Although Sione Takitaki's ACL tear affected his value, the Browns will give him a chance to recover and re-establish himself next season. They are signing the veteran linebacker to a one-year deal, Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com tweets. Cleveland.com’s Mary Kay Cabot first reported the sides were expected to agree to another contract.
Takitaki’s deal is set to check in around $2.6M. He will return to a Browns team that also has Jacob Phillips recovering from a season-ending injury. The Browns have not re-signed trade acquisition Deion Jones.
The Browns ran into a number of injury issues at linebacker last season and struggled consistently against the run. Takitaki’s setback came after the team lost Anthony Walker and Jacob Phillips, but the former third-round pick was progressing toward a possible Browns extension prior to his knee tear. Pro Football Focus has viewed Takitaki as one of the NFL’s more consistent linebackers in recent years, rating him just inside the top 30 at the position last season.
Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah remains Cleveland’s anchor at the position; he stands to be the team’s candidate to sign a lucrative extension among its linebackers. Takitaki could be a future candidate for a mid-tier deal. For now, the BYU product will need to work his way back. He is expected to be ready to go just before the season, per Fowler.
Takitaki, however, is already headed for his age-28 season. He is running short on time to capitalize on his value. The 2023 season, then, stands to be critical. In the wake of the Walker and Phillips injuries, Takitaki logged a 65% defensive snap rate. That came in well north of his previous three seasons, despite Takitaki starting 20 games from 2020-21. He finished with a career-best 71 tackles last season.
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