A word of caution: by "replace", I simply mean "taking the roster spot left vacant by".
The Browns signed Bills TE Robert Royal to a contract Wednesday, according to Royal himself. Royal stated that he would be in Cleveland Thursday to finalize the deal.
Overall, the signing is one that should not draw criticism. Royal has largely been a blocking tight end over the past three seasons with Buffalo, but he has experience playing a lot of downs. If veteran TE Steve Heiden doesn't recover well from his surgery, then we'll have a similar tight end. While I would rate Heiden as the better pass catcher, Royal was productive as a receiver with Buffalo.
Over the past three seasons, Royal accumulated 832 yards receiving and 7 touchdowns. During that stretch, the Bills have really struggled to find a consistent quarterback between J.P. Losman and Trent Edwards. Their offense in general, particularly their passing game, has been lackluster for several years.
Perhaps the best news of all is that this could mean the team won't re-sign veteran TE Darnell Dinkins. Many of us agree that Dinkins was not a threat as a receiver, and would far too often be on the receiving end of a special teams penalty.
Royal, who also visited with the Jets, said he met Sunday and Monday with the Browns staff, including offensive coordinator Brian Daboll. "It's a terrific staff and I'm excited to come to work with them," he said.
On another note, I'd like to point you in the direction of a well-written piece on former Browns LB Andra Davis over at Mile High Report, our Denver Broncos affiliate. I still believe they are giving Davis more credit than he deserves when it comes to his gameplay, but there's no questioning his character.
0 recs | 13 comments
You’re entitled to think whatever you want about Buffalo’s offense in general, but trust me when I say that Robert Royal is NOT good. He drops as many passes as he catches, and when he does catch it, he’s a HUGE risk for fumbles. As a blocker, he’s above average. But the dude just straight up isn’t a starting TE in this league.
Brian Galliford - March 5, 2009
Thanks for the feedback; its good to know from someone who is used to watching him first hand. I don’t envision him as being our starter; I’d much prefer that to be Heiden. I see his blocking being better than Dinkins’ though, with a threat to catch the ball too.
Chris Pokorny - March 5, 2009
"T"Ruck is going to be our number 1 TE receiver. Royal, I think will be in on first and second down a lot
Roger Dorn - March 5, 2009
FYI, I didn’t make up the cheesy nickname, that is what they call him at Mizzou
Roger Dorn - March 5, 2009
Then where is Heiden in the equation?
Chris Pokorny - March 5, 2009
Injured
Roger Dorn - March 5, 2009
No matter what, we need a body at TE and he will do for now. We have to see what Rucker can do thanks to RAC not playing him.
paulbip - March 5, 2009
I don’t think Heiden is ‘the man’ or anything. It’s a completely new offense so it’s not like he has a leg up or anything. I like Heiden sure but I’d say it will be an open competition at TE.
homerun21 - March 5, 2009
This signing does nothing for me…does anyone know the details of it?
bellar - March 5, 2009
4 years/10 mil with 3 guaranteed
Roger Dorn - March 5, 2009
Thanks…much worse than I would of guessed. Absolutely pointless to draft a tight end, keep 4 on your roster (last year), and then trade a productive contributor (for decent value) with this in mind as the answer. I don’t see much logic. It seems to me as if we are officially going to be rebuilding…again!
bellar - March 5, 2009
No, we traded Winslow because A) he was a volitile personality that was going to want a new contract, B) his injury history and health outlook made a renewed commitment to him unwise, and C) TEs are not used as pass catchers often in the NE offense so he was much less valuable to us than he would be to a more TE friendly offense.
We aren’t rebuilding. It’s going to be more like a reshaping, for lack of a better term. We aren’t sacrificing the present for the future.
danvail - March 6, 2009
I’d say we are at least kind of rebuilding.
Less than 1 mil/year guaranteed for Royal is worth it, that is pretty cheap. I am fine with this, especially if we can get rid of Dinkins and carry another RB/WR on the roster.
rufio - March 7, 2009
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