The Cleveland Browns and the Iron Law of Turnovers

When asked about it in a press conference ahead of this game, quarterbacks coach and offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt simply knocked on the wooden dais in front of him before a reporter could even finish asking the question. The Browns knew the line they were walking and how quickly it could unravel their season. They had a top defense and were able to cobble together enough points to keep winning.

The Browns didn’t just turn the ball over in Houston. They handed the Texans points. Twice. And unfortunately, it’s not the first time that has happened this year. But in combination with the defense playing poorly, the Browns found themselves surrounded in a box canyon with no hopes of escape.

There’s value in being aggressive. The Joe Flacco-led Browns offense is a testament to that. However, the volatility that comes with it is dangerous and can result in these types of games. That goes beyond Flacco. It was a season-long problem for the Browns regardless of the quarterback. In this case, the timing couldn’t have been worse.

Taking shots. Being aggressive on fourth down. Empowering players to seize opportunities. It was a consistent component of their success this season. They just have to find a way to reduce the turnovers. The fumbles are a good place to start, but just eliminating poor decisions on throws would help immensely. There were times when the turnovers weren’t even a product of being overaggressive. Rather, it was just a terrible decision, a predetermined throw on a run-of-the-mill play that ended with a giveaway.

In as much as the Browns had a puncher’s chance against anyone in the playoffs, the likelihood of punching their way through four playoff opponents was practically nil. And as much as they didn’t want to believe it, no one can be surprised by the result even if it’s disappointing it ended so abruptly. Moving forward, they have to figure out how to improve the situation while still taking the shots that make sense in terms of risk versus reward.

The Browns were able to outrun the law in the regular season, earning themselves a spot in the postseason. Unfortunately, the blaze they went out in wasn’t a glorious one, but their performance in Houston should help illustrate just how difficult the journey truly was to get there. It also won’t erase some great memories.

In this article, we will look at who the Cleveland Browns currently have under contract for every position room and which players are free agents this offseason.

Below is the current Cleveland Browns roster and their contract status:

Guarantees – This is any player with even one guaranteed dollar on their 2024 contract, I will breakdown each players contract in this article. All of these players are guaranteed to come back without a trade other than Njoku based on how their deals are structured.

No Guarantees – These players have no financial protection next season. Several players will have roster bonuses on the first three days of the 2024 league year to force the team into early decisions on if they want to keep them around.

Free Agents – There are different types of free agents in the NFL:
Unrestricted Free Agent – these players have four or more years of accrued seasons, meaning they can sign for whichever team they want, and the only control a previous team has on them is a franchise or transition tag
Restricted Free Agent – these are usually undrafted free agents who have completed there seasons of their deal and then get paid more in the final year
Exclusive Right Free Agent – they have less than three seasons and can be kept around on the league minimum, the only other choice the player has is to retire