Getty Images Cleveland Browns general manager Andrew Berry talks to owner Jimmy Haslam.
The Cleveland Browns now have the most salary cap space in the NFL after restructuring the contract of the best player on their roster.
Cleveland catapulted itself to the top of the league’s cap standings on Monday, August 21, by reworking the deal of two-time All-Pro defensive end Myles Garrett.
The Browns have restructured the contract of DE Myles Garrett, creating $12.868M in 2023 cap space, per source.
Cleveland now has close to $34M in cap space, easily the most in the NFL.
“The Browns have restructured the contract of DE Myles Garrett, creating $12.868 [million] in 2023 cap space, per source,” Field Yates of ESPN tweeted. “Cleveland now has close to $34 [million] in cap space, easily the most in the NFL.”
The move affords the Browns the financial maneuverability to do just about anything they want in free agency or via the trade market. However, Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com followed up Yates’ initial report by citing a team source who said a major roster shakeup isn’t the plan.
“A source said it’s for cap management and not because they have a big acquisition planned,” Cabot wrote. “It gives the Browns all the money they need to extend some of their current players and to keep their options open through the trade deadline [at the end of October].”
This is the second major contract restructure the Browns have orchestrated over the last few days. Cleveland also reworked the deal of All-Pro offensive guard Joel Bitonio late last week, clearing just shy of $8 million on the 2023 salary cap sheet with that move.
Myles Garrett Has Proven Phenomenal for Browns Since Team Selected Him No. 1 Overall in NFL Draft
GettyDefensive end Myles Garrett of the Cleveland Browns.
Garrett, the former No. 1 overall pick of the Browns in the 2017 NFL Draft, is currently playing on a five-year extension worth $125 million in total, which he inked with the team in July 2020. The deal keeps him under contract through the 2026 season.
The defensive end has earned every penny of that deal through his six years in the league, which have included four Pro-Bowl nods and four All-Pro team selections (two first-team honors and two second-team nods).
Garrett put up 16.0 sacks for the second consecutive season in 2022 and has finished with fewer than double-digit sacks only once in his career, posting 7.0 during his rookie campaign, per Pro Football Reference.
Browns Mortgaging Financial Future for Shot to Contend Now
GettyHead Coach Kevin Stefanski of the Cleveland Browns.
Garrett’s financial situation with the team is a microcosm of how the Browns have gone about building a contender and how the front office will be forced to navigate its cap situation moving forward.
Cleveland decided last offseason that it would buy its way into contention in an exceedingly difficult conference and division by fully guaranteeing QB Deshaun Watson’s contract, which is worth $230 million. Since then, the team has made significant financial commitments to its defensive backfield (CB Denzel Ward), its defensive line (DT Dalvin Tomlinson), its pass-catching corps (WR Amari Cooper and TE David Njoku) and essentially the entirety of its offensive line. Other players like Garrett and running back Nick Chubb were already under contract at numbers that put them near the top of their positions in regards to annual NFL salaries.
Moving money around is something the Browns have done expertly over the past two offseasons, though the exorbitant price tags will eventually catch up to them, forcing tough roster decisions and hampering maneuverability down the road. Some of those difficult calls could begin as early as next offseason, when the team will have to take a hard look at whether it can afford to carry Cooper’s $23.8 million cap number on the final year of his contract considering all of its other financial constraints.
However, one thing is for certain — the Browns are all-in now. GM Andrew Berry and head coach Kevin Stefanski need to produce results this season to secure their positions with the franchise moving forward, as Cleveland has hit the point of no return in its bid to finally be a relevant contender in the 21st century.