Xavien Howard may have ended Denzel Ward’s time with the Cleveland Browns

Did the Cleveland Browns just see Denzel Ward’s time with them end?

Denzel Ward has been the most consistent defensive back the Cleveland Browns have had since arrival, and only a prime Joe Haden could really give him a run for the standing of the best defensive back since 1999. Ward is near-elite, if not elite, depending on who you ask.

He’s a two-time Pro Bowler and was a key reason why the Browns’ 2021 defense was as good as it was. Yet, the Miami Dolphins and Xavien Howard may have just ended the Browns and Ward’s time together.

Ward, who’s playing the final year of his rookie contract, will make $13+ million this year. He’s in line for a massive new contract. The Browns are going to have to pay him big bucks to keep him; how big? Well, Howard just signed the largest contract ever for a cornerback.

Howard’s deal is for $90 million over five years, with $36 million guaranteed. He’s 28. Ward is 24, turning 25. Ward is a better all-around player and is still developing as a pro. Howard is nearing 30 and has had some rough years as a pro.

It’s a no-brainer that Ward would deserve more guaranteed money. Yet, here’s the problem; the Browns owe Deshaun Watson, a man who has 22 civil suits pending, and 25 sets of accusations against him, about $45 million over the proceeding four seasons.

The lone exception is in 2022 when he’ll only take $1 million. Now a lot of people are trying to push a narrative that the cap isn’t real. It is real. It’s the reason you see players renegotiate new terms. Otherwise, there’d be issues. The Browns are not going to get Watson to negotiate new terms after this year, and that means that players are going to have to go.

Joel Bitonio and Jack Conklin are likely done after 2022. The Browns are going to be ridding themselves of a lot of expensive talent to make room for Watson.  Both men are nearing or already 30, and the Browns had no issue getting rid of J.C. Tretter, a Top 5 center in the NFL, and Jarvis Landry, an alleged “locker room leader” to make room to improve the team.

It’s very likely that the Browns will end up having to let Ward go in 2023.

Expect the Cleveland Browns to fall into salary cap hell in the foreseeable future

This is going to be an issue for the foreseeable future, unless more issues come up with Watson, forcing the Browns to take drastic measures to end the contract. The Browns have $21 million in cap space this year, currently. That’s without Baker Mayfield’s eventual $18 million coming off the books. Though the Browns will likely have to eat some if not all of that $18 million. So there isn’t likely to be any more flexibility coming.

Wyatt Teller’s contract is also $1.5 million this year and leaps up to $12.5 next year. Watson’s leaps up to $44 million. That’s $56 million dollars in money the Browns have to play next year. That means that the Browns if they run it back with this team, would be $35.5 million over the cap to start 2023.

Guys will have to go. Tretter and Landry were not willing to take less, and with the signing of Ethan Pocic, it’s clear that Tretter wasn’t let go because they have such faith in Nick Harris. It’s because they needed the cap space.

This is the issue that comes with paying quarterbacks this kind of money. The Seattle Seahawks and Green Bay Packers didn’t just let All-Pro talent walk for no reason, they had no money anymore and guys had to get cut or traded.

The Browns will have to prove they can draft better than they have been if they want to continue to compete, as it’s going to be harder and harder to build a team with 22% of your team’s cap going to one player.