Biggest Offseason Contract Decisions for Browns

The Cleveland Browns are coming off their best year since the franchise returned to the NFL in 1999. Now, head coach Kevin Stefanski, general manager Andrew Berry and the team's decision-makers are faced with the task of turning one great season into a full-blown culture shift. 

Great seasons can be crafted when everything clicks. Sustained success takes good decision-making, the right investments and a bit of luck. 

The Browns have finally assembled a roster with talent worth keeping around. Now comes the difficult process of determining who they will prioritize keeping and who will be too expensive to have around long-term. 

The team enters a pivotal offseason with some important decisions to make and just enough cap flexibility to be in a good position. According to Over the Cap, they will enter the offseason with around $22 million in cap space. 

It's a number that gives them the eighth-most effective cap space of anyone in the league but not quite the exorbitant amount that teams like the Jaguars and Jets will have to spend. 

Here's a look at every free agent they will have to make a decision on that played more than 45 percent of the season's snaps:

• CB Terrance Mitchell
• S Andrew Sendejo
• LB B.J. Goodson
• DE Olivier Vernon
• S Karl Joseph
• DT Larry Ogunjobi
• CB Kevin Johnson
• LB Malcolm Smith
• WR Rashard Higgins

Some of these players it will be easy to watch walk away but others will be more important to keep around. Others are going to take some serious consideration.

Baker Mayfield

Jeff Roberson/Associated Press

The first player they'll have to think long and hard about isn't even on the list in the previous slide. With just one more season to go on his rookie contract, the time for a Baker Mayfield extension is looming. 

Coming into the season there was a debate as to whether he would see a second contract in Cleveland. After throwing 22 touchdowns to 21 interceptions under Freddie Kitchens last season, it wasn't clear Mayfield was capable of being a franchise quarterback. 

This season likely erased those doubts. Mayfield threw for 26 touchdowns while cutting his interceptions down to eight on the season. Only one of those came after Week 7 when Odell Beckham Jr. went down with an ACL injury. 

Ian Rapoport of NFL Network recently reported that a Mayfield extension is being thought about, but it's uncertain at this point whether that means this offseason or next. 

"As far as a possible contract extension, it could come this offseason, could also come next offseason. There is no rush. There's a lot of other issues at play here, but make no mistake—Baker is their guy in Cleveland," the NFL insider noted. 

As far as quarterback extensions are concerned, it would seem that earlier is better. As it stands, Mayfield is set to make $10.5 million next season, and the Browns will have to decide whether to exercise his fifth-year option, which could cost somewhere in the neighborhood of $30 million but doesn't guarantee he plays with the team beyond 2022. 

Instead, the Browns could lock him up for the long term and still wind up paying the same as they would for just one year of security. 

Olivier Vernon

David Richard/Associated Press

Like Mayfield, Olivier Vernon stepped up in big ways after a disappointing 2019 campaign. 

The Browns originally traded for Vernon in an attempt to put another top pass-rusher opposite Myles Garrett. In 2019, the result was just 3.5 sacks in his age-29 season. 

This season he was a revelation, especially in the second half of the season where he racked up seven of his nine sacks on the year. 

If that was the end of the story, he would be a no-brainer to earn another contract in Cleveland. Unfortunately, he suffered a ruptured Achilles that ended his season and will have a lengthy recovery time. 

Vernon will be 31 next season and is now coming off an injury that can be career-altering. Last season, the Browns paid him $11 million, but if he wants anything near that number again, that could be too much risk to take on. 

The Browns turned to Adrian Clayborn and Porter Gustin to play in his role in the postseason. Gustin had an interception while Clayborn, who was 32 this season, cost the team just $2.25 million and had 3.5 sacks. 

This may be a position the Browns want to go younger or sign another veteran on the cheap if Vernon wants too much.

Rashard Higgins

Charlie Riedel/Associated Press

Regardless of what contract Rashard Higgins ends up signing, one of his first purchases should be a nice fruit basket for head coach Kevin Stefanski. After a season of being a non-factor in Freddie Kitchens' game plans, Higgins rekindled his chemistry with Mayfield in 2020. 

In Mayfield's sensational rookie season Higgins was a security blanket. He posted 39 catches for 572 yards and four touchdowns and appeared ready for a breakout season in 2019. 

Instead, he saw just 11 targets, four catches and 55 yards. But the Stefanski regime saw his worth, and the receiver once again posted strong numbers with 37 catches for 599 yards and four touchdowns. 

Higgins clearly has a strong connection with Mayfield, and he was instrumental in the receiving corps after Beckham's injury. 

The problem is the Browns have a lot of money tied up in the receiver position, and Higgins will expect a raise from the $910,000 he cost the team this season. His Spotrac market value is estimated to be worth $6.1 million next season. 

That's a steep price to pay with Jarvis Landry set to make $14.8 million and Beckham Jr. an additional $15.75 million. With so many needs on the defensive side of the ball, Higgins could be a cap casualty if the Browns don't do something with either Landry or Beckham's contracts.