Cleveland Browns Agree To One-Year Deal With Corner Kevin Johnson

Signing their fourth player to a one-year defense so far in free agency, the Cleveland Browns added corner Kevin Johnson to the secondary, fulfilling most of the role T.J. Carrie played the past two seasons.

The Cleveland Browns have agreed to another one-year deal with a player on defense, this time signing cornerback Kevin Johnson according to Adam Schefter of ESPN. It's worth $3.5 million that could escalate to $6 million if he meets certain incentives. Johnson most recently played with the Bills after he was a first round pick for the Houston Texans in 2015.

Former Bills’ and Texans’ CB Kevin Johnson is signing a one-year, $3.5 million deal that could go up to $6 million on incentives with the Cleveland Browns, per league source.

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) March 19, 2020

Everything about Johnson thus far in his career has been about his health. He played all 16 games in his rookie year and all 16 games this past season, but injuries forced to miss a total of 29 games from 2016 to 2018. Johnson offers the Browns some versatility as well as depth, having played largely on the boundary, but possessing the ability to slide inside as necessary.

Unless the Browns sign another slot corner, he could be that player. Otherwise, he provides added competition along with Terrance Mitchell with last year's second round pick Greedy Williams for the honor of playing opposite Denzel Ward in a similar mold as T.J. Carrie provided last season, albeit at a cheaper rate. Increasingly, teams simply need four and five corners that can contribute in a game and certainly in a season.

Johnson, who will turn 28 this season, is the fourth defensive player that the Browns have signed to a one-year deal, including safety Karl Joseph, linebacker B.J. Goodson and nose tackle Andrew Billings. Johnson is a player that could be great for the Browns, but the incentives are likely attached to his health and could protect them if things go wrong.