Browns Apparently Not Close to Signing Trent Richardson or Brandon Weeden
Even with the signings of both Andrew Luck and Robert Griffin III, it would appear that the Cleveland Browns are no closer to signing the third overall pick from this year’s draft, running back Trent Richardson. The same goes for the Browns’ other first-round pick, quarterback Brandon Weeden.
In Richardson’s case, it would appear that offset language is what’s holding up the deal. Offset language saves a team money in the event that a drafted player is released and signs with another team while his original team still owes him money. There was no offset language in either Luck’s or Griffin’s contracts.
Under the new rookie wage scale, Richardson’s contract will be fully guaranteed, and he will receive about $20.4 million over four years, with a signing bonus of $13.4 million.
As for Weeden, it would appear that he is looking to get all four years of his rookie deal to be guaranteed. Players drafted that low in the first round will usually get three years guaranteed with a partial guarantee for the fourth. In his deal, he’ll be making about $8.1 million a year.
With rookies having to report to training camp on July 24th, time is running out for the Browns to get their top two picks signed. It seems unlikely that both Richardson and Weeden would be involved in a long holdout, but this revamped offense needs as much time together as possible. And, technically, Weeden is still trying to battle Colt McCoy for the starting quarterback job, so one would assume he wants to start off on the right foot.