The Texans scoffed at chatter about a trade involving quarterback C.J. Stroud last week, but they have agreed to move another member of their roster once the new league year opens next month.
According to multiple reports, the Texans have agreed to trade offensive lineman Tytus Howard to the Browns. Cleveland will send a fifth-round pick to Houston in return for the veteran blocker.
Howard is heading into the final year of his current contract and was set to make $18 million in salary and bonuses with a cap number of nearly $28 million. Ian Rapoport of NFL Media reports that he will get a three-year, $63 million extension as part of the trade.
Howard started at left guard in Houston last season and played right tackle for the Texans earlier in his career. The Browns have six offensive linemen on track for free agency, so the Howard trade represents a big move to begin remaking the offensive line in Cleveland.
Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson has known Browns head coach Todd Monken for years, and Simpson says he’d love to go to Cleveland and play for Monken in the NFL.
“My dad and coach Monken go way back,” Simpson told cleveland.com. “They talk often. He texted him when he got the job and they’ve texted a little bit [since], so if I had the opportunity to play for the Browns, it would be a dream come true.”
Simpson believes Monken and his staff will make Cleveland a good place for a quarterback to develop.
“I think I’d be in great hands with the team that they have and the organization, and then coach Monken, what he does with the quarterbacks and the offense is super quarterback-friendly and I think he’s going to coach me hard if I’m able to go there and I know he’s going to do it the right way,” Simpson said. “So I’m super-excited.”
The Browns drafted two quarterbacks last year in Shedeur Sanders and Dillon Gabriel, and they still have Deshaun Watson under contract for one more season. It’s not clear whether they’ll add another quarterback in the draft, but if they do, Simpson hopes to be that quarterback.
Teams making decisions about picking up the fifth-year options on the contracts of their 2023 first-round picks now know how much that will cost.
The NFL revealed the values on Friday afternoon. There are four levels of compensation at each position. Players who have made multiple Pro Bowls as an original selection are at the top followed by players with one Pro Bowl selection and players who have hit playing time milestones before reaching the lowest level.
Panthers quarterback Bryce Young and Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud were the first two picks of that draft and both of them reached the playing time level of compensation. That will leave them with fully guaranteed salaries of $25.904 million if the teams decide to exercise the options, but longer-term extensions are also a possibility now that they have finished their third seasons.
The full list of 2023 first-rounders — there were 31 that year because the Dolphins were stripped of their pick — and their fifth-year option salaries appears below:
1. Panthers QB Bryce Young — $25.904 million (playing time).
2. Texans QB C.J. Stroud — $25.904 million (playing time).
3. Texans DE Will Anderson — $21.512 (Pro Bowl).
4. Colts QB Anthony Richardson — $22.483 million (base).
5. Seahawks CB Devon Witherspoon — $21.161 million (multiple Pro Bowls).
6. Cardinals OT Paris Johnson — $19.072 million (playing time).
7. Raiders DE Tyree Wilson — $14.475 million (base).
8. Falcons RB Bijan Robinson — $11.323 million (Pro Bowl).
9. Eagles DT Jalen Carter — $27.127 million (multiple Pro Bowls).
10. Bears OT Darnell Wright — $19.072 million (playing time).
11. Titans OG Peter Skoronski — $19.072 million (playing time).
12. Lions RB Jahmyr Gibbs — $14.293 million (multiple Pro Bowls).
13. Packers DE Lukas Van Ness — $14.475 million (base).
14. Steelers OT Broderick Jones — $19.072 million (playing time).
15. Jets DE Will McDonald — $14.475 million (base).
16. Rams CB Emmanuel Forbes — $12.633 million (base).
17. Patriots CB Christian Gonzalez — $18.119 million (Pro Bowl).
18. Lions LB Jack Campbell — $21.925 million (Pro Bowl).
19. Buccaneers DT Calijah Kancey — $15.451 (playing time).
20. Seahawks WR Jaxon Smith-Njigba — $23.852 million (Pro Bowl).
21. Chargers WR Quentin Johnston — $18 million (playing time).
22. Ravens WR Zay Flowers — $27.298 million (multiple Pro Bowls).
23. Vikings WR Jordan Addison — $18 million (playing time).
24. Giants CB Deonte Banks — $12.633 million (base).
25. Bills TE Dalton Kincaid — $8.162 million (base).
26. Jets DT Mazi Smith — $13.391 million (base) Smith was traded to the Jets by the Cowboys.
27. Jaguars OT Anton Harrison — $19.072 million (playing time).
28. Bengals DE Myles Murphy — $14.475 million (base).
29. Saints DT Bryan Bresee — $13.391 million (base).
30. Eagles LB Nolan Smith — $13.752 million (base).
31. Chiefs Felix Anudike-Uzomah — $14.475 million (base).
The Browns have three quarterbacks on their roster. Yet, even after drafting Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders last year, the Browns could draft another quarterback this year.
If they do, University of Miami’s Carson Beck makes a lot of sense.
Beck spent three years with new Browns coach Todd Monken at Georgia before transferring to Miami. Monken was the offensive coordinator for 34 of Beck’s games, when Beck passed for 7,736 yards with 56 touchdowns and 18 interceptions.
“I love him personally,” “I’ve actually known him since I was 7 or 8 years old. I played baseball with his son whenever he was the wide receivers coach with the Jags. That’s cool. I’ve been able to have a really good relationship with him over the years, and obviously at Georgia, he taught me a lot of what I know. He’s amazing coach. I had the opportunity to talk with him a little bit the other day when I was done with all my interviews. We walked and chatted for a little bit. I love Coach Monk. He’s an awesome coach and great guy.”
Beck had a formal interview with the Browns, one of many so far. He also said he has met with the Jets, Steelers and Dolphins, among others.
Beck might be one of the few quarterbacks ever who would actually relish being drafted by the Browns.
“That would obviously be super cool,” Beck said. “Any team that’s going to draft me, I’m super grateful for the opportunity, but if coach Monken were to be my coach again, obviously I really enjoyed him being my coach at the University of Georgia, and what I was able learn from him there. So, I’d be super stoked.”
Beck played six college seasons, passing for 11,725 yards with 88 touchdowns and 32 interceptions.
“It’s been a super cool journey,” Beck said. “Obviously, it feels like I was in college forever, but again, everybody’s path is different. I’m truly blessed and grateful that my path went the way it did. It’s a lot easier to say that looking back at it now, but you’re in the middle of a grind of a season or you’re in the middle the rehab and I can’t throw a football for four months, and you don’t know what your future is going to look like. To get to this point, and to have the injury and battle through that and fight through that, and have the success of some of these great teams I’ve been a part of it, it’s been a really cool experience. I’m obviously super blessed and grateful to even be able to stand in front of you today.”
The NFL is a copycat league. And there’s an emerging trend that one new head coach believes will soon be copied.
Browns coach Todd Monken has a prediction: There will be more downfield laterals.
“I do think that laterals are going to be a bigger part of our game,” Monken said during a Wednesday appearance on PFT Live. “I believe that you get these zone looks. Now, you’ve got to throw it to the guy you trust, because you don’t want that damn thing on the ground. But I do think that is going to become more and more in vogue with teams as you see more and more success with your ability to, first off, get the ball in someone’s hands as the defense starts to collapse, collapse, and get yourself an explosive play.”
Monken believes it won’t be something that happens only in specific situations.
“Not just on third downs, not just on fourth down, not just as a gimmick play,” Monken said. “Obviously, Ben [Johnson] started doing that a lot in Detroit. Give credit where credit’s due. And then others have started to do that a little bit more. And it takes some stones to do it. If the ball ends up on the ground, you’re gonna get critiqued for it, but I can see the game going that way, where plays have built-in laterals. It just feels like it can go that way.”
It’s an effective way to counter a defense’s pursuit of the ball and, if/when the defense is bracing for it, to get the defense a little wobbly and uncertain.
Still, as Monken said, execution will be critical. A bad lateral potentially becomes a lost possession, followed by public and private questions as to the sanity of the coach who called the play.
