The Most Important Browns Extension Candidate Entering Training Camp

Why the Cleveland Browns need to extend this player before the season starts.

Dec 28, 2025; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers (8) fumbles the ball as Cleveland Browns safety Grant Delpit (9) tackles in the third quarter at Huntington Bank Field. Mandatory Credit: Scott Galvin-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The Cleveland Browns will start training camp at the end of July. Training camp is a good opportunity to see how the team might perform during the season, but it is also a chance for players to showcase their skills while seeking new contracts.

Sometimes players will hold out and not join training camp if they are looking for a new deal, and the Browns have a few players who should be looking at contract extensions before training camp.

Grant Delpit needs a new contract

One of the players is safety Grant Delpit, and he might be the most important Browns extension candidate heading into camp.

Delpit will be playing in the final year of his three-year, $36 million extension this season. Cleveland drafted Delpit in the second round of the 2020 NFL Draft, and he is now one of the veterans on the roster.

The Browns have gone with a youth movement over the last few years, and even though Delpit is only 27, he is one of the older players on the roster.

Although the Browns selected Toledo safety Emmanuel McNeil-Warren in the second round of the 2026 NFL Draft, they still need to reach an agreement with Delpit. Many NFL teams utilize a three-safety look, and the Browns could potentially align Delpit, McNeil-Warren and Ronnie Hickman together for many years to come.

Cleveland also needs Delpit's veteran leadership in the secondary. The Browns don't have many roster standouts, but safety and cornerback are among them. It would be silly not to extend Delpit and let him walk at the end of the season, breaking one of the stronger position groups.

There is also a chance the Browns will trade cornerback Denzel Ward this season. Cleveland already traded away veteran pass rusher Myles Garrett in June, and Ward could be next.

Ward will turn 30 next year, which is typically when cornerbacks begin to exit their prime. Since the Browns likely won't compete for the playoffs this season and are focused on the 2027 draft, trading Ward by the trade deadline might be something the Browns consider. If that happens, extending Delpit becomes crucial.

The Browns cannot enter the 2027 season with both Ward and Delpit off the roster. Even though Cleveland is excited about its young players, there still need to be veterans who can provide leadership. Delpit is one of the best players on the Browns, and not extending him wouldn’t help Cleveland improve.