Fansided

Karlos Dansby to be released by Cleveland Browns

By John Buhler

Nov 5, 2015; Cincinnati, OH, USA; Cleveland Browns inside linebacker Karlos Dansby (56) against the Cincinnati Bengals at Paul Brown Stadium. The Bengals won 31-10. Mandatory Credit: Aaron Doster-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 5, 2015; Cincinnati, OH, USA; Cleveland Browns inside linebacker Karlos Dansby (56) against the Cincinnati Bengals at Paul Brown Stadium. The Bengals won 31-10. Mandatory Credit: Aaron Doster-USA TODAY Sports /
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The Cleveland Browns organization has reportedly informed veteran linebacker Karlos Dansby that the team will release him from their football team.

According to ESPN’s Pat McManamon, the Cleveland Browns have reportedly told 12-year NFL veteran inside linebacker Karlos Dansby that he will be released from the football team. McManamon believes that even at 34 years old, Dansby still has plenty left in the tank for a new team.

After several of the Browns’ best players in 2015 like Alex Mack, Mitchell Schwartz, and Travis Benjamin decided to sign elsewhere in free agency, Dansby, left tackle Joe Thomas, tight end Gary Barnidg, and cornerback Joe Haden were the Browns’ most marquee players still on the roster entering 2016.

Dansby is likely past his prime going on 35 years of age, but he can still provide significant value for a team in dire need of help at inside linebacker. The former second round pick out of Auburn University started in 171 NFL games between the Browns, the Arizona Cardinals and the Miami Dolphins since 2004.

He has 931 career solo tackles, 278 assists, 41.0 quarterback sacks, 20 forced fumbles and 19 interceptions in his 12 years in the league. While Dansby has never made a trip to the Pro Bowl or an All-Pro team in his dozen years of NFL service, he has for a very long time been one of the most well-rounded middle linebackers in the league.

Cleveland may want to get younger in their front seven defensively in the first year of the Hue Jackson era with the Browns, but letting a pro’s pro like the veteran Dansby go doesn’t bode well for what many are viewing as potentially the worst team in football in the 2016 Browns.

The Browns likely won’t be as bad as the 1976 Tampa Bay Buccaneers, but they’re already significantly worse on paper than they were in 2015, a year where they went 3-13 — thought at least they have the No. 2 overall pick in the 2016 NFL Draft. Dansby has a great opportunity to sign a one or two-year deal with a contending team now that he and the Browns have parted ways.

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