The Cleveland Browns need another elite wide receiver alongside Amari Cooper, but at what cost?
San Francisco 49ers breakout star Brandon Aiyuk has become a popular name among the Dawg Pound in recent days following indications from his inner circle that he could be on the move this offseason. However, as cap-strapped as the organization is currently, adding a player like Aiyuk won’t come without significant cost elsewhere on the roster.
Jack Duffin of Orange and Brown Report took to social media on Saturday, February 17, and laid out briefly the most likely scenarios by which Cleveland could create space for Aiyuk on the salary cap sheet.
“#Browns fans tweeting about adding Brandon Aiyuk. There are two most obvious routes to create the level of cash needed from non-guaranteed contracts: a) Cooper Gone; b) Teller & Chubb Gone,” Duffin wrote. “Not saying this is the only route, but they are the most likely scenarios.”
Browns RB Nick Chubb Faces Roster Peril Regardless of Move for Brandon Aiyuk
GettyCleveland Browns offensive guard Wyatt Teller celebrates a TD with running back Nick Chubb.
Adding Aiyuk would be a boon for quarterback Deshaun Watson and the air attack, but losing Nick Chubb and Wyatt Teller would hit Cleveland’s run game hard. However, in any discussion that involves Chubb playing elsewhere in 2024, recent comments from GM Andrew Berry must be considered.
“I understand that’s a little bit the elephant in the room,” Berry said of Chubb’s contract on January 22, per Zac Jackson of The Athletic. “Nobody wants to see that carry in Pittsburgh be the last time he carries the ball for the Browns. There are things to work through … but we hope to have him on the team.”
For anyone familiar with how Berry typically speaks to the media, that’s about as close as he ever comes to saying publicly that a player’s future is in danger. Chubb is coming off of a catastrophic knee injury and will count more than $15.8 million against the cap in 2024. The team can save $11.8 million by cutting or trading him at any point this offseason.
Those types of savings make Chubb potentially expendable regardless, and moving on from him to make way for a borderline elite playmaker like Aiyuk at least makes Chubb’s loss worth it.
Teller, meanwhile, has two years remaining on his $56.8 million deal. Cleveland can save $6.2 million against the cap this year and $9.2 million in 2025 by cutting or trading the three-time Pro Bowl offensive guard with a post-June 1 designation.
Browns Unlikely to Part Ways With Amari Cooper in Any Scenario
GettyBrowns wide receiver Amari Cooper.
The other path Duffin mentioned to Aiyuk involves cutting ties with Cooper, though that somewhat defeats the purpose of pursuing the Niners receiver in the first place. The whole idea is to keep Cooper as the 1A and add a great player alongside him as the 1B in the position group.
Cooper will account for nearly $24 million on the Browns’ 2024 cap sheet in the final year of his deal. Instead of saving by cutting or trading Cooper, however, Cleveland is more likely to extend the wideout following the fifth Pro Bowl campaign of his career. That will allow for a restructure that moves money into bonus form and lowers his cap hit significantly while keeping Cooper on the team.
Terry Pluto of Cleveland.com reported on February 4 that the Browns have “zero” intention of dealing Cooper following his 72 catches for 1,250 yards and 5 TDs in 2023.
Brandon Aiyuk Would Bolster Browns Offense, but Cost Would be Onerous
GettySan Francisco 49ers wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk
Pairing Cooper’s production alongside Aiyuk’s in Cleveland would afford Watson one of the best receiver tandems in the NFL.
Aiyuk’s trajectory is exactly the type that would interest any team as he enters his fifth season in 2024. He’s gotten better every single season, earning second-team All Pro honors last year on the strength of 75 catches for 1,342 yards and 7 TDs despite missing a game. Aiyuk also averaged a career-high 17.9 yards per reception in 2023 during his second consecutive 1,000-plus yard campaign.
The 49ers exercised their fifth-year team option on Aiyuk’s deal to keep the former first-round pick (No. 25 overall in 2020) under contract in 2024 at the cost of $14.1 million.
Trading the receiver really only makes sense if San Francisco feels it won’t be able to afford him long-term, though that is a possibility for a team with just $571,000 in current cap space and a roster that will continue to grow more expensive over the next couple of years. That said, the Niners could franchise Aiyuk in 2025, which would be a logical path if he continues his upward trajectory, as doing so would make him worth one of the highest annual salaries at the position during that season.
If the Browns are interested in dealing for Aiyuk, they must consider not only the cost to the roster (potentially Chubb and Teller) and the trade price (at least a first-round pick and probably more), but also whether they could afford the receiver long-term. Spotrac projects Aiyuk’s market value at nearly $23 million annually over a new four-year deal.
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