3 worst Cleveland Browns contracts heading into 2022
By Greg Newland
Worst Cleveland Browns Contract No. 2 – John Johnson
One of the big signings the last offseason was the ball-hawking safety, John Johnson. While this signing seemed to pay dividends overall, the contract on the other hand is not team-friendly in any way.
Johnson signed a deal that has money spread from 2021 through 2026, but he is only required to play for the Browns through the 2023 season.
Because the team still has rights to him for two more years it makes this a little easier to swallow but come next offseason, this is a deal that will look awful on paper. Johnson will be impossible to cut with heavy guaranteed money, and he’s on the books for more than $8 million in 2024, when he won’t play a down for the Browns.
This is another instance where Berry was forced to spread the money out because of the salary cap going down. He also knew that 2022 and 2023 would likely be big years with big cap hits from Garrett, as well as extensions to Mayfield and Ward likely.
Remember, when this deal was signed, we all still believed that Mayfield was going to be a top-10 quarterback in the league for the 2021 season.
Johnson struggled at the beginning of the season but came on strong to end the year. I expect him to be a great asset in 2022, but I’m still not sure he warrants the contract that he has. It will be a huge detriment for the 2024 season.