If there's one room the Cleveland Browns actually still have talent in headed into the 2025 season, it's their defensive line room.
Sure, they're aging. That's to be expected when you're playing at such a brutish position, and in a sport unforgiving of the other side of 30. But, Cleveland's D-line is still constructed as one of the best pass rushing lines in the NFL, and that's majorly due to the impact of Myles Garrett and Dalvin Tomlinson.
Both veterans finished up 2024 with a total of 119 pressures, although Garrett accounted for a majority of those with 83 total. Tomlinson, Garrett, Jowon Briggs, and Isaiah McGuire did an excellent job throughout the year of adapting to injuries and staying ready to pressure the quarterback.
They just couldn't account for many takeaways or scores together, but that's no knock on their overall impact defensively.
That's what makes thinking about Tomlinson as a potential cap casualty and candidate to be cut this offseason such a tough pill to swallow.
NFL analyst names Tomlinson as prime cut target for Browns
NFL researcher and analyst Matt Okada wrote up a list of 18 potential cut candidates in the AFC earlier this week, with Tomlinson making the list as his choice for getting cut as a means of getting closer to breaking even against the cap.
"Their most lucrative options for legitimate cap savings would be designating a couple of offensive linemen as post-June 1 cuts, but that doesn't feel likely," said Okada.
"Instead, they might have to look at Dalvin Tomlinson, who started 16 games in 2024 and was pretty solid from a production standpoint, as a designated post-June 1 cut, which would result in $6.4 million in cap savings. It’s a small start to a major project."
Read more: Potential Myles Garrett replacement is reportedly set to be cut
Tomlinson is a small contract compared to those of Garrett, or Deshaun Watson, but it'd likely just be the start to a number of money saving moves Cleveland will have to make this offseason if they're genuinely trying to avoid a rebuild. Without flexibility in free agency, they could lose out on players like Kirk Cousins or Derek Carr, who could be cut by their teams.
They could also lose out on a player like Justin Fields, who could potentially be signed to a far more affordable deal than that of Carr or Cousins. Tomlinson would be sorely missed on the defensive line, but if Garrett is gone via trade this offseason and Cleveland is confident about someone like Briggs or Mike Hall Jr. stepping up in 2025, then he makes sense as an "easy" cut to make.