Not a lot of Browns news as the team heads for training camp. There are a ton of lists, because that’s what generates social media clicks this time of year. Lists like ranking uniforms or rosters or overpaid players. None of these lists does a thing for me, but NFL fans eat them up. Of course, the Browns list near the bottom of every ranking. Just a spoiler alert, when the next power ranking emerges, the Browns will be near the bottom. I understand the reasoning; Cleveland only won five games last year while playing three different quarterbacks, one who should have retired by now and two rookie draft picks. To add to this, the quarterback room hasn’t really improved this off-season. Browns GM Andrew Berry did improve areas of the team that sucked last year, the wide receiver room and the offensive line room. He also found a group of players who are very good special team players. But still, Las Vegas still has the Browns picking third in the 2027 draft.
One item that caught my attention yesterday was a report by Pro Football Talk that tried to suggest the Browns received $88 million in cap savings due to injury insurance for QB Deshaun Watson. Sorry Browns fans it’s fake news. According to Over The Cap’s response to this fabricated report, Pro Football Talk apparently added the wrong numbers together. Troy at Over The Cap explained it like this,” Where the contract says the cost went from X to Y. They appear to have added all the Y’s together (the new cost), rather than the difference each time.” Jack Duffin, who’s expertise on the NFL salary cap is unmatched, has previously reported the injury settlement already paid was a little over $1 million in 2023 and about $4.8 million in 2024. As for 2025, no one knows but I’ve seen speculation the cap credit could be anywhere between $15 to $25 million. As I’ve said many times, any insurance credit for Watson’s injuries would be credited the following year. So to recap, the Browns have received total cap credits for Watson’s injuries are around $6 million for 2023 & 2024. We’ll never find out the credit for 2025, because injury insurance is covered by HIPAA rules. Steeler fan Mike Florio strikes again.
Just remember, a team may insure a certain amount of money, but that does not mean the team receives that amount of money due to an injury to that player. Finally, ESPN Cleveland has all but admitted they know nothing about the salary cap and how it works, so why listen to their salary cap analysis? Stay safe and Go Browns.