The Cleveland Browns aren't exactly in need of another well-paid edge rusher right now, but that hasn't stopped the name of at least one from coming up around Northeast Ohio.
Browns general manager Andrew Berry spoke with reporters Friday morning and was eventually forced to give an intentionally-vague-but-complimentary answer in regards to Jadeveon Clowney.
"I'm not going to get into the habit of commenting on players that aren't on our roster," Berry said, per The Plain Dealer's Mary Kay Cabot. "Jadeveon, he's a good football player. We're actively always looking. We're going to be aggressive and adding talent to the roster."
The Browns have been linked to the edge rusher in recent days as he's yet to sign the whopping deal once expected for him.
Cleveland leads the NFL in remaining cap space available, per Over The Cap, with $40 million still at its disposal in 2020. That number can't be viewed by itself, though, because the Browns have such space primarily because of their reliance on young players performing on rookie contracts. Myles Garrett -- you know, Cleveland's best edge rusher and one of the most promising in all of football -- will be up for a new contract after the 2021 season (assuming the Browns pick up his fifth-year option), as will Nick Chubb, and Baker Mayfield and Denzel Ward will be in line for new contracts a year after that.
Clowney has had his sights set on an annual salary of $20 million, per NFL Network's Mike Garafolo, who reported this week the chances are slim to none that Clowney returns to Seattle, where the Seahawks were offering around $15 million per year.
With little more than low-level signings and rookie contracts to finish working out, the Browns have the cap space in 2020 to take on a frontloaded deal for Clowney, or a one-year prove-it contract at a similarly high number. With his market seemingly cooling, the Browns are also well-suited to just sit back and let Clowney decide on his own time. With $15.5 million already allocated to still-effective defensive end Olivier Vernon, the Browns aren't hard pressed to go after a big fish at the position. He'd sure help, though.
