The Browns are starting to carve out some extra cap space. Per ESPN’s Field Yates, the Browns have reworked the final year of offensive lineman Jack Conklin‘s contract.
As Yates notes, Conklin was due a non-guaranteed $12M in 2022. Now, he’ll earn $8M in fully guaranteed money, plus up to $4M in play-time incentives (starting at 55% and up to 75%). Conklin initially signed a three-year, $42M deal with the Browns in 2020.
Now, Conklin will be locked in for 2022, he can still earn up to the $12M he was due and the Browns save $4M in cap space. The Browns already entered the offseason with plenty of breathing room under the cap, with ESPN’s Jake Trotter citing their projected cap space at $27.32M.
Following a four-year stint with the Titans that had both highs (like earning All-Pro honors as a rookie) and lows (like having his fifth-year option declined), Conklin joined the Browns in 2020. He started all 15 of his games in 2020 and earned another All-Pro nod, but he was limited to only seven starts in 2021 after suffering a torn patellar tendon.
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