Team news: Cleveland Browns

The Cleveland Browns have signed QB Jacoby Brissett to a one-year deal.

Brissett will back up Deshaun Watson and has a chance to start games in 2022 depending on Watson's legal issues. Brissett is a priority back-up if Watson misses games.

The Cleveland Browns have traded for QB Deshaun Watson and are giving him a new five-year deal.

Related Player: Baker Mayfield

Watson still faces punishment from the NFL as his legal troubles are not over. Watson has not played since 2020. Mayfield now stands to be traded to one of the team in dire need of a quarterback that would prefer to not start a rookie or sign any of the current free agents.

The Cleveland Browns are releasing TE Austin Hooper as a post-June-1 designation.

Related Players: David Njoku, Harrison Bryant

The writing was on the wall once Njoku was franchise tagged. Hooper earned his deal after a monster year with the Falcons and will now be looking to join a team that needs a tight end.

The Cleveland Browns and WR/PR Jakeem Grant have agreed on a three-year deal.

Grant had a mini-revival after being traded to the Bears and will now serve as a returner and gadget wideout with the Browns.

It’s a consequential moment not only for Tom Brady — who finished the 2021 season second in the league’s MVP voting — but also for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who had been mulling over whether to pursue a Deshaun Watson trade this week. As recently as the NFL combine last week, Tampa Bay was believed to be high on the list of preferred trade destinations for the embattled Houston Texans quarterback. So much so that one team that was also weighing a serious pursuit of Watson told Yahoo Sports that it believed the Buccaneers would be the leading contender if Brady remained in retirement and Tampa Bay ultimately opened trade talks with the Texans.

His retirement lasted all of 40 days. This is obviously great news for all of the returning receivers, namely Mike Evans and Chris Godwin, who was slapped with the franchise tag last week. Brady will once again be ranked as a fantasy QB1 after two very solid seasons in Tampa.

The Dallas Cowboys have traded WR Amari Cooper to the Cleveland Browns for draft picks.

Related Player: CeeDee Lamb

The Cowboys found a trade partner for Cooper, who becomes the obvious WR1 in Cleveland. Jarvis Landry is expected to play elsewhere in 2022, making Cooper the favorite to lead the Browns in targets.

In his NFL Scouting Combine article, ESPN's Matthew Berry asked Browns HC Kevin Stefanski to elaborate on his unprompted praise of WR Anthony Schwartz.

"He said what impressed them last year at the combine in his interview (and this past season) was his understanding of the game. They knew about his world-class speed, of course, but they loved the fact that he could line up at any position. He immediately grasped all the different concepts for every WR position. Stefanski noted that Schwartz got hurt in the middle of the season and then suffered a concussion after that, so his growth was stunted, but the Browns are definitely excited about him and expect a bigger role for him this season."

Schwartz could be locked in as a three-wide WR, especially if Jarvis Landry departs. Berry mentions Schwartz as a deep sleeper and dynasty buy, which is advice we agree with.

The Cleveland Browns have placed the franchise tag on TE David Njoku. They are the first team to place the tag on a player this offseason.

Related Player: Austin Hooper

If he plays on the tag and no long-term deal is signed, Njoku will make around $11 million. If a deal is signed and the tag if a placeholder, Austin Hooper could be looking for a new home.

Browns QB Baker Mayfield underwent successful surgery on his torn labrum and will be out 4-6 months.

That timeline lines up with training camps starting, which could/could not be an issue for Mayfield if he takes the full expected amount of time to recover. Case Keenum should be kept as the Browns' backup QB.