Browns' Updated NFL Salary Cap After Alex Wright's $33M Contract Extension

The Cleveland Browns have extended defensive end Alex Wright before the expiration of his rookie contract.

The Browns are signing Wright to a three-year, $33 million extension including $21 million in guaranteed money, his agents Drew Rosenhaus and Shawn O'Dare told ESPN's Adam Schefter on Thursday.

Wright is playing the 2025 season on the final year of a four-year, $5.29 million rookie deal he signed ahead of the 2022 campaign.

The Browns had just $14.2 million in projected 2026 cap space prior to Wright's signing, per Spotrac.

That cap crunch is thanks in large part to Deshaun Watson's $80 million cap hit for 2026.

The Browns most recently reworked Watson's deal last December, lowering his 2025 cap hit to just under $36 million amid his recovery from an Achilles injury.

Watson then re-ruptured his Achilles in January and has spent the entire 2025 season on the PUP list.

The Browns still owe Watson $135 million in guaranteed money. Although NBC Sports' Mike Florio recently reported the Browns have player insurance that could recoup them some of that remaining money, The Athletic's Zac Jackson noted these policies usually provide teams with cash back but not much cap relief.

How the Browns decide to manage Watson's contract will dictate what the team can do with the rest of the 2026 cap. According to Over the Cap, designating Watson as a post-June 1 cut would leave the Browns responsible for more than $80 million in dead money next season.

In that case, Jackson recently speculated the Browns could decide to take on dead cap hits for other players like David Njoku and Joel Bitonio ($6.9 million and $10.7 million in 2026 dead money as post-June 1 cuts, respectively, per Over the Cap) in an attempt to put the team on track to become competitive in 2027.

Even if 2026 is a rebuilding year, however, Wright's new deal shows the Browns see him as a key part of the edge defense going forward.

Wright, who appeared in nine games this season and started his last five, has recorded 3.0 sacks and 24 tackles (nine for loss) alongside three quarterback hits and a forced fumble so far this season.

He has been continually ranked by Pro Football Focus as one of the top-graded edge defenders in the NFL this season.

That has been a key reason the Browns defense is holding opponents to an average of 273.5 yards per game through Week 11, good for the second-least in the NFL.

This hasn't been enough to make up for an offense that ranks 31st with just 257.3 yards per game.

Still, young defensive players like Wright and standout rookies like defensive tackle Mason Graham and linebacker Carson Schwesinger could be giving the Browns hope of emerging from the other side of Watson's contract payout with a competitive defense.