Browns Salary Cap Maneuvering Continues With Jed Wills Restructure

As Browns general manager Andrew Berry works to create salary cap flexibility ahead of free agency, left tackle Jedrick Wills received a restructure of his fifth-year option.

The salary cap gymnastics continue for Browns general manager Andrew Berry.

On Friday, just five days until the opening free agency, Berry converted $13.05 million of starting left tackle Jedrick Wills' fifth-year option into a restructure bonus. The move creates more then $10.4 million in cap space for Cleveland ahead of the new league year.

Berry added one additional void year to the end of Wills contract in order to spread the newly converted bonus money over four total voided years for book keeping purposes. That means Wills will play the last year of his rookie deal costing the Browns a mere $4.1 million against their cap this season.

The 2020 first-round pick is coming off of a season cut short by a torn MCL. Wills had arthroscopic knee surgery to repair the ailment back in December and will hope to play his way into a contract extension next offseason,

Salary cap-clearing as free agency approaches …

The #Cowboys converted guard Zack Martin’s salary, clearing $13M

The #Browns converted tackle Jedrick Willis’ fifth-year option, clearing $10.44M

— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) March 8, 2024

Wills, along with fellow tackles Jack Conklin and Dawand Jones, are all coming off of season-ending knee injuries this offseason. At the NFL Combine last week, Berry shared that all three are expected to be available during the 2024 season.

Berry also executed a similar maneuver as Wills last week with top cornerback Denzel Ward, converting $14.1 million of Ward's base salary number into a signing bonus money and prorating it out over a five year span. That opened up $11 million of cap space and officially brought Cleveland back into the black for the 2024 offseason.

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With Wills restructure now factored in, the Browns are slated to be about $13 million under the cap at the moment. That figure is at least the beginnings of Berry creating some added flexibility for the team ahead of free agency, which open up officially at 4 p.m. on Wednesday. 

Berry likely isn't done working through restructures across the roster. Other potential restructure candidates include running back Nick Chubb, wide receiver Amari Cooper and quarterback Deshaun Watson, among others.