Cleveland Browns Still Have 2nd Most Salary Cap Space in NFL

The Cleveland Browns were active in free agency with the signings of Dante Whitner, Karlos Dansby and Ben Tate. Most fans wanted the team to spend more of their cap space to improve the team. Yet following a draft that most were excited for, expect for skipping out on a receiver, the talk of cap space has mostly gone silent. According to the NFL Players’ Association Public Report site the Browns still have the second most cap space in the league , $22,334,616.00, behind he Jacksonville Jaguars at over $25 million.

According to their site the Browns have 91 players under contract. Obviously that number will drop at cut downs but the Browns cap space is not likely to increase at all. According to the NFL PA the Browns carried over just over $25.5 million from the previous year to roll in to this year’s cap. If nothing changes the current $22.3 million and some change will be rolled over to next year.

The Browns will need the cap space, either this year or next, to sign quite a few would be starters to their team. Jabaal Sheard, Jordan Cameron, Brian Hoyer and Buster Skrine are the top names on that list. Being able to roll over cap space can help the Browns if they are unable to come to extension agreements this year with some of those players. Cameron actually talked about his contract talks today after practice:

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That is good news on a number of fronts:

1. The tight end position is getting more expensive
2. The Browns have limited other receiving options after Cameron (especially with the looming Josh Gordon suspension)
3. It will allow the Browns to use the Franchise or Transition Tag on Brian Hoyer if he has a big year and they want to keep him for another year, as the Chargers did with Drew Brees when Philip Rivers was waiting in the wings.

Any spending the Browns do this year will cut into that roll over amount. Unlike in previous years when teams would spend most of their cap from each year, smarter teams now hold on to cap space to allow themselves flexibility in the future. Are the Browns in danger of becoming one of those smart teams?

Are you okay with the Browns hoarding cap space or do you think they should of spent more this off-season?