Browns can decide to use franchise tag on Joe Schobert this week

Most of the attention on the NFL landscape is focused upon the scouting combine here in Indianapolis. On Tuesday, new GM Andrew Berry and head coach Kevin Stefanski will represent the Browns in the media sessions, facing questions from the throng of national and team-centric media here from around the country.

But Thursday also begins the time when Berry and his Browns management crew can use the franchise and transition tags on pending free agents. Recent negotiations for a new collective bargaining agreement pushed the date back from Tuesday. The only real candidate Cleveland has on that front is linebacker Joe Schobert.

Schobert is one of the top defensive players set to hit free agency, and the top off-ball LB on the market. Keeping him did not seem to be much of a priority for the John Dorsey regime, but a new defense built more around linebackers with his particular set of skills under coordinator Joe Woods could change that priority. Schobert is coming off his most impactful season with four interceptions and seven TFLs, both nearly doubling his previous career-highs.

Using the franchise tag would cost the Browns a little over $16 million for 2020, according to projections. Schobert would then be a free agent following the upcoming season. The Browns have until March 10th to decide.