Browns: 5 most overpaid players for the upcoming 2021 season

QB Case Keenum

The tide turned hard on Case Keenum this offseason. Last year, it felt like we were the only ones mad about how much he got paid. In 2020, Keenum earned $5.503 million, while starting quarterback and number one overall pick of the 2018 NFL Draft earned $3.615 million. In 2021, Keenum will get paid over $6 million, while Mayfield will get $5.106 million.

Now, it feels like everyone is agreeing that his contract is absurdly bad.

Keenum was signed not just to be a backup, however, as some actually thought that Keenum would be a contender to start. Even if Mayfield had not performed as well as he had, that would still be a foolish salary to give a player who’s failed everywhere he went as a starter. Keenum had one “good” year as a pro, and that was as a game manager in Minnesota for the 2017 version of the team. Keenum was subsequently replaced by Kirk Cousins because even the Vikings knew that Keenum was more lucky than good.

Keenum then went to Denver and Washington, where he was quickly replaced, echoing how the first half of his career went.

Now the Browns have a backup quarterback who’s making more than the starter, and probably won’t be on the team much longer. Keenum’s contract can mostly be removed from the books after June 1 if the team trades him. Then the Browns can just cut him after the season and eating just $1.3 million in penalties in doing so.

Keenum was a bad signing, even if you think Mayfield needed the “insurance”, there were better backups out there. He’s had one good season to his name and got paid more than most of the defensive starters from the 2020 squad. That’s as overpaid as it comes.