From playoff team to 3-8: What the Browns might do

Daniel Oyefusi, ESPNNov 26, 2024, 06:00 AM ET

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BEREA, Ohio — When Cleveland Browns general manager Andrew Berry met with reporters during the bye week in mid-November, he was in no mood to deliver an autopsy for what has been a disappointing first half of the 2024 season.

When asked whether he would deem the 2022 trade for quarterback Deshaun Watson a good one, Berry said, “I’m really not in reflection mode. … It’s not really my focus at this point in the year. Our focus is really on finishing out the 2024 season, having the team play at a higher level, and then kind of we’ll get to those maybe longer-term or big-picture reflections at a later point in time.”

Berry, though, gave one assertion about the franchise’s long-term prospects amid a 3-8 start.

“We’ll have the resources and we’ll be able to make the adjustments that allow us to continue to build the team and the roster,” he said.

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“One of the beauties of the NFL is it’s not like baseball,” Berry later said. “It’s not like basketball where at times you may need these half-decade long pivots or rebuilds. I think you see it every year with teams, just the margins are so thin. And then honestly with just the way that our sport works with player procurement, it’s not like we’re drafting a 16-year-old kid who’s got to play eight years in the minors before he comes and produces or something along those lines. So, I think generally you don’t necessarily have to see those pivots in our sport.”

In recent years, the Browns have been big spenders. The franchise has almost $295 million in cash committed to this year’s roster, the fifth-largest payroll in the league, and already has the second-most cash committed to 2025, according to the Roster Management System.

The team has given out lucrative contracts, most notably the fully guaranteed $230 million deal to Watson, and has been aggressive in restructuring contracts — converting salaries to bonuses that can be spread out over multiple years — to maximize short-term flexibility. But the massive draft capital sent away in the deal for Watson, which included three first-round draft picks, has limited the franchise’s ability to add talent on rookie contracts. To fill the gap, Cleveland has signed several veteran players, but many of them are 30 or nearing the age.

In 2025, the Browns, who enter Monday night’s game against the Denver Broncos (8:15 p.m. ET, ESPN) with a 1.1% chance to make the playoffs according to FPI, will have a first-round pick for the first time since 2021, and it’s currently projected to be a top-10 selection. Cleveland currently holds nine selections, including an extra third-rounder after trading wide receiver Amari Cooper to the Buffalo Bills (the team is also expected to receive a pair of late-round compensatory picks). The Browns have $49 million in cap space, the majority of which will be carried over to 2025 so the team can be cap compliant and make moves in free agency. The front office could also look to extend and restructure the contracts of established players to get more wiggle room in free agency.

Just one year ago, an injury-riddled Browns roster won 11 games and reached the wild-card round of the playoffs. The core of that team returned, featuring loads of experience — and age. Cleveland entered Week 1 with 14 players aged 30 or older, the most in the league.

Here’s a breakdown of an aging roster that could be in position to be overhauled in the offseason.

The big QB swing that backfired

Players (1): QB Watson

Before suffering a season-ending right Achilles tendon tear in Week 7, Watson was having the worst season of his career. He recorded the lowest total QBR in the NFL and failed to eclipse 200 passing yards in any of his starts.

For the second straight year, Watson’s season ended because of injury; he missed the final eight games of the 2023 season after undergoing surgery to his throwing shoulder. In three seasons with the Browns, Watson has made 19 starts and thrown 19 touchdowns to 12 interceptions. His QBR since making his Browns debut is the second-worst among qualified passers, above only the Tennessee Titans‘ Will Levis. The Browns brought in Watson to help lift their roster to contention, but he instead has been the focal point of an offense that failed to reach 20 points in any of his starts this season.

Deshaun Watson’s QBR since coming to Cleveland has been among the league’s worst. Photo by Peter Joneleit/Icon Sportswire

In the aftermath of his injury, both Berry and coach Kevin Stefanski have been noncommittal on Watson’s standing as starter.

“Our focus is on getting him healthy and we’ll go from there,” Berry said.

After restructuring his contract before the season, Watson will carry cap hits of $72.9 million in 2025 and 2026, both slated to be the second-highest in the NFL. The Browns owe Watson $46 million in each of the next two seasons, and releasing him in the offseason would create $172 million and $99 million dead cap hits in 2025 and 2026, which would make roster-building prohibitive.

Though another restructure and pushing bigger cap hits further into the future would continue to tie Watson to the Browns financially, it’s the biggest move Cleveland could make to free cap room for the 2025 offseason. In completing another restructure, the Browns would be pushing cap hits into future years, when the salary cap is expected to be greater and the weight of the cap hit isn’t as pronounced.

Highly paid cornerstones

Players (6): S Grant Delpit, DE Myles Garrett, WR Jerry Jeudy, TE David Njoku, LB Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah, CB Denzel Ward

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Both Garrett and Ward have been selected to multiple Pro Bowls during their careers, and Njoku and Owusu-Koramoah are just one season removed from being named to their first Pro Bowl. Owusu-Koramoah, though, has been on injured reserve since Nov. 3 with a neck injury that could sideline him for the rest of the season. Stefanski has been mum on a return timeline for him.

Last offseason, the Browns traded for Jeudy, a 2020 first-round pick, with hopes that he can grow into a No. 1 option. The departure of Cooper has only exacerbated the need for that and Jeudy has stepped up, leading the team in receiving yards (645). Delpit, a 2020 second-round pick, is one of Berry’s better picks since becoming GM and is on pace for a career high in tackles.

Though still in their primes, Garrett will turn 30 toward the end of the 2025 season, and Ward, 27, has suffered six documented concussions since entering the league. Garrett and Ward are slated to hold the second- and third-highest cap hits on the team in 2025, behind only Watson, but a restructure or extension could lower their cap hits and give the Browns additional space.

Aging homegrown vets

Players (5): G Joel Bitonio, RB Nick Chubb, OT Jack Conklin, C Ethan Pocic, G Wyatt Teller

This section is mainly composed of players who were drafted by the Browns or have spent the majority of their careers in Cleveland but are at least 30 or will turn 30 next season.

Chubb, who returned in October from his second major left knee injury, is scheduled to be an unrestricted free agent after the season and still is working to get back to his Pro Bowl form. He’ll turn 30 next December playing a bruising position that has often seen rapid decline at that age.

Bitonio, Conklin, Teller and Pocic are stalwarts on an offensive line that has been one of the best in the NFL for years but has struggled in 2024. Bitonio, 33, has one more year remaining on the three-year extension he signed in 2021 but has said he’s taking it one year at a time as he has acknowledged his career is close to the end. Conklin, Teller and Pocic are all under contract for the 2025 season, but the front office will have to determine whether the offensive line struggles this season are a one-off or a product of aging linemen.

Aging additions

Players (8): DT Shelby Harris, DL Maurice Hurst II, LB Jordan Hicks, S Rodney McLeod Jr., DE Ogbo Okoronkwo, S Juan Thornhill, DT Dalvin Tomlinson, QB Jameis Winston

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The Browns have added several veteran contributors nearing or at the age of 30 in the past two offseasons. The players have mainly been on defense and helped form an elite group in the first year under coordinator Jim Schwartz. However, the defense has regressed in 2024 and those players will be a year older in 2025.

McLeod, a versatile safety and leader on the team, has already said the 2024 season will be his last. Hurst is a free agent after the season ends. Harris, Hicks, Okoronkwo and Thornhill, have no guaranteed salaries in 2025.

Winston has taken over as starter for the injured Watson and could be one of the Browns’ most important offseason decisions. He’s the epitome of variance — he threw three touchdowns in an upset win over the Baltimore Ravens and then threw three interceptions the following week in a loss to the Los Angeles Chargers before stacking two quality starts, including a victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers last week. He provides a base floor of performance that could be enticing as a bridge quarterback to pair with a rookie signal-caller.

Rookie-contract contributors

Players (9): LB Mohamoud Diabate, CB Martin Emerson Jr., RB Jerome Ford, S Ronnie Hickman, OT Dawand Jones, WR Elijah Moore, CB Greg Newsome II, OT Jedrick Wills Jr., DE Alex Wright

The Browns haven’t had an abundance of draft picks in recent years and have received mixed returns on those selections. Wills, who was Berry’s first pick as GM, was recently benched amid a lingering knee injury and is scheduled for unrestricted free agency. Jones, a 2023 fourth-round pick who took over for Wills at left tackle, sustained his second straight season-ending injury when he fractured his fibula in Week 11.

The Browns brought in Moore via trade with the Jets before the 2023 season, but his contributions have been up and down. Ford has been a serviceable back, especially when Chubb has been sidelined. Emerson and Newsome are both starters with Ward at cornerback but have struggled at times this season. Both are slated to be free agents after the 2025 season.

Diabate and Hickman are a pair of 2023 undrafted free agents who have stepped into bigger roles at times amid injuries.

Browns starting CB Martin Emerson Jr. is under contract through the 2025 season. Gregory Shamus/Getty Images

TBD draft picks

Players (11): WR David Bell, DT Mike Hall Jr., CB Myles Harden, DE Isaiah McGuire, CB Cameron Mitchell, QB Dorian Thompson-Robinson, WR Jamari Thrash, WR Cedric Tillman, LB Nathaniel Watson, G Luke Wypler, G Zak Zinter

Tillman and McGuire are two players who have received increased opportunities with Cooper and defensive end Za’Darius Smith traded. Positive developments from both could help shape the outlook for a team as it’s headed for an offseason with several needs. Tillman, a 2023 third-round pick, has impressed, leading the team in receptions, receiving yards and touchdown catches in the last three games.

Hall, who was suspended for the first five games of the season for violating the league’s personal conduct policy, was a consistent member of the defensive line rotation as a pass rusher before landing on IR two weeks ago because of a knee injury.

The Browns have been bullish on the potential of Thompson-Robinson, a 2023 fifth-round pick, but he has struggled and shown his inexperience when handed opportunities. Stefanski has said Winston will continue to start at quarterback but said the coaching staff has considered a package of plays for Thompson-Robinson during the bye week. With Watson’s injury and Winston set to hit free agency, Thompson-Robinson could be an option as a backup or a potential starter in 2025 while a rookie develops.

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