Grant Delpit’s Contract Extension Proves Browns Aren’t Tanking or Rebuilding

The Cleveland Browns extended Grant Delpit less than 24 hours after extending Denzel Ward.

Jan 4, 2026; Cincinnati, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Browns safety Grant Delpit (9) celebrates following a sack against the Cincinnati Bengals during the second half at Paycor Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Joseph Maiorana-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The contract dispute between Grant Delpit and the Cleveland Browns is officially over.

On Tuesday evening, the Browns extended star cornerback Denzel Ward on a two-year contract that made him the highest-paid defensive back in the league. During Cleveland’s first training camp practice, the Browns also reached an agreement with safety Grant Delpit.

Delpit will sign a three-year extension worth $16 million annually and $35 million guaranteed. 

This announcement was made about 20 minutes into Cleveland’s first training camp session. Delpit was in attendance, but was holding out of individual drills. He wasn’t an active participant in the team’s spring practices or mandatory veteran minicamp, either.

Ward acknowledged on Wednesday that his absence from OTAs and inactivity during minicamp was contract related. The same is likely true for Delpit, who should join Cleveland’s defense on the practice field shortly. 

After trading Myles Garrett to the Los Angeles Rams this offseason, the Browns are proving that they want to keep an elite defense. Garrrett set the NFL’s single-season sack record last year. Without him, the Browns will need veterans like Ward and Delpit to step up in the secondary.

Delpit’s future in Cleveland looked questionable. He was entering this season in the last year of his contract. The 27-year-old has battled a few injuries and has already received one big-money deal from Browns general manager Andrew Berry.

What Delpit's extension means for the Browns

But Berry has consistently stated that the Browns aren’t tanking or rebuilding. He demanded that the Rams include pass rusher Jared Verse in the return package for Garrett, which also included three draft picks. Now, the Browns have over $100 million dedicated to Ward and Delpit as two veterans that remain a part of the future of this defense. 

New Browns defensive coordinator Mike Rutenberg was hired with the idea that he’d keep Jim Schwartz’s successful scheme intact while adding some of his own wrinkles.

Rutenberg is also believed to have a “PhD level understanding” of defensive backfields. With Ward and Delpit extended longterm, it’ll be fun to see how the first-time defensive coordinator deploys Emmanuel McNeil-Warren, who the Browns drafted in the second round of the 2026 NFL Draft. 

Defensively, even after losing Garrett, the Browns don’t have many excuses.

Of course, Garrett set the NFL’s single-season sack record last year. He’s won back-to-back Defensive Player of the Year awards.

But Berry and the Browns are proving with their actions that they want this defense to remain one of the best in football, and that should help Todd Monken find success in his first season leading the team.