Browns Make Austin Hooper Highest Paid Tight End Ever

Classic Browns. Throw shit at the wall and hope it sticks. Then come back to the table the next year and wonder why they still stink. In the most Browns move of all time, Cleveland has signed Austin Hooper to a record setting contract. Hooper is now the highest paid tight end ever.

The NFL Network crew had the news:

#Falcons free agent TE Austin Hooper, the top player at his position, is headed to the #Browns, per @TomPelissero, @MikeSilver and me. They’ve agreed to terms, he’s the new highest-paid TE.

— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) March 16, 2020

What will the Browns do with David Njoku? Theoretically, Cleveland could keep both but Njoku already wasn’t happy with his role. Obvious new management is in Cleveland but he already hinted at requesting a trade. The addition of Hooper likely won’t make Njoku too happy.

Hooper, 25, will beat the former record that Jimmy Graham had with a $10 million average annual value. Don’t get me wrong, Hooper had a great 2019 with career highs in catches – 75, receiving yards – 787, and touchdowns – six. Still, Atlanta had a bevy of weapons. Hooper never faced double coverage in his life with Julio Jones and Calvin Ridley on the field. Still, Hooper even in a career year was never doing what peak Graham was doing. He also won’t have Matt Ryan throwing him the ball this year.

Will Odell Beckham Request A Trade Away From The Browns?

Hooper has never been dynamic athletically but he can block. Like most free agent deals, you can see this being a disaster from a mile away. Add in Cleveland and boom. The good news is Kevin Stefanski seems a lot more capable than Freddie Kitchens ever did.

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*Refresh the page for updates! Still waiting on official details!