NFL Spin Zone
Fansided

Cleveland Browns: John Dorsey’s 5 worst player additions

By Peter Smith

NEW ORLEANS, LA - SEPTEMBER 16: General Manager of the Cleveland Browns John Dorsey on the sidelines before the start of the game against the New Orleans Saints at Mercedes-Benz Superdome on September 16, 2018 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images)
NEW ORLEANS, LA - SEPTEMBER 16: General Manager of the Cleveland Browns John Dorsey on the sidelines before the start of the game against the New Orleans Saints at Mercedes-Benz Superdome on September 16, 2018 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
2 of 5
Next
NEW ORLEANS, LA – SEPTEMBER 16: T.J. Carrie #38 of the Cleveland Browns celebrates sacking Drew Brees #9 of the New Orleans Saints during the fourth quarter at Mercedes-Benz Superdome on September 16, 2018 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images)
NEW ORLEANS, LA – SEPTEMBER 16: T.J. Carrie #38 of the Cleveland Browns celebrates sacking Drew Brees #9 of the New Orleans Saints during the fourth quarter at Mercedes-Benz Superdome on September 16, 2018 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images) /

4. Signing T.J. Carrie to a four-year, $31 million contract

Carrie is coming off the best game of his season and really was a big factor in why the Browns routed the Atlanta Falcons, but the rest of his season up to this point has been disappointing. The same player that was able to frustrate Julio Jones was unable to win one of the boundary corner jobs, was moved to the slot and has been pretty unremarkable in that capacity.

More from NFL Spin Zone

Carrie was coming off a nice season with the Oakland Raiders when the Browns signed him, but it hasn’t translated thus far. One of the things he offered was being a good tackler and a physical player, which he still does, but the coverage part has been missing. And out of the four corners the Browns added in the offseason, Carrie is the highest paid and has been the least effective.

The hope is that the game against the Falcons can be a springboard for Carrie for a couple reason. First, he’s an easy player to root for with the way he carries himself and how much he’s been able to overcome in his life. Additionally, the Browns are still waiting for Terrance Mitchell to come back from a broken wrist that landed him on injured reserve with a designation to return as well as E.J. Gaines going to injured reserve over repeated concussions. With Denzel Ward on one side, the Browns need Carrie to fill in on the other.

It’s a big opportunity for Carrie to continue to show why Dorsey signed him as a free agent in the first place as well as potentially lock down a starting job. Carrie’s issues have been against smaller, quicker receivers and super polished route runners. He seems at his best when he can be matched up against bigger receivers, which was the case with Julio.

If he can do that and give the Browns the flexibility to move different corners around to deal with particular matchups, it wouldn’t justify the $8 million he’s getting either of these two seasons, but it would at least provide some value for the defense overall.

Home/Cleveland Browns