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Cleveland Browns: 5 potential salary cap cuts now that Andrew Berry is GM

By Randy Gurzi

CLEVELAND, OH - SEPTEMBER 8: Christian Kirksey #58 of the Cleveland Browns and Morgan Burnett #2 celebrate after making a defensive stop during the third quarter of the game against the Tennessee Titans at FirstEnergy Stadium on September 8, 2019 in Cleveland, Ohio. Tennessee defeated Cleveland 43-13. (Photo by Kirk Irwin/Getty Images)
CLEVELAND, OH - SEPTEMBER 8: Christian Kirksey #58 of the Cleveland Browns and Morgan Burnett #2 celebrate after making a defensive stop during the third quarter of the game against the Tennessee Titans at FirstEnergy Stadium on September 8, 2019 in Cleveland, Ohio. Tennessee defeated Cleveland 43-13. (Photo by Kirk Irwin/Getty Images) /
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DENVER, CO – NOVEMBER 3: Olivier Vernon #54 of the Cleveland Browns sacks Brandon Allen #2 of the Denver Broncos at Broncos Stadium at Mile High on November 3, 2019 in Denver, Colorado. The Broncos defeated the Browns 24-19. (Photo by Wesley Hitt/Getty Images)
DENVER, CO – NOVEMBER 3: Olivier Vernon #54 of the Cleveland Browns sacks Brandon Allen #2 of the Denver Broncos at Broncos Stadium at Mile High on November 3, 2019 in Denver, Colorado. The Broncos defeated the Browns 24-19. (Photo by Wesley Hitt/Getty Images) /

2. Olivier Vernon, EDGE

One move that John Dorsey made that ended up not working out was the trade he made to send guard Kevin Zeitler to the New York Giants in exchange for Olivier Vernon. It was already mentioned that the offensive line was an issue and no one could step up and fill the role of right guard once Zeitler was gone.

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To be fair to Dorsey, the idea was solid. He believed the offensive line wouldn’t see a major drop off if Austin Corbett stepped in for Zeitler and the defensive line would be massively improved with a second Pro Bowl edge rusher.

However, Corbett wasn’t able to develop into a starter for the Browns and was eventually traded to the Los Angeles Rams.

Making matters worse, Vernon didn’t have the impact expected. On the season, he had 26 tackles and 3.5 sacks.

Looking at the numbers doesn’t do his play justice though as Vernon was solid for the Browns. The real problem is, he struggled to stay healthy, missing significant time for the third season in a row.

A knee injury cost Vernon six games and with him turning 30 this season, it’s not likely he will suddenly kick the injury bug that has plagued him recently.

On top of that, he accounts for $15.5 million of the team’s salary cap — more than any other player in 2020 according to OverTheCap.com. Also, the Browns would be hit with no dead money, meaning releasing Vernon would save them the entire $15.5 million.

Andrew Berry could look at all these factors and decide to move on. It wouldn’t be a popular move but it’s easy to see why he would consider it.

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