Cleveland Browns: 5 Players to sign in second wave of free agency
4. Rashard Higgins, WR
When Freddie Kitchens took over the team last offseason after the team finished the 2018 season strongly, the hope was that everything was going to take off for Baker Mayfield. After all, he had Nick Chubb at running back, Odell Beckham Jr. and Jarvis Landry at receiver and even David Njoku at tight end.
More from NFL Spin Zone
- Dallas Cowboys made the trade everyone else should have made
- Pittsburgh Steelers rookie sleeper everyone should be talking about
- Anthony Richardson putting jaw-dropping talent on display immediately
- Denver Broncos’ stud wide receiver might be out for a while
- Washington Commanders: Three takeaways from win over Ravens
Of course, that’s not the way any of that played out. Not only was Kitchens clearly highly under-qualified to take up that job but the offensive line crushed Cleveland’s chances as well. In the midst of all of the struggles, however, one of the most shocking developments was the disappearance of Rashard Higgins.
In the 2018 season, Higgins seemed to be on the precipice of taking off in his third NFL season. He developed a strong rapport with Mayfield and enjoyed a nice output as he caught 39 passes on 53 targets for 572 yards and four scores. While he’s not going to be OBJ or Landry, he seemed to be a quality depth piece in the passing attack.
Kitchens, however, had him in the dog house. As such, Higgins played in only 10 games and had just four receptions on 11 targets for 55 yards and a score. Now on the open market, his value in free agency has been squashed.
Berry, Stefanski and the Browns should take advantage of that, however. It’s clear that Higgins and Mayfield have chemistry in the offense and that’s something Stefanski appears capable of recognizing and taking advantage of. And with the Cleveland wide receiver room needing some depth, adding Higgins back into the fold could serve them quite well.