The Cleveland Browns made an intriguing move on Thursday, restructuring the contract of quarterback Deshaun Watson to give the team the most cap space in the NFL at $62 million, and that leads many to believe that the team could be making another run at San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk, but ESPN insider Adam Schefter pumped the brakes on that, saying that the money was not the reason that Aiyuk did not want to go to the Browns.
“With Brandon Aiyuk, nothing ever seems to be what it appears to be,” Adam Schefter said on The Pat McAfee Show. “On Thursday, Aug. 1 I thought a trade to Cleveland was happening and was imminent, and then it didn’t get done. And so the hold up with Cleveland all along hasn’t been whether or not the Browns have cap space, the hold out. The hold up there has been Brandon Aiyuk’s willingness to accept a trade to Cleveland. Contract would’ve been done there if he wanted to go, the compensation would’ve been done there if he wanted to go. He’s balked at going to Cleveland in the past. Now could he change his mind today, in the next week? Anything’s possible here, because I would venture to tell you that there’s never, never been a case as unpredictable as the one that has gone on this summer between the 49ers and Brandon Aiyuk.”
The Browns were among teams in talks to acquire Aiyuk, and had agreed on trade compensation with the 49ers. They were comfortable making a lucrative contract offer to Aiyuk as well, but as Schefter noted, he seemingly did not want to play in Cleveland.
Barring a change in that mindset, it does not seem like Aiyuk will end up playing for the Browns.
What can the Browns use this new cap space for?
With $62 million in cap space available, the Browns will have a lot of flexibility this season. It could enable them to make bigger trades than anyone else, if players eventually come available by the trade deadline.
Cleveland does expect to contend this season, and that cap space could come in use. However, there is another use for that cap space. If Cleveland leaves a significant portion of cap space open, that could be rolled over to next offseason, and that could help the team pursue high-priced free agents when the time comes.
Although Aiyuk seemingly will not be coming to the Browns, there are multiple intriguing uses for the large amount of cap space.
