Cleveland Browns have no plans to release Olivier Vernon, yet

The Cleveland Browns can save some money by releasing Olivier Vernon but as of now, they apparently have no plans to do that says Mike Garafolo

This offseason, the Cleveland Browns have been making plenty of moves and several of them seem to have one goal — move on from the mark John Dorsey made in free agency. New general manager Andrew Berry comes from an analytical background whereas Dorsey was more of a ‘go with your guy football-guy’.

The difference between the two has been easy to see as Berry released Demetrius Harris, Eric Kush, and T.J. Carrie already since taking over. And he’s found some talent in free agency with Austin Hooper, Jack Conklin, and fullback Andy Janovich (via trade).

After making these moves, it seemed as though the Browns could end up shedding more payroll as they’re starting to inch closer to the salary cap and one player who has been mentioned as a potential cut is defensive end Olivier Vernon.

The reason for this is due not only to Vernon’s high salary of over $15 million, but also the fact that he has struggled to stay healthy, missing significant time in each of the past three seasons. However, Mike Garafolo of the NFL Network says that’s not the plan for Cleveland.

This doesn’t mean things can’t change, and Garafolo even added: “at least not right now.” And it doesn’t mean the Browns won’t try and save some cap space with Vernon either.

What’s most likely to happen is the team could approach him about re-working his deal. This could be by way of an extension that spreads out his money or maybe even a salary cut, but that’s not usually something players are jumping up and down to do.

As for Vernon’s play on the field, he’s worth keeping around. He’s a Pro Bowl player that can really make an impact opposite Myles Garrett. If the team can keep him around, they should explore options to do just that.

The good news is, it appears that’s exactly what they’re doing in Berea.