CLEVELAND, Ohio (92.3 The Fan) – Andrew Berry and the Browns kept two of their own on Wednesday.
Receiver Rashard Higgins and linebacker Malcolm Smith agreed to return to the Browns in 2021 a league source confirmed to 92.3 The Fan.
Both received one-year deals.
The agreements came hours after the Browns announced agreements their two new free agent additions – safety John Johnson III and defensive end Takk McKinley.
Higgins, who signed a one-year deal last offseason for $910,000, will receive a raise in 2021 to $2.38 million according to ESPN.
Higgins made it clear he didn’t want to leave Cleveland, or quarterback Baker Mayfield.
And now he won’t have to.
Higgins appeared in 13 games with six starts last season where he caught 37 passes for 599 yards and four touchdowns. Higgins was second on the team in receiving yards and led the Browns with 116 receiving yards in the playoffs.
Higgins, now 26, was selected by the Browns in the fifth round of the 2016 NFL Draft.
In five seasons Higgins has 113 catches for 1,615 yards and 11 touchdowns while averaging 14.3 yards per catch in 67 games.
ESPN first reported Smith’s return to the Browns.
Smith started four of the 15 games he appeared in last season where the former Super Bowl MVP totaled 72 tackles, a sack, an interception, and a forced fumble.
Browns executive vice president of football operations and general manager Andrew Berry is not done either.
Berry is still looking to add additional help defensively, likely at linebacker and cornerback.