3 contract decisions that will haunt the Cleveland Browns

Andrew Berry has done a tremendous job working the salary cap for the Cleveland Browns. Despite dishing out a fully guaranteed $230 million to Deshaun Watson, the Cleveland general manager has found a way to make several moves and build a competitive roster.

That doesn't mean some of the decisions might not come back to haunt them. That's the case here as we look at three contract decisions that could wind up hurting the team at some point in the near future.

3. Reworking Jordan Elliott's deal

This offseason, the Browns went out and re-vamped their defensive line — which was a necessity. They added Dalvin Tomlinson as the new centerpiece and then signed Trysten Hill and Maurice Hurst for depth. They even picked up one of the biggest nose tackles in the draft, selecting Siaki Ika in Round 3.

All those moves suggested they were ready to move on from their entire D-tackle corps from 2022 — which felt like the right move. But then, they made an unexpected move when they reworked Jordan Elliott's contract.

At first glance, Cleveland appears to have saved money. They were able to get Elliott to agree to a smaller base pay but they added roughly $1 million in guaranteed money. This is significant since Elliot had none left on his deal, meaning they could have cut ties and not paid anything.

Now, he feels like a lock to make the team which could lead to some issues. Let's say both Hill and Hurst outperform him in camp — which is very possible. In this scenario, the Browns might feel compelled to keep Elliott, since his new deal makes him a virtual lock.