The team could free up a significant amount of salary cap with a handful of moves.
While Myles Garrett was making his rounds in the media, the front office staff of the Cleveland Browns were submerged in building out their initial draft board in Berea last week. It is one of the many crucial decisions the franchise will make in the course of its offseason as they attempt to return to a more competitive team.
Aside from picking near the top of every round, the team will also now have the second priority in all waiver claims moving forward through Week 3 of the regular season.
The Browns have a huge opportunity to add talented depth across the entire roster. The truth of the matter is that Cleveland probably wasn’t as good as their magical 2023 run when they finished 11-6 and they aren’t as bad as their magical disastrous 3-14 season we just experienced. In the NFL, anomalies can occur and it’s quite possible that the Browns can capitalize on those extra losses from last year.
The NFL’s waiver period for the 2025 league year begins today.
From now through Week 3 of the regular season, the waiver order will mirror the draft order.
The Titans have top priority on all waived players for the next 7 months.
— Field Yates (@FieldYates) February 10, 2025
In addition to their advantageous waiver-wire position, the team also has the most draft capital in the league for this upcoming draft according to Tankathon.
According to @tankathon the #DawgPound has the most capital in the 2025 #NFL Draft pic.twitter.com/0niuaCJn6s
— Damon Wolfe (@NFLinMotion) February 11, 2025
I’m sure that by now most of you are saying but their salary cap is terrible and they’re going to have to trade Garrett. While it isn’t ideal, the situation can be navigated.
The following scenarios are based on information at Over the Cap. One more restructure of the Deshaun Watson contract brings them under the cap for next season by saving $36m. While I get we’re all a bit tired of these at this point, the future implications will likely be offset by insurance in 2026 due to Watson’s injury.
Even if Cleveland has to trade Garrett in an effort to move forward, there are other moves to be made that won’t require a tank of the season. It’s been repeated over and over that trading away the star pass rusher would create a $36m dead cap hit and while that’s true, you also eliminate just under $20m of his base salary in 2025 making the net effect of a negative $16m.
For example, trading Greg Newsome would free up $13m by offloading his salary via a trade. Just don’t expect anything more than a late-day three-pick in return. Cameron Mitchell and Myles Harden who were drafted in the last two years will need to compete for that spot moving forward.
In addition, the team could cut both Jack Conklin and Ethan Pocic with a post-June 1st designation and save nearly $20m more. Pocic has regressed every year overall and the team has Luke Wypler who was drafted to eventually compete for the starting job. Had Wypler returned to Ohio State for another season he was likely to have been a top one-hundred pick the following year. The Browns picked him up a year early and three rounds later in a calculated move that I believe will pay off big.
Out of all these, the release of Conklin would be the most difficult to stomach but his injury concerns remain despite finishing strong last year. The Browns could actually upgrade here by signing a tackle in free agency to a sizable contract and in their typical fashion structure it in a way to make the first-year base less than $2m.
Enough with all of the doom and gloom surrounding the team’s prospects. It’s okay to get excited again and decide to keep the past in the past and not allow it to ruin your future as a Browns fan.
What do you think? Are there any reasons to be optimistic about next season despite the looming trade request? Let us know in the comments below.