Browns Rumors: Safety Grant Delpit Lands 3-Year, $36M Contract amid NFL Playoff Push

The Cleveland Browns have reportedly signed safety Grant Delpit to a three-year, $36 million contract extension with $23 million guaranteed, per ESPN's Jake Trotter.

He's been a key part of a Browns' defense that leads the NFL in yards allowed (260.5 YPG) and is 10th in points allowed (20.4 PPG).

Delpit, 25, was a second-round pick of the Browns in the 2020 NFL draft, though he missed his entire rookie season with a torn Achilles.

But he's since emerged as a key player at safety, making 35 starts in the past three seasons. He put up 105 tackles and four interceptions in the 2022 campaign, while this year he's registered a team-leading 74 tackles (six for loss), one interception, one fumble recovery and half a sack.

"He flies around and is one of the engines for this defense," cornerback Martin Emerson Jr. told Doc Louallen of the Browns' website this week. "His style of play is physical, and he gets to the ball. That's him, relentless and resilient."

Delpit believes he's grown as a leader in particular.

"My biggest improvement is being that leader on the defense that makes everyone around me better," he said. "Good players make plays, but great players make others around them better."

That defense has the Browns poised to make the postseason for just the second time since 2003. The Browns are currently 7-5, which currently puts them in the first Wild Card berth in the AFC, though they are within striking distance of the Baltimore Ravens (9-3) in the AFC North.

They face a tough schedule down the stretch, with matchups against the Jacksonville Jaguars, Chicago Bears, Houston Texans, New York Jets and Cincinnati Bengals. Both the Jaguars (8-4) and Texans (7-5) are currently in playoff positions themselves, while the 6-6 Bengals are still in the hunt for a Wild Card berth.

The Jets (4-8) are not, but their stingy defense makes them a tough matchup nonetheless.