It’s fair for fans of the Cleveland Browns to be concerned about their team’s salary cap situation entering the 2026 league year. Their team is currently over the cap, based on the latest projections, with Deshaun Watson’s looming $80.7 million cap hit, an NFL record as it currently stands, hovering over the franchise like a storm cloud.
It’s never as bad as it looks, though. General manager Andrew Berry can clear hoards of 2026 cap space via some straight-forward contract conversions, and those moves are coming, with Watson and cornerback Denzel Ward likely among the first on his to-do list.
That’s a long way of saying that the Browns, even with their complicated cap situation, can still be active in the first wave of free agency this year. The current roster has major needs at offensive tackle, guard, center, and wide receiver. The Browns do have 10 selections in this April’s draft, including two inside the top 25 and three inside the top 40, but getting a head start on key offensive positions of need will be paramount in March.
Wide receiver would be a good place to start, especially with current WR1, Jerry Jeudy, a candidate to play elsewhere. On Monday, ESPN dropped one free agent prediction for all 32 teams, and it wasn’t surprising to see a WR on their list for the Browns.
As for who ESPN picked for the Browns to pursue? Let’s just say their money would be better spent elsewhere.
The Cleveland Browns should stay far away from this Brandon Aiyuk idea
There’s been some smoke around the Browns and San Francisco 49ers WR Brandon Aiyuk over the past couple of seasons, and Cleveland could finally get their shot to sign him, assuming the 49ers end the ongoing drama and officially move on from their unhappy wide out this offseason.
San Francisco recently signed Aiyuk to a four-year, $120 million extension, but his 2024 season was derailed by a brutal knee injury, and he hasn’t (and won’t) play a snap for the 49ers this year as they continue through the NFC playoffs. Aiyuk is currently on the NFL’s “left team” list, and the team moving to void the remaining guarantees in this contract should clear the way to him being a post-June 1 release this spring.
Aiyuk’s ongoing disputes with the team, and lack of football for well over a calendar year, feels like an obvious situation to avoid for the Browns. ESPN analyst Ben Solak, however, sees a depressed asset that could fit Cleveland’s offseason agenda.
“The Browns will bring in 49ers wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk, as they continue their tradition of signing receivers on low-cost contracts in the hopes of hitting it big,” Solak predicted. “Aiyuk's days in San Francisco are likely over; the Browns can offer him more money and opportunity compared to any other team in the NFL.”
To Solak’s point, no NFL offense offers more opportunity to a WR than the Browns in 2026. Their leading receiver this past season was rookie Harold Fannin Jr., a third-round pick who quickly emerged as the initial TE2 behind David Njoku to open the year.
It’s the part about offering Aiyuk “more money” than other teams in free agency that should lose Browns fans here.
Aiyuk’s NFL career has been, in a word, frustrating to this point. He hasn’t been happy on a 49ers team that routinely competes for playoff berths. In Cleveland, he’d be joining an offensive rebuild led by a young quarterback. It’s just not a great recipe for success, especially for a player coming off a major knee injury.
The Browns should definitely double down at wide receiver, both in free agency and the draft. Their group was that bad in 2025.
But if they make one splash signing in free agency this year, they’d be better off targeting an anchor for the offensive line, like Tyler Linderbaum, than taking a major gamble on a receiver like Aiyuk.