The Cleveland Browns, led by their newly-installed triumvirate of CV cowboys, haven't done much of, well, anything since the 2016 league year kicked off earlier this month. Technically, since nothing, or zero, is the absence of something and the Browns have watched their four biggest free agents - Alex Mack, Mitchell Schwartz, Travis Benjamin and Tashaun Gipson - follow big money deals elsewhere, then Sashi Brown, Paul DePodesta and Andrew Berry have done something, it's just been a net negative for the franchise.
Of course, the decision by the new Browns brass to lay low and abstain from the NFL's free agency frenzy altogether - unless you consider Demario Davis worthy of the term "frenzy" - was met with a pretty significant backlash from media and fans alike, who were no doubt shocked by the inactivity and uncertain how the Browns would be able to contend in 2016 minus all that talent and plus nothing. At the very least, Brown, DePodesta and Berry want to keep Cleveland supporters on their side, right?
Well, from the sound of things, the Browns' decision-makers have had a plan all along. It involved taking a flyer on free agency and it also involved accepting that no one - not fans, media or even the players - were going to be happy with the team's decision to avoid any open market deals.
Per a recent report, the "thinking" at this point in Cleveland is that the team doesn't just need a facelift - it needs to be torn down to the studs and rebuilt. Really, it's not a surprising thought. It's one that's been laid out here before.
Sure, Mack, Schwartz and the rest are quality players and losing them certainly lowers the overall talent level on the roster. But does anyone really think that keeping those four guys and signing some mid-level free agents was going to turn the Browns into a contender?
There's nowhere to go for the Browns but down. Wait - did you think I was going to say up? Well, both are true in a way. In the standings, there's nowhere for the Browns to go but up. They've perennially been one of the worst teams in the league and again finished the 2015 season far from even a wisp of a hope of a playoff berth.
But now, the Browns are going down and they're doing it intentionally.
Letting Mack and Co. walk, choosing not to delve into the free agent pool - these are the hallmarks of a team planning, not necessarily to tank, but to at least embrace the process of rebuilding.
But that, in and of itself, should be the most promising element of this offseason for Browns fans. No more half-hearted attempts to upgrade, no quick fixes or designs on retooling on the fly.
For better or worse, the new Browns brass has a plan. And it sure sounds like they're going to stick to it, backlash or no. Making it work, hitting on the draft picks that Ray Farmer so consistently missed on, won't be easy.
But they've made it through the hardest part - enduring the angst and anger of fans who want a winning team, but lack the foresight to know that first you've got to embrace being bad before you can start the long trek to being good.
