Former No. 1 overall pick highlights potential Browns departures

The Cleveland Browns are projected to be $14.38 million over the salary cap due, in part, to the hefty contract they gave QB Deshaun Watson last offseason. 

Jedrick Wills, offensive tackle

Cleveland soon must decide whether to pick up the fifth-year option for their 2020 first-round pick. Wills hasn't panned out the way the Browns hoped when they picked him with the 10th overall selection in 2020. Cutting Wills would save the Browns nearly $3.3 million, although it would put them in the market for a new blindside blocker.

The 2023 NFL Draft seems to have good depth along the offensive line. So Cleveland should be able to find its guy when it makes its first pick (No. 43 overall) or the Browns could give backup James Hudson III a shot to start.

Deion Jones, LB

The Browns dealt a sixth-round pick for Jones at midseason, so letting him walk wouldn't hurt the bottom line. Jones is coming off arguably the worst season of his career, tallying 44 tackles, 2.5 sacks, one forced fumble and one interception.

Taking the place of the 28-year-old would be LB Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah, Cleveland's 2021 second-round pick. Owusu-Koramoah had 70 tackles and two forced fumbles in 11 games in 2022 before he went on injured reserve. 

Jadeveon Clowney, DE

This is a no-brainer. The Browns sat Clowney in their regular-season finale after he said he was 95 percent sure he wouldn't be back in Cleveland in 2023.

Clowney had just two sacks in 2022 and has zero double-digit sack seasons in his nine-year career. The soon-to-be 30-year-old was the first overall pick in the 2014 NFL Draft and has never fully met expectations.

The Browns will need to look to free agency or the draft to add to a defensive line that's looking thinner with each day.