With Ken Dorsey now hired as the Cleveland Browns offensive coordinator for the 2024 season, you will see Andrew Berry hit full offseason mode. Even though the team performed well last season, I’ll bet you anything that Berry will once again retool this roster with the full intention of making Deshaun Watson better.
Right now, the Browns look to be hamstrung for the 2024 season as they once again will be without their first-round pick (sent to Houston for Watson). Currently, they sit $19.6 million over the cap with more than $14 million of money going to players who won’t be on the roster including John Johnson and Jadeveon Clowney.
Two things allow me to sleep at night when thinking about this issue. One, the new cap number for the 2024 season has yet to come out. The expectation is that there will be a nice bump from 2023 as revenue for the league continues to be outstanding.
Two, Berry and the Haslems continue to show us that salary cap restraints can always be avoided. This asks your owner to have deep pockets and outspend other teams via roster bonuses and incentives, but so far, the Haslems have yet to bulk at this practice and are willing to spend to find a way to get that Super Bowl Championship.
Even with “unlimited” spending to an extent, this roster is still tied up with money at certain positions, let’s take a deeper dive and see how this can be alleviated moving forward.
Salary Cap Issue Position No. 3 – Quarterback
With a nearly $64 million cap hit for next season, you would think that quarterback would be the No. 1 position on my list. And while the massive contract of Deshaun Watson isn’t even top five in the league on average salary per year, it is still the highest guaranteed contract in the league.
What that means is the Browns have no way out of the contract, but they certainly have ways to spread the deal out. If you remember last year in March, the Browns restructured the deal adding void years and roster bonuses that freed up $22 million.
A similar exercise will be done this offseason which will open a chunk of money for the Cleveland Browns to spend at other positions.
Salary Cap Issue Position No. 2 – Wide Receiver
The next biggest tie-up for the Cleveland Browns is wide receiver. Yes, there is more money spent at other positions, but when you factor in the overall importance of the group, it’s the next area where something has got to give.
Elijah Moore, Cedric Tillman, David Bell, and Michael Woods who currently sit two through five on the depth chart all have rookie contracts and minimal cap hits for the 2024 season.
While it’s fantastic to have a small cap hit for that many players, the production from all of them has been lackluster as well. I don’t want to necessarily lump Moore into that group completely, but it still feels like his production was far less than anticipated when they gave up a second-round pick to get him last offseason.
In a perfect world, we will see two major moves this offseason at the position. One, Berry will restructure Amari Cooper who has a $23.7 million cap hit in 2024. This restructure would include a one- or two-year extension and more void years to keep the cap number low for 2024.
A move like this would likely guarantee Cooper in Cleveland for 2024 but would make him another cap casualty candidate moving forward if he didn’t continue with strong production like we have seen the last two seasons.
Even with keeping Cooper, the Browns should also be strong players in the wide receiver free-agency market. I don’t necessarily see them after a huge-name veteran like Mike Evans or Odell Beckham Jr., but guys like Tee Higgins, Michael Pittman, or Josh Reynolds would make a ton of sense.
These are guys who have proven they can produce at a high level but haven’t necessarily proven they are $10 million plus per year guys. Berry hasn’t wanted to spend at the position in years past, but it’s a make-or-break season with Watson in 2024, so expect him to have better weapons to help him at all costs.
Salary Cap Issue Position No. 1 – Offensive Line
Luckily for the Browns, they are in good shape on the defensive side of the ball. Guys like Myles Garrett and Denzel Ward have large contracts but are still in the early years with minimal hits compared to the production they give.
The biggest problem for this team is the offensive line which will have nearly $54 million of cap hits between the five projected starters. Let me be clear, I would have no issues with that number if I felt like the production would be significant.
However, pass protection and run blocking were a problem all the 2023 season. There's a good chance that Dawand Jones steals a starting position from someone at tackle, and Nick Harris who will hopefully be resigned at a low price, also has good experience on the interior.
Jedrick Wills isn’t going anywhere with a fully guaranteed contract, but between Joel Bitonio, Wyatt Teller, and Jack Conklin it feels like something must happen. I’m not sure that Berry and Kevin Stefanski will sleep at night knowing they didn’t upgrade this offensive line.
The Detroit Lions are the perfect example of how important the offensive line can be. No one would argue that Jared Goff is a top-five quarterback in the NFL, but because of how good that offensive line is he shines. Not only does he have great protection, but he had a strong run game to help set up play-action and constantly keep defenses guessing.
I’m not sure how much money can be spent at this position this offseason, but certainly, a draft pick must be used to try and upgrade. Injuries were certainly an issue as well last year with the offensive line, but it will be one of the more interesting positions to watch this offseason.