The Cleveland Browns were humiliated in the first round of the playoffs by the Houston Texans, 45-14, after having an unexpected 11-6 record during the 2023 NFL regular season to secure the No. 5 seed in the AFC east.
Following some salary-cap concerns and a long list of unrestricted free agents, general manager and executive vice president of football operations Andrew Berry of the Browns will have an interesting offseason ahead of him.
As per Over the Cap, there are precisely 26 names on that list, a few of them had a significant role in Cleveland’s triumph last year.
Joe Flacco, the quarterback who got off his couch to help Cleveland win four crucial games in the final run, is undoubtedly the most well-known name. As Deshaun Watson and his enormous guaranteed deal clearly put the Browns in a dominant position, Flacco—never a long-term option—is not likely to return. Flacco might also have the opportunity to start again somewhere else.
Tackle Za’Darius Smith, safety Rodney McLeod, tight end Harrison Bryant, offensive tackle Geron Christian, punter Corey Bojorquez, defensive end Za’Darius Smith, and running back Kareem Hunt are some of the other important players.
Going into the NFL offseason of 2024, the Browns had 26 pending free agents.
As previously indicated, a total of 26 players for the Browns are expected to reach the open market this summer. It’s also true that Berry will have to let some of them go because Cleveland is in a bit of a financial bind, even if many argue for keeping both stars and secondary players.
For those who score at home, that’s a total of $45,736,434 in Cleveland Browns talent that’s prepared to explore free agency.
The Browns are expected to pay more than the salary cap by $13.86 million.
Spotrac estimates the Browns to be $13.866 million above the salary cap going into this offseason, even with the 26 names mentioned above off the books.
For those who score at home, that’s a total of $45,736,434 in Cleveland Browns talent that’s prepared to explore free agency.
The Browns are expected to pay more than the salary cap by $13.86 million.
Spotrac estimates the Browns to be $13.866 million above the salary cap going into this offseason, even with the 26 names mentioned above off the books.
The biggest problem, of course, is the $63.977 million salary hit they will incur from Deshaun Watson, which The Athletic reports will be the largest cap hit in NFL history.
However, Amari Cooper, Denzel Ward, and Myles Garrett are also expected to earn more over $20 million in revenue for the 2024 season, so Watson is not the only high-paid player on the Cleveland team.
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Berry has already renegotiated Watson’s contract once, and he’ll probably do it once more this year to make room.
The precise amount of space is obviously still unknown, but even if Watson’s contract hit decreases, the Browns will still have challenges in free agency when it comes to either keeping some of the players on the above list or adding new players.
Additionally, there will probably need to be some cap casualties, with running back Nick Chubb perhaps being one of them. With only a $4 million dead cap hit, the four-time Pro Bowler—who suffered a season-ending knee injury in Week 2—owes the Browns $15.825 million in 2024; if they cut him, they may free up more than $11 million.
Kicker Dustin Hopkins and wide receiver Elijah Moore might also be cut.
Browns supporters, fasten your seatbelts. The offseason will undoubtedly be exciting.
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