Cleveland Browns will need to trim players to sign free agents
How Cleveland Can Clear $30 Million of Cap Space
The new GM will have to consider recovering cap room in order to sign two offensive tackles and a starting-caliber defensive back or two. It’s possible to recover over $30 million of extra salary cap dollars by waving good-bye to several veterans.
Christian Kirksey, T.J. Carrie, Chris Hubbard, Morgan Burnett, Demetrius Harris, Kendall Lamm, Adarius Taylor and Eric Kush. These players are all NFL players, but the team can probably satisfy their needs with other players.
For various reasons, these players will probably sign for a lower salary.
Some Browns veterans may be vulnerable to the new GM's axe, and the team could recover over $30 million dollars. pic.twitter.com/cNMvsOX39O
— The Village Elliot (@ebkennel) January 13, 2020
Kirksey is a question mark because of his injury history, though all indications are he can still play. Cleveland might consider re-signing him at a lower salary, but if they cannot commit to him as a starter, they cannot commit starting dollars.
Carrie is valuable because he can play corner and safety, but Pro Football Focus rates him as the 90th best corner in the NFL and he is drawing the 27th highest salary among corners, and he’s 30 years old.
Hubbard has been a bust as the team’s right tackle, yet has a Cadillac contract. Still, the non-guaranteed portion of his salary amounts to $4.9 million dollars. Some thought might be given to moving him to right guard, which is more suited for his size and abilities, and if he can move over and play at average level it might be worth keeping him.
Remember, though, the guaranteed dollars are already spent, so cutting Hubbard saves $4.9 million and not the full cap number of $7.3 million.
Burnett is a true professional. Football, however, is a tough business and though the team really does not want to cut someone with an injury, that is the right business decision. Burnett is 30 years old, and an Achilles injury is not easy to recover from.
Harris, Lamm, Taylor, and Kush are Dorsey acquisitions who belong in the NFL, but who might not be that much of an improvement over someone who could be signed as an undrafted free agent next year.
In particular, the Browns have too many tight ends, and the best of them was David Njoku, who was so far in Freddie Kitchens’ doghouse that he could not get out.