4 contracts holding Cleveland Browns back right now

3. Jack Conklin, RT

At the end of the 2022 season, the Browns decided to lock up Jack Conklin on a four-year deal worth $60 million. The decision was questionable, not due to Conklin's talent, but rather his durability. While he's one of the better right tackles in the NFL, he missed 10 games in 2021 due to an elbow injury early in the year and a knee injury later.

He did play in 14 games during the 2022 campaign but still had never played a full schedule in Cleveland. That remained the case this year as he was lost in Week 1 with a torn ACL and MCL. With him out, Dawand Jones stepped in and played very well before being injured as well.

Looking forward to 2024, Jones could easily replace Conklin without that massive price tag. Unfortunately, it's not that easy. The way Conklin's deal is constructed, it would cost an awful lot of money to move on. As a pre-June 1 cut, the Browns would be hit with $27 million in dead money and would actually lose $15 million against the cap. Pots-June 1 is better since it would eat up roughly $13 million in dead space with a negative impact of nearly $1 million.

Perhaps something can be worked out with Conklin in order to pay him his money and still provide the Browns with relief. Of course, that would lead to them being on the hook for many more years. But that's a risk teams take when they pay a player coming off an injury.