Previewing the Cleveland Browns 2015 Salary-Cap Situation

The Cleveland Browns failed to make the playoffs for the 12th consecutive year and that means it's time to preview such offseason topics like the club's 2015 salary-cap situation.

Similar to 2014, the Browns once again find themselves in excellent shape to spend large amounts of owner Jimmy Haslam's money in the open market if they so choose. Cleveland is third in cap space behind only Jacksonville and Oakland.

Preliminary NFL 2014 salary cap: $140 million (as of Jan. 2, 2015 )

Browns' salary-cap room: $36,776,690

Active cap spending: $101,708,450

As in any other year there are a slew of current roster players that the front office must decide to try to bring back or let walk away. Below is a list of Browns with expiring contracts:

Key Cleveland Browns with Expiring Contracts

Player	Position	Age	Type of Free Agent	Expiring Contract Details
Ahtyba Rubin	DT	28	Unrestricted	4 years/$26.5 million
Miles Austin	WR	30	Unrestricted	1 year/$2 million
Jordan Cameron	TE	26	Unrestricted	4 years/$2,517,400
Jabaal Sheard	OLB	25	Unrestricted	4 years/$5,090,250
Brian Hoyer	QB	29	Unrestricted	2 years/$1.965 million
Buster Skrine	CB	25	Unrestricted	4 years/$2.242 million
Tashaun Gipson	S	24	Restricted	3 years/$1,441,500
Ishmaa'ily Kitchen	DT	26	Restricted	3 years/$1,440,000
Craig Robertson	ILB	26	Exclusive Rights	1 year/$570,000
Spencer Lanning	P	26	Exclusive Rights	2 years/$900,000
Johnson Bademosi	S	24	Restricted	3 years/$1,442,500
Ryan Seymour	C/G	24	Exclusive Rights	1 year/$495,000

Courtesy of Spotrac.com

Focusing on a few of the prime unrestricted free agents from the above chart, let's go over who should go and who should stick around.

Who Should Go

1. Brian Hoyer

In a perfect world Hoyer would've been the hometown hero to lead his team to the playoffs. He was on that path, but it just wasn't meant to be.

We are all familiar with how quickly No. 6 plummeted after the Browns thrashed the Cincinnati Bengals on Thursday Night Football. Over the next four weeks he threw one touchdown and eight interceptions.

Grant Halverson/Getty Images

Hoyer then lost his starting job to Johnny Manziel. After going in for an injured Manziel against Carolina, his shoulder was deemed too sore to play in the Browns' final outing.

The pressure seemed to get to the veteran QB as the curiosity to see Johnny Football play grew with each mounting loss.

It might not have been a fair situation for Hoyer, but ultimately don't you want a quarterback that thrives under adversity? The 29-year-old fizzled away and ended 2014 with the lowest completion percentage of any starter who played in 10 or more games.

Cleveland's quarterback situation is as cloudy as ever and Hoyer is arguably the best free-agent option available. However, management has shown little to no interest publicly in bringing him back. With how this season ended it seems like too toxic an environment for both parties.

2. Ahtyba Rubin

Rubin missed time and battled through several injuries this season. He showed heart and character on the field, but certainly did not live up to the expiring $26.5 million deal that former general manager Tom Heckert signed off on.

The thick 325-pound defensive lineman posted his lowest tackle and sack numbers since 2009. One of his past strengths was stuffing the run and Cleveland finished dead last in the NFL in that category. That failure isn't all on Rubin, but he certainly didn't help the cause.

It's time to move on from the man that has played 100 games in an orange helmet.

GM Ray Farmer has ample salary-cap room and 10 draft picks to try and upgrade the vacancy soon to be left by the 28-year-old.

Who Should Stay

1. Buster Skrine

I was a big detractor of Buster Skrine over his time as a Brown up until part way through last season. He was a technically sloppy penalty machine that typically did more harm than good when playing cornerback on the outside.

He has been an ongoing project for three different head coaches since being drafted in the fifth round back in 2011. Something clicked under former defensive coordinator Ray Horton and he took further positive strides under Mike Pettine.

Now Skrine is one of the surest open-field tacklers on the team, is taking far fewer penalties, and he is utilizing his speed to track down anyone on the gridiron. No. 22 also rose to the occasion when it became clear that this year's eighth overall pick, Justin Gilbert, was not going to contribute as expected.

For a Browns defense that needs exceptional man-coverage skills from its corners to be successful, Skrine may be the most important UFA to re-sign.

2. Jordan Cameron

The Pro Bowl tight end had his breakout campaign one year too early when it came to cashing in on a hefty contract extension. Cameron lit it up in 2013, but he suffered through a shoulder injury and concussion issues through much of this season.

Appearing in only 10 contests, and being fully healthy for very few of those, the 6'5" matchup nightmare was not a consistent threat. He delivered only two touchdowns, a single 100-yard receiving game, and never had more than four catches in a particular outing.

So why bring back this injury-prone one-year wonder since the Browns got by on secondary tight ends Gary Barnidge and Jim Dray?

At this point a long-term contract offer would be a foolish move by Farmer because of the question marks that remain around Cameron's ability to stay on the field and be the dynamic offensive weapon he was a season ago.

However, you don't want him to leave and thrive somewhere else. That's why the Browns should slap the franchise tag on Cameron and test him out for one more season. He'll be 27 this August and is in the prime of his career.

Cleveland's favorable cap situation allows them plenty of room to fit in the fully guaranteed salary. According to CBS Sports NFL insider Jason La Canfora, the franchise tag price for a tight end in 2015 should be $8.27 million.

Pricey, but certainly worthwhile to give an elite-level talent a final chance to be an impact performer. Especially on this Cleveland offense that is void of reliable pass-catching playmakers.

Andy McNamara is an international sports broadcaster and journalist.

Follow Andy on Twitter @AndyMc81