Given the state of Denzel Ward’s contract, there's been no stopping the rampant speculation around the Cleveland Browns’ star cornerback entering his age-29 season. While Ward is set to earn a respectable 2026 salary of $20 million, none of that money will be guaranteed come Week 1 of the regular season.
Ward has been a popular name in hypothetical trade ideas. Zac Jackson of The Athletic has covered why a Ward trade makes sense for the team’s long-term outlook, following the June 1 decision to send Myles Garrett to Los Angeles in exchange for Jared Verse and a package of draft picks.
But both the Browns and Ward have been aligned in their messaging throughout the offseason that a trade isn’t happening. Browns beat reporter Mary Kay Cabot put it more bluntly in her latest for Cleveland.com, stating that GM Andrew Berry is prioritizing keeping Ward for their “Super Bowl window 2.0” initiative.
“The Browns have no plans to trade Ward or any of their other big-name veterans in the wake of the Myles Garrett trade on June 1,” Cabot wrote. “The Browns learned they can never say never — they also had no intention of trading Greg Newsome II last season — but the plan is for Ward to stay put and challenge for his sixth Pro Bowl.”
The Browns could be missing a prime opportunity to recoup assets for Denzel Ward
There aren’t many cover corners in the NFL better than Ward, which a poll of league executives, scouts, and coaches backed up in a recent series released by ESPN.
But while the Browns have an intriguing collection of young talent on their roster ahead of training camp, they are about to enter a clear bridge year that will be more about developing key pieces than competing for anything of real substance in the AFC.
Contending teams could be lining up to trade for Ward if he’s healthy around this year’s trade deadline. Cleveland’s defense certainly needs him, as their cornerback depth on the boundary is extremely thin. But the overall difference between Ward’s immediate value in a developmental year versus the potential assets the Browns could fetch in return for his services remains well worth the debate.
Jackson hasn’t been shy in his analysis that the Browns should be looking to trade Ward this year.
“Because of the timing of the deal and the ongoing quarterback competition, the Garrett trade was a huge, immediate headline that quickly became kind of a background story. But there are ramifications, and there are also lingering questions about who’s next," Jackson wrote recently. "The Browns probably should trade Pro Bowl cornerback Denzel Ward, and they also face a decision on whether to extend safety Grant Delpit ahead of the final year of his current deal or move on from him, too. Carson Schwesinger and Jared Verse are poised to become the defense’s long-term featured players.”
Cabot’s reporting aligns with what Ward — a born and raised Ohioan who starred for the home-state Buckeyes — and the team have been saying all offseason. But until the team puts its money where its mouth is and signs Ward to an extension with new guaranteed money, everything remains on the table as camp gets set to kick off this week.
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