Newsletter: The Browns Dominate the AFC North In One Particular Category
You might not love to hear it, but they don't struggle to keep their players paid.
If you listened to today’s podcast, you probably heard about the ways the Ravens and Steelers have dominated the AFC North for years, well, decades even.
There are plenty of things to be upset about around your Cleveland Browns of late. We don’t need to rehash all of those bullet points on the list but what we do know is that the list is longer than any of us would hope. The frustrations are fair, well documented, and the latest news around a franchise legend at the running back position didn’t help the vibes.
But as I watch the rest of the AFC North of late, I found myself reminded of one small silver lining that stands out. The Browns take care of their players fiscally. If a player proves talented enough to be at the top of their position, the organization will not hold back their willingness to pay accordingly and often pay ahead of schedule.
Since 2018, the Browns have finally found themselves inside the world of second contracts for larger percentage of their roster and that has been an experiment of sorts where the team has gone above and beyond to get those contracts accomplished. Think about any meaningful player inside the organization and ask yourself if those players received that second deal. Then ask how easy that process was.
Then also stop to think about if they have made mistakes. When extending their own talent in the building, have they missed on any them? Myles Garrett, Wyatt Teller, David Njoku, Nick Chubb, Denzel Ward, Joel Bitonio, Grant Delpit, and Jerry Jeudy. I’m not talking free agents or those one-year contract renewals, but those extension in-house. Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah is about the only issue but we know the injury is what is jeopardizing the value. You could make an argument for Ethan Pocic or Jack Conklin but those are about value hitting the top-tier and not whether the deals made sense or if the players were worth it. The Browns will pay their own and often times get it right.
The biggest problem is that the single whiff that matters most is Deshaun Watson and they will be paying for that for many years to come. He is the outlier but it still feels like the talent evaluation of the deal was fine it was the surrounding elements of the arrival that they failed to identify. Regardless, it is something we can’t avoid discussing.
In Cincinnati the Bengals have haggled over just about every meaningful deal in recent memory. You have their sluggish approach to Joe Burrow and Ja’Marr Chase that cost them money against the market standard. You didn’t have to question the talent of either of those players but the Bengals toiled. They did the same thing with Tee Higgins and nearly lost the player. The same thing is happening with All-Pro EDGE Trey Hendrickson who is not reporting to mandatory mini-camp still seeking a new deal they have teased him about for years. Stars like Jessie Bates have also left in their prime.
Although not as common for the Ravens and the Steelers, it is still happening. The Ravens entered the ultimate dance with multi-time MVP Lamar Jackson just last offseason. They dragged their feet, franchise tagged the star quarterback, and put their relationship with him in a rough place. They risked everything about their current status just to try and shave some money off their books at the most important position in the sport.
The Steelers waffled on the contract of several key players in recent years dating all the way back to the Le’Veon Bell saga. The current dilemma is on the contract of T.J. Watt who is trying to find that elusive third deal with the organization. We all know Watt deserves it and he is worth the cost, especially considering how cheap the quarterback position is for the Steelers currently, but the Steelers are laying a hard line over the deal and Watt is missing minicamp. Think about how simple it was for the Browns to sign Garrett to his third deal against what the Steelers are doing with Watt.
I’m not here to say the Browns are always right. Clearly they are not. But when they identify their guys they will do whatever it takes to beat the market to the best of their ability and take care of their player. We are getting into uncharted territory here with third contract situations but the trend is moving well. The ability to strike a fiscal deal quickly with Garrett is a good sign. But that one didn’t require much risk. It was easy. The looming decisions on Denzel Ward and David Njkou will be much trickier for the organization given injury history and age.
But I expect them to play both. The Browns continue to show that if you are still among the best at your position they will pay and they will do it as early as they can. That is something we don’t have to worry about in Cleveland. One of the few rare things the Browns seem to do better than anyone inside the division.
Jimmy Haslam opens his wallet better than anyone. It will be a continued trend over the next five seasons.
Browns Film Breakdown will return tomorrow with a fresh Podcast and Newsletter.
