The Browns got a break with a raised salary cap in 2022, so what does that mean?
The Browns and the rest of the NFL got a break when it was revealed that the 2022 NFL salary cap would have a record high in movement, with well over $20 million going towards the next year’s cap. The big change completely changes the expectations for the Browns, who will now have even more money to spend on the players than previously thought.
Cleveland has been pretty frugal with their spending, only going in on a few big-name free agents over the last two years, and never going too deep into the bank that it felt like a huge over-pay. Now some free agents haven’t exactly lived up to their deal yet, but the Browns are still in a good place financially.
So what does the raised cap mean for Cleveland?
Retain their higher-priced free agents
There was always this idea that guys like Jack Conklin and John Johnson weren’t going to be Browns after a few years. That’s usually the nature of the free-agent game, you make more money for a few years and you eventually get cut when a team has to make salary cap cuts. After all, free agents aren’t viewed the same, more or less, as drafted players. Drafted players are far more important to the legacy of a GM than a free agent, so if it means re-signing one of his guys for someone else’s guy, you usually know which way it’s going to break.
The Browns no longer have to worry about that if they continue to manage their finances and expectations for the cap. The Browns can keep everyone they recently signed and still go and try to secure Conklin to a big extension to keep one of the best tackles in football in Cleveland.
Not skimp on future acquisitions
The extended salary cap is also going to help the Browns deal with any potential holes they see. It turns out no matter how well you draft or how well you sign guys, there’s always going to be a position or three you can upgrade somehow. Whether it’s because of injuries, prospects failed to produce or you simply had to let a guy go who priced himself out of a contract, i.e. Joe Schobert.
That means that the Browns and all other 31 teams will have to keep salary-cap space to some degree in order to make signings as needed to try and fill holes as they develop. No team is ever fully completed. It’s up to the team to make sure as players decline or move on that you’re able to upgrade the position or just stabilize it as needed.
For instance, the Browns have a lot of depth at receiver but what if Anthony Schwartz and Donovan Peoples-Jones don’t pan out, while KhaDarrel Hodge and Rashad Higgins leave in free agency, all while Jarvis Landry and Odell Beckham succumb to injuries. All of a sudden, the receiving corp is quite depleted and the Browns are going to need to make moves in free agency to help stabilize the unit.
Now, that was a for instance, but things can radically change for a team in an instant and if you’ve paid attention to teams in the past, you know this is the case. A few key guys leave or decline and all of a sudden everything goes to mush. Keeping salary cap flexibility is key over the long run.
Secure their corp players
The Browns are also not in a position anymore to worry about if they can afford guys like Baker Mayfield, Nick Chubb, Denzel Ward, Wyatt Teller, and others. It’s now solely up to those players to prove they’re worth the money. The money’s there, no one has to get cut or traded to accommodate them any longer (though we know someone will). So it’s entirely up to those guys and others to prove their consistent, healthy and irreplaceable.
For Mayfield and Chubb, it seems like a done deal. Mayfield has had two great years and one subpar one. We know what Mayfield can be. if he’s never better than he was in 2020 then the Browns will have a Top 10 quarterback who can win the team games and help move the chains. Chubb will likely get one massive contract from the Browns that stretch his remaining prime years as a runner, but it’ll be up to him to decide if what the Browns offer him is fair. It seems unlikely he gets money like Christian McCaffrey did, but he’ll get close. Will that be good enough for Chubb?
As for Teller and Ward, it’s about consistency. Can they remain healthy and consistent in their play? Something neither man has proven and will have to show in 2021 in order to warrant that second contract.