Hutchinson

[pup]

The Seahawks only put the transition tag on All-Pro guard Steve Hutchinson. This means he is a restricted FA, but he can negotiate with other teams. How soon before Savage is on the phone? If the Browns were to sign him and Seattle does not match, is there draft picks involved?

[yogi]

I'm 99% sure no draft picks are in involved with the "transition" tag. If he were given the "franchise" tag that Jeff Backus of the Lions was given then to sign him would cost 2 1st round picks.

However, with the transition tag in place on Hutch, he would get minimum of $6.3M from the Seahawks this year. If we wanted to sign him, that would be our starting point. And anything he'd agree to, Seattle would have a chance to match. If Seattle did not, no draft picks are owed.

[pup]

Am I crazy or is this move #1 for the Browns this offseason? Shit for that matter, go get him, and Bentley. Dump Faine. Hutchinson at left guard, Bentley at center and Andruzzi at right guard would be pretty solid.

[aoxo]

It doesn't get much worse than targeting a transition guy, offering him a large chunk of the available cap space, waiting for 7 days while other guys are signed by other teams, and then having the team match anyways.

[pup]

If there is a player, at a position, that this risk would be worth it, this is the case. I think Romeo is pretty confident that he can make a defense work off the scrape heap, so spend cash on a couple of stud FA offensivle lineman and let's play some smashmouth football!

[furls]

I am 100% positive there are no draft picks involved, but chasing after guys with a transition tag is a risky proposition. Especially for a team with as many holes as our beloved brownies.

Mike

[pup]

To get guys here, wea re going to have to make a huge splash at some point. We have cap room, build us an offensive line. We have been back for 6 years and EVERY off-season the offensive line has been a target, but mostly overlooked. At the end of each season, we sit around and talk about how bad the off-season line has been. Then at the draft or through free agnecy it never gets addressed sufficiantly. You have a chance in two large moves to begin to overcome that.

Make a large offer to Hutchinson at midnight, March 3. At 12:01, fax one over to LeCharles' agent. Blow your wad on these two moves and they will be 100x's ahead of where they are today.

[buddycowley]

The Browns can't afford to tie up too much money focusing on the OL. With the number of good possibilities in the draft, "blowing our wad" on Hutch and Bentley will make it harder to make improvements in other areas on the team.

With that said, Hutch has to be priority number one. Can't blame the FO, he's a Michigan boy. Anyways, go after Hutch first, see if the deal gets done. If not, set the sights on Bentley. I trust Savage will be on the horn with both of them pretty quickly.

Buddy