The Cleveland Browns reported to Berea on Tuesday morning for the first mandatory, full-squad reporting date of head coach Todd Monken’s offseason program. The team will conduct a three-day minicamp before breaking until mid-July.
The most brutal part of any NFL offseason arrives in late August with roster cutdowns. The Browns will have to trim their current 90 players down to an initial 53-man roster ahead of Week 1 of the regular season. They can then sign an additional 16 players to the practice squad, but those moves must come after cutdown day and the NFL’s waiver process.
The on-field work and preseason games later this summer will ultimately decide who makes Monken’s roster, which should rank among the youngest in the NFL in terms of average player age. The Browns have embraced a youth movement following last week’s blockbuster Myles Garrett trade, with the team also bidding farewell to longtime vets like David Njoku, Joel Bitonio, Wyatt Teller, Jack Conklin, and Ethan Pocic this offseason.
Cleveland’s new direction should foster plenty of competition in camp as the Browns look to open up opportunities for young players on cheap, rookie-scale contracts. But what does that mean for the established veterans still on the current depth chart — especially those with no guaranteed money left on their contracts for the 2026 season?
The quiet part about the Browns’ current roster is that several well-known veterans fit into that latter category. Does it always mean that a player will be cut or traded? Definitely not. But guaranteed money equates to leverage in the NFL, and the Browns have the financial upper hand on these notable players as things start to get real in 2026.
None of these veterans have meaningful guaranteed money protecting their roster spot in 2026
CB Denzel Ward
- 2026 cash total: $20 million
- 2026 guaranteed salary: $2.5 million
Ward has already cashed $2.5 million this season following a contract restructure. He’s scheduled to make $20 million total in 2026, per Spotrac, but none of the remaining money is guaranteed. The Browns could clear over $17 million in 2026 cap space by trading Ward anytime between now and Nov. 4.
Moving Ward ahead of his age-29 season probably wouldn’t be the best look for GM Andrew Berry. How many all-time franchise greats can a team move on from in one offseason? The Browns do hold all the cards on the contract, though, and if a contender comes calling before the trade deadline with a big offer, Berry could lean into his current rebuild even further by clicking accept.
S Grant Delpit
- 2026 cash total: $12 million
- 2026 guaranteed salary: $0
Generally speaking, NFL teams take care of their veterans long before they hit a contract year. That’s what makes Delpit’s case uncomfortable. He has the fifth-highest cap hit on the team, no guaranteed money left on his expiring deal, and the team just traded up on Day 2 of the draft to secure his potential replacement in Emmanuel McNeil-Warren. That right there is what’s known as the trade speculation trifecta.
The Browns could save about $4 million in cap space by trading Delpit, who opted not to participate during the voluntary portion of the offseason program. He should be seeking a better-late-than-never contract extension, and if that doesn’t come soon, 2026 could easily be his last in Cleveland.
WR Cedric Tillman
- 2026 cash total: $3.6 million
- 2026 guaranteed salary: $0
Multiple factors are working against Tillman, and his non-guaranteed salary is among them. The Browns have an ascending young receiver on the roster in Isaiah Bond and just used two high draft picks on KC Concepcion and Denzel Boston. Tillman could find himself battling for the No. 5 wide receiver role, a spot the Browns likely can’t justify paying over $3.5 million for.
Tillman had a proven performance escalator trigger in his contract this offseason. If he makes the roster, he’ll likely be asked to take a significant pay cut. Otherwise, a trade would net the Browns all $3.6 million in cash and cap savings.
S Ronnie Hickman
- 2026 cash total: $3.5 million
- 2026 guaranteed salary: $0
The Browns have considerable leverage over Hickman, as he was a restricted free agent this year due to signing a shorter-term contract as an undrafted rookie in 2023. That allowed the Browns to place the lowest RFA tender on Hickman with the right to match any offer he received on the open market. He apparently didn’t generate much interest, as he was present for Browns OTAs, and it appears that he’s set to play for a non-guaranteed $3.5 million in 2026.
The Browns could take that full number off their books via a trade, which feels unlikely given that Hickman projects as a starter. His 2026 number is extremely team-friendly. Cleveland did draft McNeil-Warren, though, so anything’s possible as the team looks to get its young talent on the field early and often this year.
OT Dawand Jones
- 2026 cash total: $1.5 million
- 2026 guaranteed salary: $1.15 million
Jones’ situation was similar to Tillman’s, as a performance escalator pushed his 2026 salary over $3 million at the start of the league year. The Browns adjusted that number via a restructure, with Jones accepting a pay cut in exchange for his $1.15 million in guaranteed cash.
That number could feasibly keep Jones on the Browns’ roster as their swing tackle this year. It's not enough to stop the Browns from releasing Jones, though, if he has another injury setback or struggles to separate from the competition in camp.
G Zak Zinter
- 2026 cash total: $1.5 million
- 2026 guaranteed salary: $0
Zinter remains one of Berry’s most mysterious draft picks. He was a star right guard at Michigan. The Browns selected him with the 85th overall pick in the 2024 draft. And he barely got on the field last year as injuries ravaged Cleveland’s offensive line from Week 1 on. One of the Browns’ biggest roster battles could come at right guard this summer, and Zinter, now entering his third season, seems much closer to the roster bubble than seriously competing for that role.
If another team came calling for Zinter, the Browns would likely jump at the opportunity to recoup a draft pick for a player who just hasn’t panned out.
FB Michael Burton
- 2026 cash total: $1.4 million
- 2026 guaranteed salary: $60,000
Monken likes to have a fullback on his roster, so the Browns went out and signed the 34-year-old Burton. His biggest competition could come from tight ends or defensive linemen, with a player like recent seventh-round draft pick Carsen Ryan a candidate to fill that role.
The Browns can release Burton and save all of his salary outside of his $60,000 that was guaranteed at signing.
TE Jack Stoll
- 2026 cash total: $1.3 million
- 2026 guaranteed salary: $0
The Browns had a need for an in-line tight end, and Stoll, a journeyman veteran, fits that mold. The team has since drafted a pair of tight ends in Joe Royer and Ryan, and also has the returning Blake Whiteheart signed to a one-year deal.
Stoll’s lack of guarantees make him a cut candidate who could re-sign on Cleveland’s practice squad.
DE Julian Okwara
- 2026 cash total: $1.2 million
- 2026 guaranteed salary: $0
The Browns needed edge depth before the Garrett trade, never mind with him now in Los Angeles. Okwara spent the bulk of 2025 on the Browns’ practice squad. He could end up returning there, as Cleveland signed several intriguing undrafted pass rushers like Logan Fano, Khordae Sydnor, and Tyreak Sapp who are currently hunting his roster spot.
CB Myles Harden
- 2026 cash total: $1 million
- 2026 guaranteed salary: $0
If there was a weakness in the Browns’ elite defense in 2025, it was the nickel spot manned mostly by Harden. Cleveland added competition this offseason in veteran Myles Bryant and UDFA Michael Coats Jr.
Harden will have a chance to win the job, but with a new defensive coordinator, he’ll have to prove himself. As a former seventh-round pick, his guaranteed money was minimal and already paid out. He’s probably more talented than a $1 million price tag, but the Browns could easily move on if they feel like they have better options in-house.
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