Three Cleveland Browns Players Who Could Be Salary Cap Casualties

Deshaun Watson is slated to take an $80 million toll of the Browns cap this season, an NFL record. Cleveland could rip the band-aid off now and release him, but they would take on over $100 million in dead cap space for the season.

Instead, the Browns will likely be restructuring and making some difficult cap casualty decisions if the salary cap doesn’t increase by much this offseason.

It won’t be easy for Cleveland to let anyone go, but if they need to, here are three players that Cleveland could release to try and save some cap space.

Denzel Ward

If the Browns wanted to save the most amount of money in one move, Ward would be the best possible option. If the Browns release him after June 1 they would save $20 million.

The Browns could opt to sign a corner in free agency for much cheaper than what Ward’s being paid now, including bringing back Martin Emerson on a prove-it deal. Myles Harden is another option, though he was unimpressive as a slot corner last season.

Cleveland does have Tyson Campbell on a friendly contract which would make the cut a little easier, but losing Ward could be devastating.

He’s consistently been one of the league’s best corners throughout the year and is primarily the best man coverage corner.

With a new defensive coordinator, Cleveland could reshuffle the defense. Ward has been a cornerstone of Cleveland, but when you overpay an unplayable quarterback, sacrifices could be made.

Cornelius Lucas

The easiest cut Cleveland can make, they’d free up $3 million just by letting go a backup offensive tackle.

Lucas started five games last season and appeared in 10 for a team that was constantly rotating the offensive line. Cleveland will likely be bringing in a completely new unit next year, making it an easy time to send Lucas out anyways.

If the Browns decided to hang onto Lucas, it’d be to help develop some new young talent at the position and play during emergency situations. That role can be filled by plenty of cheaper veterans.

Any amount of money helps and an extra couple million could be the difference between Cleveland landing a free agent and having to rely on rookies and cheap contracts next year.

Cedric Tillman

After three seasons in Cleveland, Tillman hasn’t developed into the wide receiver the team has expected.

This past season he played in 13 games where he caught 21 passes for 270 yards and a pair of touchdowns. In three years still doesn’t have a combined 1,000 yards.

He has been outplayed by Jerry Jeudy over the past two years, and even began to lose out on targets to Isaiah Bond towards the end of the year. It’s clear Tillman has fallen out of favor in the wide receiver room, and unless he can put together a great offseason, he may not even be in the rotation next year.

The Browns are already weak at wide receiver, but this may be the offseason to reshape the room for the future. Cleveland is likely to take at least one new receiver in the first two rounds of the NFL draft and may target a wideout in free agency.

Releasing Tillman past the deadline would free just under $4 million in cap space. That money would be better spent towards a new wideout who has more potential than what Tillman has shown this past two seasons.