Bryant had 89 catches for 791 yards and 10 touchdowns throughout the four years of his rookie contract, which doesn’t seem awful for a backup tight end. With 24 catches for 238 yards and 3 touchdowns last year, he performed similarly to the first several years of his career.
The team used him on a few quarterback sneaks and pitch plays in 2023, which was different (i.e. where he lined up under centre). Bryant carried the ball five times for eight yards; on four of those runs, he gained a first down, and on one, he stumbled. In the final six games, Cleveland did not attempt the sneak once more.
In my opinion, Bryant improved as a blocker later in his career, much like David Njoku did. Bryant held Jordan Akins off as the No. 2 tight end despite the team signing him last offseason. PFF often ranked Bryant as one of Cleveland’s best offensive players.
Bryant consented to modify the last year of his contract from $2.7 million to $1.75 million last offseason because of a demonstrated performance escalator. If I were Cleveland, I would try to re-sign him to a two-year, $3.5 million contract, matching that offer. He is a reliable No. 2 tight end behind Njoku, and I don’t think Cleveland will look to pick another explosive tight end threat because they should be concentrating on strengthening the wide receiver position.
The Cleveland Browns improved their record from the previous season after finishing 7–10 in 2022–2023. However, the team may have to deal with Deshaun Watson in the offseason if they hope to make much more progress.
Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski used five quarterbacks in the previous campaign. Joe Flacco, the NFL’s most recent Comeback Player of the Year, Watson, P.J. Walker, Dorian Thompson-Robinson, Jeff Driskel, and Flacco are among them.
If Watson had performed well at quarterback for Cleveland, the usage of these players wouldn’t have been an issue. When Jacoby Brissett was still a member of the Browns in 2022, his QBR of 62.0 was higher than Watson’s 40.4. Flacco had a better QBR last season (46.3) than Watson (42.9).
Many in the franchise are wondering what should be done about Watson after his poor performance. Reuniting Flacco and Brissett, who are both free agents in the offseason, might lessen Watson’s negative effect on the team.
Leave a Reply