Browns have a dead money problem, and it's affecting their decision-making

As if the Cleveland Browns' struggle this season hasn't been bad enough, one player who we all thought was dependable is now a liability. The struggles of kicker Dustin Hopkins are baffling to say the least.

A player who once had a career year in 2023 and made all eight of his kicks from 50 yards out, now has missed five field goals of 49 yards or less. His career-low 64% field goal percentage is the lowest by any Browns kicker that has attempted six kicks in a season since 1999.

Despite this, the Browns have come out and said they aren't going to be rid of him and find a replacement. It's not because of loyalty, but for the same reason countless players have outworn their welcome with this team. That reason would be a dead cap.

Dead cap management is dragging the Browns down

Dead cap in the NFL is defined as any money that has to be paid out, both bonus and guaranteed money when a player is cut by the team. Prior to the season, the Browns signed Hopkins to a three-year, 15.9 Million dollar deal which means if he were to be cut, the team would have to pay out over $5.5 million.

On top of that, Cleveland would still still have a penalty against their cap going forward.

Of course, with the season record now standing at 3-10, there's no urgency to make any moves right now. But, the dead money issue is concerning considering how many players haven't lived up to their contract and would be owed dead money if cut in the offseason.

Players like Juan Thornhill, Jedrick Wills, Ethan Pocic, and of course , Dustin Hopkins would be owed a significant amount if the team cuts any of them. Per NFL rules a team can only designate two post-June 1st cuts, a move that could help them limit the dead cap penalty so even then the team would still have to pay the piper.

Read more: NFL analyst predicts Jameis Winston's fate with Browns in 2025

Every team in the NFL has to deal with these same issues, but not every NFL team currently has a player that's due $172 million guaranteed. Deshaun Watson's contract is once again rearing its ugly head and the Browns will soon have to face it.

Before they could just restructure it, but the team can't continue to backload this contract if he is no longer the future quarterback of this franchise. Frankly, the only thing ensuring Watson is still here come June is solely his contract.

Now, it's speculation to say the sole reason some players weren't benched earlier is because of their dead money, but the theory makes sense. Wills' effort was questioned all year, Watson was a statistical bottom-five quarterback, and Hopkins could be pointed to as why the team was struggling to score points.

The previous two weren't sidelined until injury. Doing the math in your head, you can guess the team was willing to see if there was any chance these players would redeem themselves to avoid having to move on and pay out.

This isn't to say the Browns can't continue to work around this bad cap situation, but it's certainly an uphill battle after a losing season. A huge obstacle for a team that's looking to add a lot of talent. Cleveland will need to win the draft to have any shot at competing in the very tough AFC North division.

The question is after so many mistakes, will general manager Andrew Berry be the one making the picks?