The Cleveland Browns have plenty of cap space for 2021 but that doesn’t mean everyone is going to be back as cuts or trades can happen to anyone.
The Cleveland Browns have several key priorities for 2021, namely clearing up any confusion over the direction of the offense with its established talents, signing guys like Nick Chubb and Wyatt Teller to new deals, while investing a metric ton of time and money on rebuilding a putrid defense.
So while on paper the Browns have plenty of money to spend, the fact is two key players need new deals soon, and a third, Baker Mayfield, will need one after the 2022 season. That means some players are going to be cap casualties.
These are the four likeliest players to either be cut or traded and how much (if any) money it’ll cost them to move on.
Chris Hubbard
This isn’t an indictment against Chris Hubbard as a player, in fact, quite the contrary, he’s earned himself a starting job in the NFL again after the way he filled in for Wyatt Teller. That said, the Browns are spending a lot of money on backups and perpetually injured players and if the team is going to keep its core pieces in place, some people have to go.
If the Browns were to cut or trade Hubbard before June first, they’ll save $2.783 million against the cap while also eating $2.266 which will still count. After a June 1 trade, the Browns will save $3.916 million this year and will have to eat $2.266 over the next two years ($1.133 mil in ’21 and ’22). That number makes it very likely that Hubbard gets let go, especially with Michael Dunn and Blake Hance exploding on the scene in the playoffs. If the Browns decide they want to lock up Wyatt Teller or Nick Chubb this year, it’s very possible they move on from Hubbard.
Case Keenum
This was a terrible contract. $18 million for a quarterback who won’t ever play, and who’s 33 years old, with a history of inconsistency? He had one good year and now he’s making more money than Nick Chubb. Talk about a bad joke.
Keenum’s gonna cost the Browns at least $1.333 million if he’s cut this year or next. However, if he’s cut or traded before June 1, he’ll cost the Browns $5.166 million (cut) or $2.66 million (trade). After the first of June though, trading him will save the Browns $6 million to put to Chubb. You can argue having a “good” backup all you want behind Baker Mayfield “just in case”, and that’s fair, but Keenum isn’t good. He knows the system but his career numbers clearly indicate his one year in Minnesota was a fluke, not the standard. The Browns can definitely upgrade and can do so at a discount while putting the money saved towards Chubb’s new deal.
There’s no reason to pay Keenum $6 million a year when Mayfield’s making $10 million in 2021. The Browns seriously messed up signing a backup to that type of contract. Think this is an overreaction? Aaron Rodgers back up is Tom Boyle. Russell Wilson’s backup is Geno Smith. Patrick Mahomes’ backup is Chad Henne.
Not one of those players makes $6 million to be a backup. In fact, those three men don’t make $6 million combined.
The Browns management really didn’t have a clue what they had in Mayfield and overspent on a one-year-wonder just in case.
Now that Mayfield has taken his place on the throne as the once and future king of the AFC North (and subsequently the Browns) it’s time to bid adieu to Keenum.
Odell Beckham Jr.
Odell Beckham has played in just 82 of a possible 112 regular-season games. He’s had a torn hamstring, he’s had an ankle fracture, he’s had a hernia, and now a torn ACL. He’s also had issues with his hip and thighs that continues to this very day. Beckham hasn’t been healthy in nearly five years. Yet, people still think he’s going to return to his 2016 form. He’s not. His best offering is what we saw from him in 2019 and that’s not worth $15 million.
So it’s time to move on.
Cutting Beckham would result in him costing the Browns $12 million in cap penalties. Trading him, however, would result in no negative cap impacts. The team would save $15.75 million for the cap and would be able to probably sign both Nick Chubb and Wyatt Teller to new deals.
At this point, you move him for what you can get. He’s a malcontent with a history of bad decisions to his name, on top of the fact that he’s not been the star player he used to be. Maybe a desperate franchise like Detroit or Houston will take a run at him, but he’s not a star anymore and no one should expect a star’s ransom for him.
The Browns were one of the best offenses in the league in 2020 without Beckham. That means the Browns should reinvest Beckham’s money in other players, like Nick Chubb and Wyatt Teller; two players the team actually needs.
David Njoku
David Njoku is entering the last year of his deal and will be 25 this upcoming season. He has no owed money on his deal, so he could be traded or cut and the team wouldn’t miss a penny. He’s in a crowded corp of tight ends and currently is one of four men on the roster who can be called a tight end. That’s too many tight ends.
Considering the recent argument by some that the Browns offense needs more “speed”, there really aren’t any more excuses to keep Njoku. His deal is up after this coming season and the Browns shouldn’t re-sign him, not with all the other positions of need the team currently has. Also not with the log jam of long-contracts at the position ahead of Njoku. The Browns need to lock up Wyatt Teller and need to start worrying about Jack Conklin’s next deal as well (because in hindsight just three years for an All-Pro is a trash contract.)
The team needs to consider adding some speed at receiver to compliment Rashard Higgins and Jarvis Landry. Just doubling down on the over-paid, and injury-prone Odell Beckham isn’t the answer. He’s not healthy, he keeps getting hurt and he’s getting older. The team needs to reinvest. That means money, that means roster spots and that means a slight change in team philosophy.
The hope is that you can flip David Njoku for something, anything worth having. Even if just a fifth-round pick at this point. With the number of bodies ahead of him and the fact the team thinks Harrison Bryant can be the star of the position once Austin Hooper’s bad contract expires, there’s no point in Njoku sticking around.
He knows this, hence him asking to be traded…twice.