Browns Avoid Sunk Cost Fallacy, Opening Up Options on Offense

The Cleveland Browns have released three players on the offensive side of the ball in the past three days, which has a number of implications not the least of which is the team's ability to move on from a mistake.

After returning 11 starters on offense in 2021, the Cleveland Browns are overhauling that side of the ball. The Browns have demonstrated the ability to avoid spending good money after bad, which could provide some immediate dividends offensively while also affording the Browns opportunities that side of the ball as a whole.

In a three-day period, the Browns have released wide receiver Jarvis Landry, center J.C. Tretter and tight end Austin Hooper.

In the case of Landry and Tretter, the potential for cost savings versus what they had on the roster made the decisions easier.

For Tretter, the Browns made the determination that his understudy Nick Harris was ready to take center stage and any drop-off, hopefully minimal, would be offset by cost savings. With Landry, the Browns were able to acquire Amari Cooper from the Dallas Cowboys, who actually costs more but is a better player and fit in this offense.

© Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports

Hooper was the most difficult decision. In terms on field play, he was the easiest as he struggled in 2021, but his contract highlights the risk of 'winning' in free agency. In order to fend off other suitors and claim their prize, the Browns included some awkward guarantees. As a result, the Browns are making the decision to pay $11.25 million ($3.75 million in 2022, $7.5 million in 2023) for Hooper not to play for their football team.

The move allows the Browns to avoid paying $9.5 million in salary, so they will save $5.75 million in cap space this year, but will be paying $7.5 million of dead money next year.

In being willing to move on from Hooper and eating the money involved, the Browns might improve independent of any other moves they make. With Hooper on the team, it limited the number of reps Harrison Bryant was getting. And before he suffered a high-ankle sprain near the end of the year, his snaps were often higher quality, especially in the passing game.

Bryant is better at creating space, offers better body control and is a more natural pass catcher who may continue to improve heading into his third season. Paired with David Njoku, that should be a pairing that puts more pressure on defenses.

A theme with these moves, the Browns get faster and more dynamic, including at center. Tretter is an outstanding center, but he's been battling knee injuries since he got to Cleveland. He was an elite athlete coming out of Cornell, but he has suffered injury after injury to his legs, which has limited his ability to get out and work in space.

Harris isn't the athlete Tretter was coming out of college, but he does possess speed. One of the areas he shined coming out of college was getting out in the screen game or pulling in the running game. He got to showcase the latter in his start against the Green Bay Packers.

Browns will be fine with Nick Harris at center. His athletic ability fits perfectly with what they want to do. Played well against Green Bay in his only start last year. pic.twitter.com/GVZ21DzebZ

— Pete Prisco (@PriscoCBS) March 15, 2022

It's a similar situation with Landry. Although he's always been a limited athlete, he has succeeded because he's gotten every ounce of ability out of his body. Injuries over the past two seasons, especially the knee injuries he dealt with in 2021 rendered him unrecognizable at times.

Amari Cooper is certainly a better athlete, which further helps to improve the speed of the offense. Both Cooper and Bryant should be part of an overarching effort to improve the spacing, which has been inhibited the Browns offense the past two years.

The Browns offense as it was constructed didn't have enough players that created space. Odell Beckham Jr. could create spacing, but no one else could, so when he was injured, the difference was stark. They had an offense made up of players that benefited from other players creating space. Landry and Hooper are perfect examples.

Hooper had success with the Atlanta Falcons with players like Julio Jones and Calvin Ridley creating space for him to operate. Limiting how defenses could play him enabled him to overachieve relative to his ability. 

The same is true with Landry. 

When Beckham was healthy and able force defenses to account for him, especially the safeties, Landry was great at finding the hole in the defense where the quarterback could deliver the ball. When Beckham was injured, it became a challenge to get him the ball with room to run. In 2019, the year Beckham played a full season, Landry had one of the best seasons of his career.

So if Hooper and Landry go to teams that have players that create space consistently, they will find success, which is why Landry has been mentioned as a possibility for the Kansas City Chiefs and Buffalo Bills. Those are great situations for him due to their spacing.

Too often over the past two seasons, the Browns would be anywhere on the field and the spacing was akin to operating in the red zone. More defenders in the box, operating closer to the line of scrimmage with little fear of being punished for it. Running the ball can be more challenging, more of a feast or famine proposition, and the passing lanes are tighter. 

The Browns went into the offseason last year openly acknowledging their intent to get faster, only coming back with rookies Anthony Schwartz and Demetric Felton. The situation did not improve and now the Browns are making bigger changes. 

The Browns should be more dynamic already, but they have created almost $30 million in cap space with these moves in addition to the draft assets they possess. They have the ability to continue bringing in athletic weapons with more speed and the ability to create space allowing for a dynamic offense overall.