CLEVELAND, Ohio (92.3 The Fan) – The Browns announced their two new free agent additions – safety John Johnson III and defensive end Takk McKinley – Wednesday.
The two agreements with Johnson and McKinley have received positive reviews overall, but for a team coming of its first playoff appearance in 18 years and in need of a defensive overhaul, the start to free agency feels a bit underwhelming with the quantity of roster additions.
Cleveland reached an agreement on a three-year, $33.75 million deal, including $24 million in guarantees, with Johnson on Monday while McKinley’s one-year, $4 million contract was agreed to Tuesday.
“Really excited about what John Johnson is going to bring to our defense and our back end in particular,” Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski said. “He’s a dynamic player that will fit in well with our group. On top of that, I’m excited about the person, as much as I am about the player. He was the captain of the team out there in Los Angeles at such a young age and all the people that I’ve spoken to about him consistently rave about the person that he is and the leader he is for a football team, so we couldn’t be more thrilled to add him to the team.”
Johnson called the Rams defensive signals last year, was a team captain and was voted the team’s Art Rooney Sportsmanship Award nominee.
The former third-round pick, who was ranked by Pro Football Focus as the No. 3 overall safety and third in coverage last year, has started 48 of the 54 games he has appeared in over four years and totaled 350 tackles, eight for loss, eight interceptions, 32 pass breakups and a forced fumble in the regular season.
“I can’t tell you how excited I am to get to a city that loves their team, loyal fans, great organization, great culture – a winning culture, a team that’s ready to turn the corner,” Johnson said in a video posted on the Browns social media accounts. “I’m going to get to Cleveland, get to work immediately. I’m looking forward to everything.”
Last season Johnson played 100% of the Rams’ defensive snaps and he led the Rams with 105 tackles in 2020 and had an interception and eight passes defensed.
Los Angeles’ defense ranked No. 1 in the NFL in total defense and No. 1 in pass defense.
“John has a diverse skill set so we're excited about his versatility. He can do a bunch of different things, that will allow us to expand our packages to see where he fits in,” Stefanski said. “Versatility is a big part of where we want to be.”
McKinley was selected 26th overall by the Atlanta Falcons in the 2017 NFL Draft where he spent his first three full NFL seasons.
Last year, Atlanta released McKinley in November. Failed physicals after being claimed by the Bengals and 49ers led to quick releases before the Raiders claimed him in mid-December.
Over four seasons, McKinley has appeared in 49 games with 25 starts where he has 17.5 sacks with 13 of them coming in his first two years, 45 QB hits, 22 tackles for loss, two pass breakups, two forced fumbles and a fumble recovery.
“Takk is a skilled young player with tremendous upside,” Stefanski said. “We like his pass rush ability and the way he has gotten after the QB throughout his young career. Defensive line was a position that we felt we wanted to address during free agency, and we are excited to add Takk and the impactful tools he possesses to the group that will help make the plays we need along the line.”
The 25-year-old will get an opportunity to prove himself in 2021 playing opposite of All-Pro Myles Garrett following the release of Adrian Clayborn and Olivier Vernon hitting free agency.