After a mostly silent first day of the legal tampering period, the Cleveland Browns have agreed to terms on a deal with Taven Bryan. The deal can pay Bryan up to $5 million.
A first round disappointment, Taven Bryan simply has not been able to be much of anything in the NFL. While the athletic traits have been touted by many, they simply have not translated into being relevant beyond college. Bryan has just 86 total tackles and 5.5 sacks in 63 games (17 starts), so any hope that he is some type of factor with interior pressure can be disregarded entirely.
In his four seasons, Taven Bryan has never played more than 46% of defensive snaps, meaning that Cleveland still needs to add at the defensive tackle position after the departures of Malik McDowell and Malik Jackson. Although some are grasping at straws in drawing comparisons to last seasons signing of Takk McKinley, McKinley at least was able to accumulate 13 sacks in his first two seasons, leading to hope that a change of scenery and role in Cleveland could unlock his potential (ultimately it did not work out). The signing of Bryan can be considered something of a nothing-burger, move along and wait until they sign or draft someone of substance.