Getty Kyle Van Noy
The Cleveland Browns‘ linebacker room struggled to stay healthy last season — one of several reasons why the team might consider adding to the position group.
Cory Kinnan of USA Today’s Browns Wire suggested on Wednesday, June 21, that NFL journeyman linebacker Kyle Van Noy is a “realistic” free agent addition for the franchise ahead of training camp, which is slated to begin in late July.
With the late-season injury to starting SAM linebacker Sione Takitaki, the Browns are currently slated to start Tony Fields II at that spot to [begin] the season. If the team does not feel comfortable starting Fields II, who played well down the stretch in 2022, [it] could go out and get a guy who has played SAM linebacker at a high level throughout his career in veteran Kyle Van Noy.
A solid run defender who is not afraid to lower his shoulder and set a strong edge from his post, Van Noy … has also racked up at least five sacks in each of the last four seasons. The linebacker room is the worst positional group on the [Browns’] roster.
Kyle Van Noy Has Extensive NFL Experience, Including 2 Super Bowl Rings With Patriots
GettyLinebacker Kyle Van Noy, formerly of the Los Angeles Chargers, celebrates after a play during an NFL game against the Las Vegas Raiders in September 2022.
Van Noy played with the Los Angeles Chargers in 2022, though he has spent the majority of his career donning a New England Patriots uniform.
The Detroit Lions selected Van Noy with the No. 40 overall pick in the second round of the 2014 NFL Draft. He played approximately 2.5 seasons in Detroit before the Lions traded him to the Patriots in October 2016.
Van Noy finished out his rookie contract in New England before signing a two-year extension in September 2017 to remain with the franchise. The linebacker landed the heftiest deal of his career two offseasons later in March 2020, signing with the Miami Dolphins for $51 million over four years. However, the Dolphins cut bait with Van Noy the following spring to save nearly $10 million against the salary cap, which landed the linebacker on the free agent market.
The Patriots again provided a home for Van Noy in 2021, signing him to a two-year contract worth $12 million. New England released the linebacker the following March, however, at which point he linked up with the Chargers on a one-year deal.
Van Noy won contributed significantly to two Super Bowl victories in New England, the first in 2016 and the second in 2018. He started all 16 contests for the team during the second of his two title runs, posting 92 tackles, including five tackles for loss, 10 quarterback hits, 3.5 sacks, two pass breakups, one interception, one forced fumble and a defensive touchdown, per Pro Football Reference.
At 32 years old, Van Noy is no longer the player he once was. However, he has been a starter for the majority of his nine-year NFL career, including last season. Van Noy has played in a total of 128 games as a professional, earning 86 starts. He produced 46 tackles, including eight tackles for loss, nine quarterback hits, five sacks, three pass breakups and a forced fumble across 17 games played and 13 starts for the Chargers in 2022, contributing to a postseason berth.
Browns’ Starting Linebackers Ravaged by Injury Last Season
GettyLinebacker Anthony Walker Jr. #5 of the Cleveland Browns celebrates after making a tackle for loss during an NFL game in 2022.
Van Noy’s consistent production and history of winning offers real value to a Browns linebacker room that lacks both.
Takitaki and Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah were the 36th- and 38th-best linebackers in the league out of 81 players who saw enough snaps to qualify at the position in 2022, per Pro Football Focus (PFF). However, both missed significant chunks of time due to injuries (five and six games, respectively).
Anthony Walker had the best PFF marks of the Browns’ bunch, posting an impressive overall grade of 82.7 that included a 90.0 grade in pass coverage. But those advanced stats came with a caveat, as Walker went down for the season in Week 3 due to a torn quad.
The Browns brought back all three of the aforementioned starters for the 2023 campaign but after missing a combined 25 of 51 games between them, the status of the position group is shaky, to say the least.
Fields, who Kinnan mentioned Wednesday as the linebacker Van Noy would likely usurp on the depth chart should the Browns choose to sign him, posted an overall PFF grade of just 50.0 last season. None of the other fill-ins at linebacker performed much better, and one in Jacob Phillips played considerably worse.
Cleveland had nearly $16.9 million in remaining salary cap space as of June 22 and all things considered, a couple million on a flier for Van Noy reads like a small price to play for some depth and insurance at what is arguably the Browns’ least reliable position heading into the upcoming season.
