Jack Conklin's Extension a Surprise, But Perhaps it Shouldn't Be

Between coming off of a major knee injury and the cost involved, it seemed the Cleveland Browns might be content to allow tackle Jack Conklin hit free agency and see him sign elsewhere, perhaps recouping a handsome compensatory prize. The Browns opted to keep him, which is surprising, but maybe it shouldn't be.

Conklin's knee injury was significant. Tearing a patella tendon is one of the more difficult injuries for an offensive lineman to effectively recover. Clearly, the Browns feel good about his recovery. Conklin discussed it in the press conference after he received the Ed Block Courage Award.

"It's the hard work and the team I had with me, around with me with the training staff. Just working hard and I think they did a great job of making sure I didn't over work it and taking the time and I think they've done a great job throughout the season with managing my workload. And I think a lot of that is that.

I think a lot of teams, as soon as you get your guy back, they start pounding them. They don't think what happened beforehand. I think the team has done a great job thinking about reps throughout practice, throughout the season and managing that. You know, honestly, I was a little apprehensive thinking of just, you know, cause again like you said, a lot of times they say it takes a year to be really healthy and feeling good. Like I said before, it really hasn't been something that's bothered me, I've thought about when I'm playing at all. It's been feeling great and knock on wood, I think it's just been progressing as the year went on and it hasn't been any confidence issue or any thought in my head really about it." - Jack Conklin on December 13th

Conklin's knee feels good, which is important. Hopefully, it gets better with some rest and a productive offseason so he can reclaim the All-Pro level he showed in 2020. It's also noteworthy how complementary Conklin is when it comes to the Browns and how they handled it. It's important to him. It factored into staying here.

Conklin is a known commodity. The Browns know what he's going to give them. That's important as it relates to having Deshaun Watson take over this offense. This move keeps Conklin with Joel Bitonio and Wyatt Teller together to protect Watson for the next several seasons.

The Browns like what they have in James Hudson III, who is currently in his second season. His growth from his rookie year to now has been impressive. He's a powerful run blocker, but needs continued development in pass protection. Rather than hope Hudson can get there for next season, the Browns opted to keep one of the best in the league there.

That now keeps Hudson as the swing tackle, which is helpful in itself. It also gives them another option for left tackle, depending on what happens in the future with Jedrick Wills. Wills will be in his fourth season next year and the Browns will make a decision on whether to pick up his fifth-year option. He's scheduled to earn $6.269 million in 2023. If the Browns were presented with a good offer and traded Wills, they'd save $3.296 million on his salary, 52 percent of the overall figure. It's still more likely Wills remains their guy at left tackle, but it gives them additional options and there's nothing this organization loves more than being able to keep their options open.

The Browns are routinely nine deep on the offensive line, which has been critical every season Kevin Stefanski has been the head coach. Chris Hubbard was a terrific sixth man in 2020, playing both tackle spots and right guard. The Browns ran through a number of offensive linemen last year due to injuries. This year, the team was down to its fourth center. There is substantial value in keeping this group strong.

Healthy, Conklin's talent was never in question, but it was reasonable to ask how the Browns would pull it off financially, considering some of the other issues they still must address in the coming offseason. Conklin's contract details haven't been released, but if they simply follow the same pattern they've had with every other extension they've done recently, the first year is going to have a minimum salary plus his signing bonus and one additional wrinkle. Hold onto that thought.

That will defer money down the road. The challenge for the Browns is finding ways to balance that money when the bill comes due, but their method of increasing their adjustable cap space every year has been integral to their financial future. Right now, the Browns have approximately $32 million they plan to roll over into next season to serve that purpose.

It's important to remember the Browns have gotten all of these extensions done as the league has expanded its revenue. Between new television deals, a recently announced deal with Google for their Sunday Ticket package, Thursday Night Football being broadcasted on Amazon, broadcast rights in Germany, the league's revenue is going to jump which will in turn increase the salary cap. So contracts now could look cheap relatively quickly.

As for the wrinkle mentioned earlier, the restructured deal that Conklin signed ahead of the season included two void years worth $3 million each. Had Conklin signed elsewhere in free agency, the Browns would've incurred $6 million in dead money for 2023. With Conklin now under contract, those void deals are now just part of his signing bonus. So in 2023 and 2024, he will get $3 million on top of whatever else he was going to be paid. In a convoluted way, it saves the Browns $3 million for a season.

Conklin remaining with the team reduces pressure on the Browns to address the position in the upcoming 2023 NFL Draft. Had he left, the Browns were going to have to draft another offensive tackle. They could sign a veteran as well, but if the goal is to save money, it'd simply be easier to draft one with Hudson already in the building.

The Browns still may draft another tackle, but there isn't as much pressure to address it. It becomes a position they can address should a good opportunity arise as it did with both James Hudson III and Nick Harris, selected in the fourth and fifth rounds of their respective drafts.

With three spots locked up for the long term and the Browns left tackle spot at least accounted for into next year, the remaining question is at center. Ethan Pocic has been great for the Browns this year. However, it's important to remember that Nick Harris was to be the starter before injuring his knee. Pocic played at a high level this year, so the Browns will need to decide how they proceed.

It's unlikely the Browns will want to pay four premium offensive line contracts. Otherwise, they could have just retained J.C. Tretter for another season. If Pocic is looking to maximize his earning power, something no one should blame him for given the season he just had, it's difficult to imagine he will be back for the Browns next year. They could return to Nick Harris as they had originally planned or look into other options.

The Conklin extension reduces the number of questions the Browns have to answer in the coming year, it keeps continuity in front of Deshaun Watson and Nick Chubb and the team rewards another player that has put the work in not only to better himself but the team as a whole.