Joe Schobert continues to prove Cleveland Browns need to pay up

Once again, Joe Schobert was all over the field and showed he deserves to be paid. The question is whether or not the Cleveland Browns are going to get a deal done.

The Cleveland Browns got a win on Monday Night Football, and linebacker Joe Schobert had himself quite the game as he helped them keep the New York Jets down to just three points.

Cleveland’s middle linebacker was all over the field as he racked up 13 tackles — 10 of which were solo — while also forcing a fumble as he knocked the ball out of the hands of New York running back Le’Veon Bell. He was good enough to be Cleveland’s highest-graded Browns defensive player, per the PFF Browns twitter account.

As great as this was, it surely was no break-out game as Schobert has been one of the more consistent players on the team. Instead, it was more of the same as the 2017 NFL tackles leader does nothing but make plays for the Browns.

Even with all of his accolades, general manager John Dorsey has seemed hesitant to lock No. 53 up on a long-term deal. While other linebackers such as Jaylon Smith of the Dallas Cowboys and Deion Jones of the Atlanta Falcons landed big contracts recently, the Schobert front has continued to be quiet.

It’s not as if money is the issue. The Browns are set to have roughly $63 million in cap space in 2020 and if the recent linebacker contracts are any indication, he should earn roughly $14-$16 million.

There could be some concern that Dorsey may not want to pony up that kind of money as he did use two draft picks this year on linebackers — selecting Sione Takitaki in the third round and Mack Wilson in the fifth.

Having said that, those players are far from being the caliber player that Schobert is and it could be quite the mistake to let him walk.

Hopefully, we don’t have to worry about that and the team ends up giving him the contract he deserves.