It is a common misconception that the contract of quarterback Deshaun Watson will be detrimental to the spending capabilities of the Cleveland Browns. However, there are moves to make with him, wide receiver Amari Cooper, and more that will give the Browns plenty of flexibility to throw money around again this offseason.
General manager Andrew Berry has been pegged as one of the NFL’s most aggressive general managers. From trading for wide receiver Elijah Moore and defensive end Za’Darius Smith to landing defensive tackle Dalvin Tomlinson, and more in free agency, the Browns had a productive offseason a year ago.
That will not be any different this year despite currently sitting $19 million in the hole in cap space. The cap is easily manipulatable, and Berry has proven to be one of the best at working the system.
Here are four moves the Browns could make to clear a significant amount of cap space to spend this offseason.
Extend WR Amari Cooper
The only sizable contract the Browns can move off of this offseason is that of wide receiver Amari Cooper. With a $23 million cap hit in 2024, the Browns can save $20 million of that by cutting Cooper. However, given the current nature of the wide receiver room in Cleveland, and because he’s had the best two seasons of his career with the Browns, there is a big reason to keep him around.
What the Browns can do to lower his cap hit, however, is to extend him. Cooper will be 30 next season, however, so the length of extension will be an interesting game to play. If they wanted to extend him for another two years, however (likely around $23-24 million based on the recent extensions of Terry McLaurin and Stefon Diggs), they can drop his base salary in 2024 to the vet minimum, paying him only his bonuses that do not count against the cap.
This move is very much in play this offseason.
Restructure contract of QB Deshaun Watson again
The Browns are going to restructure the contract of Deshaun Watson again this offseason, dropping his base salary to the veteran minimum and clearing around $44 million in cap space.
They did it last year, and if Watson plays well this season under new offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey, they will likely do it again next year too.
This is why the contract of Watson has been overblown throughout the years. Yes, the Browns have to pay him all of the $230 million they guaranteed him. However, how they are opting to do that is no different than the contract that Howie Roseman was praised for when the Philadelphia Eagles signed Jalen Hurts to his mega-deal (for nearly the same amount of guaranteed money).
What a player’s base salary is on paper means very little as that number is extremely malleable. So while Hurts’ contract gets praise for the low base salary numbers, the Browns are achieving the same bases (or lower) by simply converting Watson’s base to a bonus as Hurts’ are already written as in his contract.
Re-work the contract of RB Nick Chubb
The Browns are not cutting Nick Chubb.
Yes, his contract is cuttable after a year where he blew out his knee, but the NFL’s best running back deserves the chance to prove he is superhuman once again. Especially in a running back room where Jerome Ford, Pierre Strong Jr., and Kareem Hunt did not carry their end of the bargain after his injury.
As Chubb enters the last year of his contract with the Browns, the team can save nearly $12 million in cap space while eating just $4 million in dead cap to move on from their superstar. However, adding another year or two to his deal is a win for both sides.
By signing Chubb to an extension, probably right around the same price as his last one given the plateauing of the running back market, the Browns could guarantee Chubb his 2024 salary, and even venture into 2025 without committing much more money beyond that.
Even if the Browns extended Chubb for just one year after 2024, they could put themselves in a favorable position with their books.
Traditionally when the Browns sign a player to an extension, they frontload the bonuses and backload the salary. This would put Chubb’s 2024 cap hit at the veteran minimum as most of his money then would be paid upfront in the form of a signing bonus.
A move like this could clear about $11 million in cap space.
Another option could be to raise Chubb’s guarantees while lowering his base salary for the 2024 season alone and letting him hit free agency after the season ends. If the Browns were to meet halfway on his deal, that could clear about $4 million in cap space.
TE Jordan Akins is only real cuttable contract
The Browns could cut tight end Jordan Akins and save $2 million against the cap. However, with Harrison Bryant already getting set to hit the market, the bigger question is: what tight ends could the Browns bring in to replace Akins if they cut him for that $2 million or less?
Drafting one tight end seems likely, but drafting two would cause the Browns to line up two greatly inexperienced players at a position where two and sometimes three see the field at the same time on a large chunk of plays.
For the price of a measly $2 million, the Browns would be better off keeping Akins in 2024.
How much cap space could this clear?
Here are the four moves highlighted in this article to clear cap space this offseason and how much was estimated to clear:
- Amari Cooper contract extension, lowering 2024 cap hit to vet minimum ($18 million cleared)
- Deshaun Watson contract restructured again ($44 million cleared)
- Nick Chubb’s deal reworked in some fashion (between $4-11 million cleared)
- Cut Jordan Akins ($2 million cleared)
All in all, taking in the scale of the Chubb possibilities and the hoops the Browns would have to solve if Akins is cut, Berry and his team have the opportunity to clear between a massive $66-75 million in cap space this offseason.
After rolling over around $30 million, currently sitting $19 million in the red, this would give the Browns $47-56 million in cap space to work with. They like to rollover around $30 million, so this means they’ll likely have $17-30 million in effective spending money.
Given their tendency to sit the first year of a deal at the veteran minimum, this gives the Browns plenty of ammunition to do some damage in free agency and on the trade market.
Do not fret. The Browns will once again be aggressive this offseason.
