CLEVELAND, Ohio (92.3 The Fan) – The Cleveland Browns appear on their way to going back-to-back in winning the NFL offseason, but there’s work still to be done.
New executive vice president of football operations Andrew Berry struck quickly after the official “tampering” window opened Monday afternoon with a trio of moves to fill pressing needs while also not compromising the flexibility that will be required two to three years down the road.
Berry landed the top tight end and top right tackle available in free agency and secured a mentor and backup quarterback for Baker Mayfield.
Sure, breaking off $63 million in guarantees to tight end Austin Hooper (four years, $42 million with $23 million guaranteed), right tackle Jack Conklin (three years, $42 million with $30 million guaranteed) and quarterback Case Keenum (three years, $18 million with $10 million guaranteed) makes for an expensive afternoon but it’s money well spent.
Berry frontloaded the contracts, paying out the guaranteed money quickly giving the Browns flexibility to move on should things not work out. Regardless of when the extensions for Myles Garrett and Mayfield get done, the Browns don’t begin paying them until 2022 for Garrett and 2023 for Mayfield meaning it’s perfectly fine to spend some cash now.
The Kansas City Chiefs are the envy of everyone in the NFL. They won a Super Bowl with Patrick Mahomes on a rookie contract. The Baltimore Ravens are legitimate contenders with Lamar Jackson on his rookie deal. Berry is trying to position the Browns to be able to take advantage of Mayfield’s, and the clock is ticking. Three years remain before they must really pay up.
With an exploding salary cap – up $10 million this year compared to last and expected to continue to grow once the new TV revenue is locked in – and nearly $65 million in estimated cap space to play with this offseason, Berry and the Browns remain in pretty good shape even with these three contracts added to the books.
Conklin fills a gaping hole on the right side of the line to keep Mayfield upright and in one piece. He also came in under budget. Some experts projected Conklin would rake in a yearly average of $16 to over $18 million per season. His deal averages out to $14 million per season. It could be argued that’s left tackle money, but assuming Berry finds the left tackle in the draft on a rookie contract, the tackle salary math averages out.
Hooper gives Mayfield another sure-handed target to throw to. The last two seasons, both Pro Bowls for Hooper, he caught 148 of 185 targets and he’s caught 214 of 277 targets since being picked by the Falcons in the third round of the 2016 draft.
Keenum is the consummate professional for Mayfield to lean on. Sure, he only spent one season working under Stefanski – 2017 in Minnesota – but it was enough to make the veteran journeyman comfortable enough to come to Cleveland, his seventh NFL stop in nine years.
Berry also showed he’s not Sashi Brown 2.0, but the Browns are also on a completely opposite trajectory. Brown gutted the house and loaded up on cap space and assets as he employed the short-term pain, long-term gain philosophy. Berry is trying to preserve cap space and future flexibility while also using assets to win now.
Conklin and Hooper are both 25 years old and entering the primes of their careers, which is the sweet spot when it comes to free agent spending. Depending how both perform, the option is always there to extend either player beyond these new deals.
Berry’s work isn’t done.
Offensively, starters at left tackle and right guard plus receiver depth are priorities.
Defensively, two starters at linebacker and safety need filled and then depth at all levels would be helpful.
On paper, which we all found out the hard way last fall means very little, the Browns are a better team today than they were Monday at 11:59 a.m. giving Berry the first victory of his tenure and possibly another offseason title to Cleveland.