes in building through the draft first, rewarding picks that pan out with extensions, then filling a critical need through free agency.
“You have to build your core nucleus of your team through your draft,” Dorsey said. “What that does is you basically introduce them to your culture and your environment. Then as guys begin to perform and play to that level, then you say, ‘You know what? You guys deserve an extension, so here it is.’
“You do that to show guys in locker room that you keep your word and you’re true to your word.”
Last year – Dorsey’s first as GM in Cleveland – saw him make three trades right out of the gate for safety Damarious Randall, receiver Jarvis Landry and quarterback Tyrod Taylor.
Randall became one of the defensive MVPs and is expected to be extended this offseason while Landry, who signed a 5-year $75 million extension last April, led the team in catches and receiving yards. Taylor is set to hit free agency after a concussion sidelined him in week 3 and he was supplanted by rookie Baker Mayfield.
After starting last offseason with $118 million in cap room, a total of 7 players were signed as unrestricted free agents including defensive backs Terrance Mitchell, EJ Gaines and T.J. Carrie while 8 more came from the 2018 draft, 3 undrafted free agents and 6 waiver claims.
According to salary cap figures from the NFLPA, the Browns will roll over $56 million over into the 2019 league year – nearly $7 million more than the Indianapolis Colts will roll over – and they could project to have upwards of $100 million or more in room for a second straight year.
In addition to Taylor, Gaines, left tackle Greg Robinson and receiver Breshad Perriman are their biggest names set to become unrestricted free agents in March. Cornerback Briean Boddy-Calhoun and receiver Rashard Higgins will be restricted free agents.
Dorsey explained to Bull and Fox just how much time and work goes into preparing for the offseason roster work, including the draft and free agency.
“It truly is a fascinating process. It's gonna take about 60,000 hours to get this thing right,” Dorsey said. “From a processing standpoint, it's called due diligence and making sure you tun over every stone and you’re meticulous in your detail and at the same time believe your eyes and listen a lot to what people have to say.
“We’ve implemented the same system that I’ve been associated with for the last 20-some years and it’s got a high degree of success.”
If it ain't broke, don't fix it.
Sound strategy.
LISTEN to the full interview in the podcast below.
