Browns Free Agency Soft Deadline

It's a relative quiet period in NFL free agency, but that will come to an abrupt end shortly. The Cleveland Browns have a soft deadline on when they'd like to be able to finalize theiir best 90-man roster for training camp.

There's little to no movement in NFL free agency because most front office personnel are on vacations at this point of the calendar. And player agents follow suit, but the time is fast approaching where some moves are bound to happen. The Cleveland Browns have a few holes to fill ahead of a soft deadline of July 21st.

The Browns can certainly still sign free agents after that, but if the team wants to maximize the amount of time they have the players want on their team this year, July 21st is the most logical day. Rookies will report to Berea July 18th followed by veterans July 21st. The team will then head to The Greenbrier resort in West Virginia where they will stay from the 22nd until the 30th.

As it stands, the Browns could use a starting three-tech defensive tackle and a proven running back to put behind Nick Chubb. One of those issues, the defensive tackle spot, is far more pressing than the other, making it the priority.

Part of what the Browns hope to achieve by going to The Greenbrier (beyond limiting media exposure and preventing players from leaving) is to build camaraderie within the team. Head Coach Kevin Stefanski wants players to care about each other so they are more likely to play for one another.

If there's an important piece out there, which a starting defensive tackle would be, they would like to have them on the team so they can maximize that practice time and start building those bonds. It's not impossible the Browns could sign a player while they are at the resort, but it seems unlikely unless they create a roster spot beforehand.

As much as the NFL is a business, it wouldn't be a great look to take the team to this resort for the sake of teambuilding and then process roster transactions, which would send a player home early. The caveat to that would be a significant injury or behavior. It would be pretty embarrassing for a professional player to be sent home due to poor behavior, so hopefully Perrion Winfrey doesn't give them a reason.

As a result, if the Browns don't make a roster move before the team heads to West Virginia, they probably won't make one until they return. Certainly, a player could miss that week and sign, going on to make a major contribution this season. The Browns are unlikely to increase the money of any offer they've already made at this point anyway. So unless there's a player who hates the idea of going to a premier resort for a week on the team's dime, it's all the more incentive to get the deal done ahead of that soft deadline. Save for players who are actively waiting until injuries happen, a gamble in itself with so many teams committed as it pertains to their salary cap, it's a matter of picking the offer and situation they like best at this point.

The Browns would like to have their running back room done before camp begins, but it's far less of an issue. Nick Chubb is the unquestioned starter and feature player in the running game. After that, players like Jerome Ford and some of the other young backs on the roster benefit from extra work they might get. If someone proves to be a revelation in camp, the Browns can skip adding a back entirely.

If they were to add another running back later, they can simply reduce Chubb's workload in camp to get that new back up to speed. This becomes a potential scenario with a player like Dalvin Cook in play. If he signs with a team like the Miami Dolphins, the Browns could either wait until they cut one of their other backs or trade for them. Either way, they'd be arriving at camp later. 

The Dolphins currently already have six running backs on their roster. Raheem Mostert, Jeff Wilson and Devon Achane stand out as the favorites to make the roster as things currently stand. They are going to keep Achane and if they sign Cook, one of Mostert or Wilson will almost certainly be playing elsewhere. That could be applicable to a number of scenarios for Cook as well as other veteran back that will sign in the coming weeks.

That leaves basically two weeks until this soft deadline occurs and while a deal could be agreed upon earlier, it's likely to be finalized on July 21st when veterans report. The Browns would like to have their best 90 finalized at that point, but will not chase a bad deal to do it. That's why it's only a soft deadline at this point.