Exclusive; Browns $19 Million Pass-Rusher Likely Cap Casualty of Deshaun Watson’s Contract
If the Cleveland Browns want to compete again next season, they’ll need to reallocate some cash, which most likely means severing the contracts of several key players.
On Wednesday, January 31, Joe Tansey of Bleacher Report published a list of three salaries that the team would be better off cutting in the upcoming months. Ogbonnia Okoronkwo, a defensive end, was the name that topped those recommendations.
The Browns have just over $30 million committed to [Myles] Garrett, Dalvin Tomlinson and Ogbonnia Okoronkwo next season. Okoronkwo’s contract is the easiest to get rid of in the offseason because it is the cheapest of the three deals.
The defensive end, who signed from the Houston Texans last offseason, could be a salary cap casualty if the Browns can’t restructure some deals to become more compliant. Okoronkwo had a solid season opposite Garrett with 4.5 sacks, 12 tackles for loss and eight quarterback hits. He would be a terrific piece to have around for a second season, but with so much money tied up in [Deshaun] Watson’s contract, the Browns may have to make some unpopular budget cuts.
Tansey’s list also included tight end Jordan Akins and wide receiver Elijah Moore.
Ogbo Okoronkwo Desires to Stay with Browns, But He Won’t Be Able to Make That Choice
It is not Okoronkwo’s desire to leave Cleveland after just one season. Recently, after sharing an ambiguous message on social media that had Browns supporters wondering if the contrary was actually true, he acknowledged that truth.
On the morning of January 17, Okoronkwo wrote to X, saying, “The universe got a funny way of showing what’s for/not for you.”
To dispel any doubts over his satisfaction at work, the defensive end sent the following remark approximately an hour and a half later.
Okoronkwo wrote, “I guess that last tweet was misleading.” “Hopefully, I will retire as a Brown!
Regretfully, Cleveland’s front office will determine the Browns defender’s destiny, and the team’s previous errors could cost the city Okoronkwo and more.
