3 contracts holding the Cleveland Browns back right now

2. John Johnson, Safety

When John Johnson signed with the Browns in 2021, it seemed to be a huge move for their defense. He had just put together four strong seasons with the Los Angeles Rams and filled a position of need.

He then had a strong season in his debut with Cleveland, leading to even more excitement this year. Unfortunately, his performance went in the wrong direction. Johnson was guilty of surrendering several long passes and was one of the defenders pointing fingers when things were going wrong.

Johnson also called out his teammates for a lack of commitment, only to make sure to avoid contact on a Gus Edwards touchdown run the following weekend.

While all of this was frustrating, the real issue for Cleveland is how hard it will be to fix this secondary with so much money tied into them. Right now, Johnson has the highest cap hit with $13.5 million, just ahead of Denzel Ward who counts for $12.21 million.

If Jim Schwartz believes he can get Johnson back to the form we saw in 2021, it won’t be a huge deal. But if he’s anywhere close to what we saw this year, he’s going to be one of the players holding this team back.