Training camp is underway for the Cleveland Browns, and Denzel Ward might be the happiest man in Berea right now. The Browns gave him a two-year, $62.2 million contract extension, making him the highest-paid defensive back in league history (again).
Ward didn't have any guaranteed money left in his original contract, but he had always been vocal about his desire to stay with the team, even after Myles Garrett's departure. With this move, all trade speculation should be put to rest.
Now, it was only right that the Browns do the same with another star of their defensive backfield. Grant Delpit wanted and deserved a new deal, and the Browns had every reason to give him a new three-year deal worth $48 million, including $35 million guaranteed, per Ian Rapoport.
Grant Delpit earned every penny of his new extension
Delpit was entering the final year of his three-year, $36 million deal. He was slated to make a base salary of $1.2 million before hitting free agency at 29 years old. That also made him a perfect trade chip for the Browns.
That said, the market for safeties has never been that strong, and it's hard to believe they can get a lot for a veteran safety on an expiring deal. Even if he's a star at his position, which he is, the Browns were never getting a return that justified moving on from him unless he requested a trade.
Delpit was in the building but didn't participate in drills at OTAs or minicamp. The team never disclosed a potential injury, and there haven't been any reports that his absence on the field is contract-related. If anything, the fact that he was there was always encouraging.
The Browns took a promising safety in Emmanuel McNeil-Warren, and they also have a criminally underrated (and bargain deal) with Ronnie Hickman. On paper, that would've made Delpit somewhat expendable, but paper doesn't win football games.
Modern defenses require deception and ever-changing schemes, with multiple defensive backs on the field more often than in the past. As such, there should be more than enough snaps for all of them, not only now but for years to come. Also, McNeil-Warren can play nickelback, a spot the Browns are quite thin at right now.
Delpit is one of the most overlooked players in the game, but he's a true hybrid star who can excel in coverage as much as he can shut down the run in the box. In his 78 career games, he's logged 451 total tackles, including 25 tackles for loss, as well as 21 passes defensed and seven interceptions.
That type of production is extension-worthy, and more for a player who's just entering his physical prime and has spent his entire career in Northeast Ohio.
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