The Browns' $67 million salary cap dilemma is about to get real

The Cleveland Browns’ first big decision of the Todd Monken era looms on President’s Day, and it has nothing to do with the team’s vacant defensive coordinator role.

Future Ring of Honor left guard Joel Bitonio has spent the past two months mulling over retirement, and there’s a deadline approaching that could force Monken and GM Andrew Berry to make a tough decision.

Due to past contract restructures, Bitonio’s contract is set to void 23 days before the start of the new league year. That date is Feb. 16, which is President’s Day. 

If Bitonio remains on Cleveland’s roster past Monday’s deadline, his contract will officially void, making him an unrestricted free agent. That roster move would carry an NFL-high $23.5 million accelerated salary cap hit for the Browns in 2026, per Spotrac.

Cleveland could minimize the damage by designating Bitonio a post-June 1 release, which would spread his cap charges over the next two years. It’s worth noting, though, that the Browns are already expected to use that designation on tight end David Njoku, and teams are only allotted two such designations per season.

In lieu of a contract extension, the 34-year-old Bitonio could also retire, allowing the team to wait until June to process the paperwork, thus saving a post-June 1 designation for another player.

The problem right now for the Browns? They have a number of players to choose from. Per Spotrac, Berry’s team leads the NFL in projected dead-cap hits due to voided contracts by close to $20 million.

Andrew Berry's 2026 salary cap reckoning begins with Joel Bitonio decision

When NFL teams make a coaching change, roster turnover tends to follow. 

Mike Vrabel’s New England Patriots are a prime example. Vrabel went from the Browns’ coaching staff as a consultant to Foxboro, refreshed about 40 percent of the roster, and led the Patriots to the Super Bowl. The Saints, Bears and Jaguars all ranked among the top 11 highest spenders in 2025 free agency after making head coaching changes.

The flip side of the coin would be Jerry Jones’ Dallas Cowboys, who promoted from within with Brian Schottenheimer, committed the fifth-fewest cash to 2025 free agents, and missed the playoffs with a 7-9-1 record.

The Browns? They were one spot ahead of the Cowboys in 2025 spending, at 27th overall. Berry has utilized contract restructures with added void years as much as any NFL GM outside of maybe Howie Roseman in Philadelphia, and a number of those bills are coming due. Led by Bitonio ($23.5M), Wyatt Teller ($21.3M), Njoku ($9.5M), Ethan Pocic ($4.3M), Shelby Harris ($2M), Devin Bush ($1.4M) and Teven Jenkins ($1.2M), the Browns have about $67 million in accelerated cap charges currently tied up in void years (and that’s not even counting Deshaun Watson’s record $80.7M cap number).

The NFL salary cap can be manipulated on a year-to-year basis. A simple contract conversion for Watson frees up $35.7 million in space for 2026 alone. But those moves also kick the can down the road into future seasons. 

It can be a dangerous game to play, and it’s one thing when you’re Roseman and the Eagles, who have reached the playoffs in five consecutive seasons with a pair of Super Bowl appearances (and one SB title). It’s another to be the Browns, a team with a poorly planned roster on offense and the bulk of its future financial commitments on the defensive side.

In reality, Berry should have no problem creating a sizable amount of cap space to pursue a big-time free agent — like Packers QB Malik Willis? — if he so chooses. The NFL salary cap continues to rise each year, and the Browns are currently projected to have over $100 million in space in 2027, per Spotrac.

But this year’s accounting feels a lot tighter than a new head coach like Monken would prefer in Year 1, and difficult decisions, like releasing a franchise legend, are on the table because of that.