Cleveland Browns Agree to 3-Year Deal With Jack Conklin
According to Adam Schefter of ESPN, the Cleveland Browns have made another big splash on the first day of free agency, coming to terms on a three-year with the top tackle on the market, Jack Conklin. The deal is worth $42 million and guarantees $30 million overall, $20 million coming in the first year of the deal.
Conklin presumably will step in and play right tackle for the Browns, still leaving with a big question at left tackle. Only 25 years old, much like tight end Austin Hooper, whom the Browns signed earlier in the day, Conklin only turns 26 years old in August. Conklin gets another shot at the market no later than when he's 28.
With Joel Bitonio at left guard and J.C. Tretter at center, the Browns have at least for the moment, Wyatt Teller and Drew Forbes competing for the right guard job. Left tackle is a major question mark, but the Browns do sit with the 10th pick in the draft and could grab one there, giving them a remarkably young unit overall.
The Browns have a little over a little over $32 million in rollover cap. Realistically, Conklin's entire first year of $20 million will be paid on money that's not entirely real to begin with, which makes this move smart in terms of how they are weaponizing their salary cap.
The Browns have some gaping holes on the defensive side of the ball, but for the moment, the Browns are shaping up to have an impressive offensive on paper, increasing the pressure on head coach Kevin Stefanski and Baker Mayfield to deliver this year.
The New York Jets were long assumed to be the favorite to land Conklin, may now be forced to revisit a trade with the Washington Redskins for Trent Williams.
