One of the more active teams in this free agency market have been the Cleveland Browns, signing eight players so far, but they’re still not done. Their biggest need at the moment seems to be finding a starting cornerback, which seemed to be Brent Grimes for a while, but they might be forced to turn in another direction – possibly Nnamdi Asomugha, Antoine Winfield or maybe even DeAngelo Hall.
While Grimes was their first choice about a week ago, it’s been 10 days since he visited the team. Still recovering from his torn Achilles tendon, the rumors about his slow recovery are spreading, and it might mean that it’s going to be a little while longer before anyone is going to take the risk on him. The Browns have signed one former Falcons corner in free agency (Chris Owens), but he’s not primed to be a started opposite of Joe Haden.
Asomugha is probably the most sought after corner around the league at the moment, but it’ll be up to San Francisco to mess up their negotiations with him first. He’s not asking for the kind of money the Eagles gave him a couple of years ago, but taking a drastic pay cut is tough, especially after so many years in the league, and feeling that in the right kind of defensive system he can still play like a top NFL corner.
Another option is Antoine Winfield, who has been with the Vikings since 2004 and in the NFL since 1999. Despite being 35, there’s been a surge of interest in him over the last week or so, but once again, the Browns seem to be the second or third option for the player, as the Washington Redskins are first in line. If both options do not turn out well, maybe they’ll opt for DeAngelo Hall instead of the NFL draft, although it’s unlikely any team with big aspirations will take Hall to be one of their two starting corners next season.