NFL Notes: Browns, Dolphins, Ravens, & Redskins

Browns

• Terry Pluto of the Cleveland Plain Dealer expects C Alex Mack to exercise his contract option and likely end up playing for a new team in 2016.
• Browns vice president Sashi Brown said he has tried to convince LT Joe Thomas that the Browns’ future will be good enough for him to stay, per Pluto.
• If Thomas is adamant about wanting to be traded, Pluto believes the Browns should explore trades, but if he’s open to staying in Cleveland, they they should probably try to keep him.
• According to Pluto, Browns HC Hue Jackson is “very interested” in the quarterbacks in the 2016 NFL Draft.
• Pluto can see RT Mitchell Schwartz signing a contract that averages more than $8 million a year, whether it’s with the Browns or another team.

Dolphins

• Chris Perkins reports the Dolphins will name Danny Barrett as their next RBs coach.
• Barrett has been with the University of Central Florida since 2011, holding positions such as RBs coach, QBs coach and interim head coach.

Ravens

Ravens TE Dennis Pitta said he hopes to return to the team for 2016, but admitted he is unsure about his health heading into the offseason.

“I certainly have a desire to play and want to play and want to be a part of this team moving forward. But we’ll see how it plays out,” said Pitta, via Jeff Zrebeic of the Baltimore Sun. “Like we talked about, it’s not entirely my decision. Certainly, I have a lot of weight in what my future holds, but it’s not totally in my hands. We’ll see. There’s no timeline as far as when a decision is going to be made. We’ll give it some time this offseason, and I’ll certainly do some thinking and testing my body and hip.”

Redskins

• Rich Tandler of CSN Mid-Atlantic considers it an inevitability that the Redskins will release QB Robert Griffin III, due to his $16.1 million salary in 2016.
• According to Tandler, DE Jason Hatcher and WR Andre Roberts are also potential release candidates.
• Tandler expects the Redskins to try to renegotiate S Dashon Goldson‘s $8 million cap number, or they consider parting ways with the veteran.
• Tarik El Bashir adds that he is unsure of WR Pierre Garcon, WR DeSean Jackson, and C Kory Lichtensteiger‘s future with the team because of their $10.2 million, $9.25 million, and $4 million respective cap numbers.
• El Bashir notes that the Redskins could save $4 million by cutting LB Perry Riley, who suffered a broken foot in practice and missed the final five regular season games.