It may be that veteran Cleveland Browns safety Grant Delpit is not entirely happy with his contract situation. He is in the final year of a three-year, $36 million deal he signed in and he has a cap hit of about $8 million still on the books for 2026, with about $16 million pushed ahead into void years, according to Spotrac. No player likes to go into a season without some future security locked up, and Delpit now has five years of service as a reliable safety for the team. At 27 years old, he should be able to carry that through another contract.
And that should be coming, perhaps even soon. According to Mary Kay Cabot, longtime Browns insider for Cleveland.com, a new deal for Delpit is in the offing.
Browns Extension for Grant Delpit Should Come Soon
Speaking on the “Orange and Brown Talk” podcast this week with host Dan Labbe, Cabot said the Browns appreciate what Delpit has done, and even with second-round pick Emmanuel McNeil-Warren added to the safety room, Delpit’s presence is needed.
Said Cabot: “This is a matter of when they do an extension not if. They think very highly of him, they stuck by him through rupturing his Achilles as a rookie and you know, he’s played really, really, good ball for them. And I still think he’s got plenty of years left in the tank, and I think they will reflect that. He will get paid, maybe even before the season, maybe before training camp. But I think it’s coming and I think that he deserves it.”
Grant Delpit ‘Hold-In’ Rumor Overblown
There was some concern during the Browns’ OTAs and mandatory minicamp that Delpit might be withholding services until he got a new contract. Delpit was there, but did not practice, leading to speculation that he was conducting a “hold-in,” showing up without participating as a way to protest his contract situation. The Browns would not address whether Delpit was injured.
But Cabot noted that was overblown–OTAs are voluntary, and if Delpit was sending a message, he would not have shown up at all.
Said Cabot: “The way Ephraim Banda and those guys talked about Grant and how valuable he was during OTAs when he was there helping out and mentoring, and the way he did the same thing in minicamp, the vibes are good there around Grant. And there were a lot of rumors flying around that he was conducting a hold-in, and that’s just not the case.
“You could look over there at any point in time and he had a big smile on his face and he was talking to the guys and just engaged and doing all kinds of things along those lines.”
Browns Happy With Communication
Indeed, Banda–the Browns’ defensive backs coach–praised Delpit for the way he has stayed connected with the team throughout the offseason. Banda said he did not know anything about Delpit’s contract situation, but he is happy with Delpit’s offseason.
Said Banda: “Communication throughout the offseason has been phenomenal, his time in the building has been great, working hard, being present, doing a great job in meetings, and being a veteran leader. He’s the second-longest tenured Brown now, so it’s great to have him around . We’re going on year four together, so it’s been really good to have that. He did a really good job of checking in and staying in communication.”
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