Three Cleveland Browns poised for a contract extension now Myles Garrett signed.
The Cleveland Browns are close to finalizing a contract for Myles Garrett that would pay the former No. 1 overall pick $125 million over five years. There are $100 million in total guarantees at $50 million in grantees at the time of the signing, according to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport.
A new deal was expected to be in the pipeline ever since Garrett became eligible to sign an extension this offseason.
Garrett’s extension is the first domino to fall for the Browns front office, as keeping the young talent collected through the draft recently is coming due. For years, the Browns were among the top teams in cap space, and a good reason for that is because they never had to sign any of their own players to extensions as year after year, first-round picks seemed to go bust.
The list of Browns first-round picks who have signed extensions is a short one. Cleveland’s made 24 first-round picks between 1999-2017 and only Joe Thomas and Joe Haden received extensions. Technically, Alex Mack got one, although the organization did its best to make him feel unwanted.
You remember it. It was classic dysfunctional Browns when then GM Ray Farmer put the transition tag on Mack, meaning a team could offer him a deal and the Browns could match. Sure enough, Jacksonville offers him a five-year contract worth $42 million..and the Browns matched it.
That deal came with an opt-out clause, though, and Mack didn’t hesitate to execute it after the second-year of the contract. He went on to sign a five-year, 445 million deal with the Falcons.
Think positive, though! Now that Garrett’s been signed, here’s a look at three Browns who are in line to get a contract extension next.
Nick Chubb
“Contract extension” and “Nick Chubb” can get tricky, fast.
Teams are hesitant to pay big money to running backs, while Chubb a second-round pick, wants to capitalize on the short shelf life backs usually possess.
OK, the deals given to backs such as Christian McCaffrey and Zeke Elliott are more exceptions, than the rule, but with that said, Chubb looks like a special player entering year three.
The Browns would be better off keeping him, even if “you can find a running back anywhere.”
The Browns went a loooong time being allergic to good players and they shouldn’t get back into bad habits.
That said, they can’t crush their salary cap over Chubb, so what gives?
So what’s Chubb worth<
Pro Football Network’s Cory Kinnan concluded the best case for the Browns is to franchise Chubb after his contract is up following the 2021 season, meaning Chubb would be tagged in ’22 and ’23. The franchise tag for a running back heading into 2020 is $10 million.
Chubb, 24, and his agent have to know this is a possibility, so perhaps something could be worked out that keeps Chubb here through his prime. I think of deals the Indians give to their young players, meaning they buy out the first year or two of free agency. Chubb didn’t get the bonus that comes with being a first-round pick and he has to know the risks, meaning that an injury is always around the corner.
Franchising him sounds good, in theory, but you risk alienating the player, a la Le’Veon Bell and the Steelers. Pittsburg won the negation and lost the player.
Chubb’s a sensational player and a team that’s trying to build a culture should want him around. That doesn’t mean pay him like Christian McCaffrey ($16 million annually). With the Browns possessing some leverage in the franchise tag, a deal with some perks front loaded on the deal would be intriguing. It takes two to tango, though, and Chubb hasn’t really discussed his deal, as he’s still two years away from free agency.
Denzel Ward
The Browns have a some more time with Ward, because he was first-round pick, he comes with a fifth-round option. That said, the time to work on an extension starts next summer, when the Browns’ front office becomes eligible to extend the former Buckeye.
Injuries are the big question mark surrounding Ward, but when he’s on the field, the former No. 4 overall pick produces.
If you’re looking to get in the NFL and you’re a defensive player, you either want to be an sack machine end or a corner, as these are the positions that command a mountain of cash.
Even Patriots coach Bill Bellihick, a man who’s built a reputation on trading players earlier, rather than later, just inked his corner, Stephon Gilmore, a to a five-year pact worth $65 million ($31 million guaranteed).
If the Browns don’t re-sign Ward, then they’ll be back in the draft looking for a new corner. That’s not what good team, do, though. If he’s healthy and playing like a top corner, pay him like a top corner. For the record, I don’t anticipate this being a problem.
The Yankees had the “Core 4” when they were winning World Series in the early 2000s behind Derek Jeter, Mariano Rivera, Jorge Posada and Andy Pettite. For the Browns, that list would include Garrett, Chubb Ward and…
Baker Mayfield
Assuming Baker Mayfield rebounds in 2020, and the expectation is that he’ll ball out under new head coach Kevin Stefanski, the Browns must get their ducks in a row and lock the former No. 1 pick down.
As the Chiefs correctly showed, a franchise quarterback is basically priceless, as Patrick Mahomes was rewarded with a 10-year contract that could be potentially worth $503 million.
Cleveland.com’s Mary Kay Cabbot doesn’t foresee Mayfield getting a Mahomes-esque deal just because the Chiefs’ field general is in a different stratosphere.
Cabot doesn’t think the trend will be to starting dishing out decade-long deals, though, and she noted that if Mayfield performs well and puts himself back in line for a second contract, the deal he gets may be similar to what Deshaun Watson gets from Houston, and what Dak Prescott gets from the Cowboys.
Watson just became eligible for an extension this offseason, while Prescott recently signed the franchise tag for $31.4 million. Both players are believed to be seeking long-term extensions.