With T.J. Ward possibly headed out of town, the Cleveland Browns bolstered their secondary early in free agency, landing Donte Whitner on a four-year deal. The deal is worth $28 million, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN.
Donte Whitner lands in Cleveland
The Browns added a hard-hitting veteran to their secondary, inking a four-year deal with Donte Whitner.
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Whitner has certainly seen his ups and downs since entering the league in 2006. The nine-year veteran played his first five seasons with the Buffalo Bills and generally went under the radar, but revitalized his career with the San Francisco 49ers over the past three seasons. Whitner is a two-time Pro Bowler, having made it the past two seasons, and will be hoping for a decent contract this offseason.
Here’s a closer look at the newest Brown.
2013 Season review
Whitner had a very solid 2013 campaign. When he joined the 49ers in 2011, he was fantastic, but had a comparatively poor 2012 season (though he was still nominated to a Pro Bowl in the latter year). In 2012, he was something of a liability in coverage.
That changed in 2013. Whitner was part of what ended up being one of the better secondaries in the NFL, to the surprise of many. San Francisco’s safeties and corners played exceptionally well, and Whitner was right there with them, earning his second Pro Bowl berth.
He finished with 73 tackles, two forced fumbles, a fumble recovery, two interceptions and 12 passes defensed, a season high. Many will note that he was penalized multiple times for helmet-to-helmet hits and unnecessary roughness, but he was never fined for those hits, so that really shouldn’t be a knock against him. He’s great playing the run game and serviceable in coverage.
Contract history
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Whitner signed a three-year contract to play with the 49ers in 2011. That contract was for $11.65 million with a $2.5 million signing bonus. That’s an average salary of $3.88 million, and he earned every penny. He probably outperformed his contract to an extent, but there was never talk about a raise after he made the Pro Bowl in 2012. It’s likely he received some incentives, but those aren’t a matter of public record.
Whitner's rookie contract paid him somewhere around $14 million over five years. He actually held out of the first several days of training camp, trying to get the $15 million that was given to Michael Huff, who was selected one spot before him.
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