CLEVELAND, Ohio (92.3 The Fan) – What was a mere formality became official Friday.
The Browns exercised the fifth-year options on the rookie contracts of Baker Mayfield and Denzel Ward, the team's first-round picks from the 2018 NFL Draft.
Browns executive vice president of football operations and general manager Andrew Berry confirmed the moves during his pre draft Zoom media availability.
“Both of those players have done a really nice job for us their first three years,” Berry said. “Both had strong seasons for us in 2020 and we view both of those guys as young players that are continuing ascending and are going to be a big part of what we do as we move forward.”
The moves, which needed to be made by May 3, keeps both players under team control through the 2022 season.
Mayfield’s fifth-year contract option will be worth $18.858 million while Ward’s is set to pay $13.294 million.
Mayfield, selected No. 1 overall in 2018, received tier three slotting on the pay scale for playing time because he has yet to make a Pro Bowl. Ward, the No. 4 pick in 2018, gets second-tier salary slotting thanks to making the Pro Bowl his rookie season.
With the options picked up, the focus turns to possible contract extensions for both players.
“I think you know me well enough that I’m not going to talk on that in this setting; I just don’t think it’s appropriate,” Berry said. “But obviously you know both of those players are extension eligible.”
Although Berry declined to say where talks stood with both players, Mayfield's extension could be shaped by extensions for Lamar Jackson and Josh Allen.
“We’ll make all of our contract management decisions [independently],” Berry said. “External factors may impact to some degree what you do with players on your roster but by and large we’ll make those decisions independently of what other teams do or we won’t feel any pressure either way.”
Both players have established themselves as cornerstones for Browns and were instrumental in the team's success last season that saw them finish 11-5 and beat the Steelers in the playoffs completing the best campaign for the franchise since 1994.
Mayfield has started 47 consecutive games at quarterback, the longest stretch for a Browns QB since Brian Sipe. The top pick from Oklahoma rebounded from a difficult 2019 season by throwing 30 touchdowns, including the playoffs, and cut his interceptions from 21 down to nine in 18 games in 2020.
Although Ward has yet to play a full 16 game season, the former Ohio State Buckeye has started 36 of the 37 regular season games he's appeared in and established himself as one of the top corners in the NFL with 40 pass break ups and seven interceptions.