3 reasons not to like the Denzel Ward contract from the Cleveland Browns

The Cleveland Browns made the oft-injured Denzel Ward the highest-paid CB in league history.

The Cleveland Browns made the soon-to-be 25-year-old cornerback the highest-paid player at the position in league history, a move that may have just handcuffed them to an injury-plagued player for the next five years. The deal locks up one of the Browns’ best players for five years, to the tune of $100.5 million in possible money, with $71.25 million guaranteed.

This follows other players like Deshaun Watson, who was accused of sexual misconduct by 25 different women, Wyatt Teller, Nick Chubb, and Joel Bitonio as Browns players who have agreed to new deals within the last 12 months.

The Ward deal is the highest ever for cornerbacks and received praise from other corners around the league, as their value just went up due to this contract.

To be clear, I like Ward and I like that the Browns are retaining him, but that doesn’t mean that this specific contract was the right call.

The move keeps Ward in Cleveland, as some were concerned that he would be traded around the draft due to the cap figure he would end up carrying. The Browns are up against the cap already, and this move will only further exacerbate the concerns of cap management.

The Browns have managed their cap fairly well up until 2022 when they started handing out enormous contracts with lots of guaranteed money.

While Ward is a Pro Bowl-caliber cornerback, there’s a lot not to like about this deal.

Three reasons not to like the Denzel Ward contract that the Cleveland Browns gave him

He’s injury-prone

Denzel Ward has never played a full season in the NFL. He usually misses three to four games per year, and that’s a number that will just grow as he gets older. The more injuries a body takes, the harder it is to heal. There’s never a guarantee that a guy stays healthy whether he has a history of injuries or not, but the risk is even higher with guys who are constantly hurt. He could never miss a game or be washed by 27. You never know and you can’t predict it. That’s why contracts with massive guarantees in football are ill-advised, as you never know what a player is going to look like two or three years into it.

He’s inconsistent

Ward is absolutely inconsistent as a shut-down corner. Granted, he goes from competent starter to All-Pro, so even at his worst he’s still a good player, but to basically get $20 million a year? You better always be an All-Pro corner. When you pay a guy that much, the expectations go up. Myles Garrett doesn’t record a sack? He had a bad game. He isn’t getting paid $15+ million a year to go sack-less. He was paid that much for a reason. Ward is now getting paid that much for a reason. He can’t get beat. Period. If he’s getting this much money he needs to make sure guys like Greedy Williams and Greg Newsome look average next to him.

The other corners have looked as good, if not better than him from time to time. What happens if he has another 2019 and 2020?

People will have to be cut to make room for him

The Browns cut Austin Hooper, Jarvis Landry, and JC Tretter to make room for these extensions. Cleveland was already looking at a Jack Conklin-less 2023 due to the deals they signed before and if you don’t think this won’t affect the roster in a year or two, think again. When teams start throwing out these types of contracts and as often as the Browns are, they run the risk of maxing out their mobility. It’s happened to so many teams, where they just get bogged down in massive contracts that the only thing they can do is cut bait and run. Like what the Seattle Seahawks did.