NFL Free Agency: Cleveland Browns sign John Johnson III.
The Cleveland Browns landed one of the top NFL safeties in free agency. John Johnson signs with Cleveland Browns for $33 million. The deal reportedly includes $24 million in guaranteed money. Cleveland’s secondary had been hit with a lot of injuries during the 2020 NFL season. Andrew Berry drafted Grant Delpit to be number one in the free safety role, however, he was lost to injury before even taking a snap.
Even though Cleveland’s offense was becoming great under coach of the year Kevin Stefanski, the defense still needed help. Andrew Berry built the offensive roster through free agency by adding last year’s top free agent lineman, Jack Conklin. The move made sense with Stefanski’s run-heavy scheme, and propelled the Browns offense for the 2020 NFL season.
As good as they were on offense, they lacked production on the defensive side of the ball. They often took a big lead only for the opposition to come from behind to win. There were a couple of games in the 2020 NFL season that Cleveland could have won if their defense had gotten a stop. This offseason, it has been suggested that they would bolster the defense through the draft and free agency.
Cleveland Browns land one of the NFL’s top safeties.
To start free agency in 2021, the Cleveland Browns landed one of the top safeties available. The Cleveland Browns have reportedly signed John Johnson for $33 Million. Johnson played for the Rams in the 2020 NFL season, a defense which ranked number 1 in total defense.
Jalen Ramsey is by far the biggest star in Los Angeles’ secondary. While Ramsey grabbed the spotlight, Johnson demonstrated why he’s one of the NFL’s better safeties. PFF gave him an 84.9 overall grade, third-best in the position. With their cap situation, they had to let John Johnson leave in free agency. It was a move that Cleveland took advantage of.
The Browns clearly made safety a priority position, and John Johnson should make an immediate impact on the field and in the locker room. With the signing of John Johnson, the Cleveland Browns have their safety room sorted for the near future with 3 young safeties.