NFL Free Agency: Browns reportedly sign Texans free agent Obo Okoronkwo
Former Houston Texans EDGE Obo Okoronkwo will be playing for his third different team in the 2023 season as he’s found a new home during free agency. According to a post from the NFL’s Twitter account, Okoronkwo will be signing a three-year, $19 million contact to play for the Cleveland Browns with $12.5 million guaranteed.
Okoronkwo is coming off the best season of his professional career recording 44 tackles and five sacks, both career highs as he played in a career-high 17 games for the Texans last season.
He was drafted out of Oklahoma by the Los Angeles Rams in the fifth round of the 2018 NFL Draft with the No. 160 overall pick. He was with the Rams for three seasons, including their Super Bowl LVI victory, before signing a one year deal with Houston in March of 2022.
More on the 2023 NFL offseason, free agency
The NFL 2023 calendar year is set to begin at 4 p.m. ET on March 15 when contracts running through 2022 will officially run out, making those players free agents. Prior to the beginning of free agency, teams will have a chance to designate one franchise or transition tag player, starting on Feb. 21 at 4 p.m. ET and ending on March 7. Beginning March 13 through March 15 teams will be allowed a legal negotiation with players who are set to become unrestricted free agents.
In addition to NFL free agency, the new year also marks the beginning of all trades being made official by the league office. April 21 marks the deadline to sign restricted free agents to offer sheets while April 26 marks the deadline for teams to match restricted free agent offers sheets. 722 players are slated to become free agents in 2023.
More on restricted, exclusive rights free agents
Players with only three years of accredited NFL experience become restricted free agents. Their original team will have the option to apply first-round, second-round, original-round, and right-of-fight-of-first-refusal tenders on players at escalating price tags. The higher the round, the more expensive the tender amount; however, if a separate team does offer a contract and the original team does not match that round pick will be conveyed from the new team to the original team. Right of first refusal only gives a team the option to match or not. If they don’t match, they get nothing in return. An original-round tender would send a draft pick from whatever round the player was drafted back to the original team if they chose not to match. The original team will have five days to match once a player signs an offer sheet from a new team.