While Cleveland Browns navigate a dicey salary cap situation, Andrew Berry expects to take a more active approach to free agency this offseason
The Cleveland Browns are once again staring at a precarious salary cap situation this offseason.
It's nothing new for Executive Vice President of Football Operations Andrew Berry, who is poised to move some things around to create the space necessary to make some moves in free agency.
That's life ever since the disastrous Deshaun Watson trade that saw Cleveland guarantee the embattled QB the entirety of a $230 million contract.
The first order of business for Berry to create more cap space is likely to involve converting most of Watson's $46 million base salary for 2026 into a bonus and pushing the money into void years in the deal.
Once he does that, combined with a few other cap maneuvers, the Browns will suddenly find themselves with upwards of $40-$50 million in cap space to use on free agents and the draft.
And while that's still not necessarily a figure that allows Cleveland to go on a big shopping spree in free agency, Berry will have the ability to be more active than he's probably been in recent years, bolstering the roster.
"I would anticipate that there's at least the chance that we would be a little bit more aggressive relative, well, I'll say this, more aggressive than last year, but it'll be targeted and opportunistic," he explained at the NFL Combine. "I think realistically we may be one more off-season away from being hyper-aggressive in that window, but if there's something that fits us, fits our roster, fits our timeline, then it's certainly a swing we’ll take."
What 'more aggressive" looks like remains to be seen, but it means you can't rule out the Browns for at least one big-name free agent, unlike last year where their moves were made more in the margins.
That includes the QB position, where rumors are already swirling that Cleveland could be interested in top free agent signal caller Malik Willis. If Berry and head coach Todd Monken decided they want someone like WIllis, they will have the cap space to make it happen.
Still, Berry alluded to the fact that the Browns are likely an offseason away from being major players on the free agent market. This year's approach to building the team is likely to include more of a mix between adding via free agency and attempting to land another slam-dunk rookie class via the NFL Draft.
Now it's on Berry to execute it.
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