The Cleveland Browns used their first significant move of the free agency period to lock down pass rushing help off of the edge.
Ian Rapoport of NFL Network broke the news on Monday, March 13, that the Browns intend to ink edge rusher Ogbonnia Okoronkwo to a three-year contract. Monday is the first day of legal tampering ahead of the league’s official free agency period that begins on March 15. The agreement between the Browns and Okoronkwo can not be finalized until then.
Sources: Obo Okoronkwo is siging with the #Browns, getting a 3-year deal worth $19M with a chance to make $22M. He gets $12.5M guaranteed.
— Ian Rapoport () March 13, 2023
“Obo Okoronkwo is signing with the #Browns, getting a 3-year deal worth $19M with a chance to make $22M. He gets $12.5 million guaranteed,” Rapoport wrote.
Okoronkwo Joins Browns After Career Year With Texans
GettyEdge rusher Ogbonnia Okoronkwo of the Houston Texans celebrates after knocking the ball loose during a game against the Dallas Cowboys at AT&T Stadium on December 11, 2022 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Sam Hodde/Getty Images)
Okoronkwo’s deal with Cleveland is the first true pay day he has received since the Rams selected him No. 160 overall in the fifth round of the 2018 NFL Draft out of the University of Oklahoma.
He spent the first four years of his career as a linebacker in Los Angeles. Okoronkwo didn’t play in a game during his rookie season but did appear in 33 regular season contests over his final three seasons with the Rams, getting on the field for an average of a little less than 25% of the team’s defensive snaps across those three campaigns. He was part of the Rams Super Bowl Championship team in 2021.
Okoronkwo amassed 17 quarterback pressures, five tackles for loss, 4.5 sacks and two forced fumbles in that limited backup role for the Rams before signing a one-year deal worth $3.25 million to join the Houston Texans in 2022.
Upon arriving in Houston, he made the transition to defensive end and put up a career year for the Texans. Okoronkwo played in all 17 games in 2022, earning eight starts, and tallied 44 tackles, including nine tackles for loss, 17 quarterback pressures, five sacks, two defensed passes and a forced fumble, per
Source:: Heavy.com