Browns will reportedly pursue Lavonte David in free agency

The Cleveland Browns will be looking to take another step forward in 2021. There might be no better way to do that than to add a key defensive anchor from the reigning Super Bowl champions.

According to Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com, the Browns are likely to pursue free-agent linebacker Lavonte David. A pursuit would be even more likely if Cleveland misses out on free agent J.J. Watt. The Browns will also look at a number of other potential impact players on defense.

David, 31, will not come cheaply. He made more than $10.7 million last year, and he’ll likely double that at least on the open market in terms of annual salary. That will make it challenging for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to retain him, although Bruce Arians has made pretty clear where he stands on that.

David totaled 117 tackles in 2020, with 12 of them coming for a loss. The former All-Pro also forced three fumbles.