3 Browns Who have Already Earned Contract Extensions With 2023 Play

The Cleveland Browns turned a lot of doubters into believers with their surprising Week 6 win over the San Francisco 49ers. While many eyes are on Kevin Stafanski's team to see if they can build off that performance when they face the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday, other Browns fans are looking further into the future.

Cleveland has several players who've stepped up this season, proving that they deserve to stick around for years to come. If general manager Andrew Berry has the team's best interests at heart, he'll try to lock down certain individuals as soon as possible.

With that in mind, here are three Browns who've earned contract extensions based on their play through six weeks.

3 Browns Who Deserve Contract Extensions

1. Amari Cooper

In a season where Cleveland's passing game has underwhelmed, Amari Cooper has been one of the few bright spots.

The veteran wide receiver leads the Browns in both receptions (22) and receiving yards (367) while also finding the end zone once. His 73.4 receiving yards per game puts him on pace for 1,248 in 17 outings, which would be the best mark of his eight-year career.

While Cooper is under contract through 2024 at just north of $23.7 million per season per Spotrac, it isn't too early to start working on an extension. QB Deshaun Watson's cap hit is going up to nearly $64 million next season, and re-structuring Cooper's contract with a lengthy extension would help spread out his money to create more space.

Besides, the aforementioned duo already has chemistry together, so breaking them up would set the team back.

Even if he's turning 30 next year, Cooper is showing zero signs of slowing down. I'd be surprised if he didn't continue to be a 1,000-yard receiver for a few more seasons. He's also the best wideout on this team by a mile, meaning Berry must do everything in his power to keep No. 2 in Cleveland.