Cleveland Browns: Addition of Mychal Kendricks a big plus
After being cut loose by the defending Super Bowl champions last month, linebacker Mychal Kendricks has indeed found a home in the AFC North.
After a few days of uncertainty, it appears that the Cleveland Browns are finally getting ready to add a quality play-maker to their team. Jordan Schultz of Yahoo! Sports has the latest on former Philadelphia Eagles’ linebacker Mychal Kendricks.
#Browns and LB Mychal Kendricks have agreed to a one-year deal, with a max value of $3.5 million, per source. Kendricks will start from day one for Cleveland.
— Jordan Schultz (@Schultz_Report) June 4, 2018
The Birds (then under the guidance of head coach Andy Reid) made him the 46th overall pick in 2012. The former University of California standout was a double-digit starter in five of his six seasons in the City of Brotherly Love. In 2017, he played in all 15 regular-season contests and made 13 starts. He finished second on the club with 73 tackles, to go along with a pair of sacks and six passes defensed.
In a half-dozen NFL campaigns, the versatile performer has logged 14 sacks and knocked down 27 passes. There have been three interceptions, five fumbles recoveries and six forced fumbles. During Philadelphia’s three-game Super Bowl title run this past year, he racked up 16 total stops – tied for second on the club.
Kendricks joins a Browns’ team that features outside linebackers Jamie Collins and Christian Kirksey and middle man Joe Schobert. The team finished 14th in the NFL in total defense. Cleveland improved from 31st in the league vs. the run in 2016 to seventh in ’17. Schobert finished with 142 tackles, three sacks, one interception, three forced fumbles and four passes defensed.
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Meanwhile, Kirksey finished second on the club with 138 stops. He finished with 3.5 sacks, two forced fumbles and one fumble recovery while knocking down five passes. Meanwhile, Collins was limited to only six contest this past season.
Kendricks is a terrific addition to a Cleveland team that has done a lot of work this year under new general manager John Dorsey. And the 27-year-old pro could elevate coordinator Gregg Williams’ defense a few more notches.