The Cleveland Browns are looking for a wide receiver this offseason, and although they want a proven player with a high-end skill set, the team also wants someone who is affordable enough to reduce severe financial risk.
Finding proven talent with something left to give at a premium position and on a team-friendly deal is a difficult balancing act for any franchise, and if the Browns opt to try, there will be inherent risk. However, Mike Williams of the Los Angeles Chargers is a name worth considering.
Williams, 29, had an ACL tear early in 2023 and played only three games last season. Nonetheless, he has more than 4,800 receiving yards in his seven-year NFL career (83 games played), including two seasons of 1,000-plus yards (2019, 2021), according to Pro Football Reference.
On Thursday, February 8, NFL analyst Quincy Carrier told Sports 4 CLE anchor Dave Bacon that Williams is the type of No. 2 option opposite Amari Cooper that Browns fans have been waiting for.
“The Browns are at a point to where they’re not trying to develop a talent to be another wide receiver for them,” he said. “They simply need someone to come in and create. And in that scenario, you should go with someone you know can produce because they’ve done it before.”
Chargers wide receiver Mike Williams Likely to Hit the Market in March.
The NFL offseason is a fantastic time for speculation, though not all of it is realistic. However, Williams is not an impossible dream in Cleveland.
The team may save up around $33 million by deferring portion of Deshaun Watson’s $64 million cap hit in 2024 as dead money. Cleveland can potentially free up space in the short term by extending Cooper, who will otherwise count almost $24 million against the cap next season.
However, the Browns may not have to do all, if any, of that work to get Williams, despite the $32.5 million cap burden he represents in Los Angeles on the last year of his $60 million contract.
“Mike Williams will be available,” Carrier added. “He has, I believe, a $30 million cap charge that the Chargers will not want to take on, and he recently suffered an ACL tear. And I believe he is nearing the age of 28 or 30. So, yeah, they’ll move on from him.
Carrier suggested the prospect of the Browns or another team trading for Williams. That makes little sense, though, because waiting for the Chargers to cut him during the summer will make the receiver significantly more affordable.
“I doubt it would be that expensive…” “Because he’ll be in the one-year prove-it deal world,” Carrier explained. “[Those are] the kind of deals that the Browns can give out right now — short-term, quick deals to these guys.”
Mike Williams Has a Collegiate Connection to Browns QB Deshaun Watson
Williams makes sense in Cleveland on multiple levels. To begin, he had a relationship with Watson while they were both collegiate colleagues at Clemson.
“Williams also has a ton of experience with Deshaun Watson, won a national championship with him at Clemson, so he knows how to adjust to his play style,” Carrier told reporters on Thursday. “And I believe that if you want Deshaun Watson to be more conversant with your offensive principles, you must do more than that. It is also about some of the personnel.
Beyond that, Carrier stated that Browns fans are tired of the so-called potential of receivers and want someone with a proven track record to fall back on. Williams has that. And if injuries arise, Cleveland will likely only need to commit for one year to bring him in, lowering the danger but not eliminating it.
“I think a lot of Browns fans are burnt out on betting on the ideal of certain wide receivers,” Carrier said in an interview. “We did it with Anthony Schwartz.” We’ve done it with a few rookies. Then we tried it with Elijah Moore. And I believe that people prefer the productive wide receiver over the one who may be productive in the future if they are patient enough.
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