Browns Trade Includes Rough Salary Cap Wrinkle

This Cleveland Browns trade won't exactly be kind to their salary cap.

Sep 22, 2024; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Browns defensive end Za'Darius Smith (99) reacts to fans before the game between the Browns and the New York Giants at Huntington Bank Field. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-Imagn Images / Ken Blaze-Imagn Images

The Cleveland Browns made one move at the NFL trade deadline on Tuesday, sending edge rusher Za'Darius Smith and a seventh-round pick to the Detroit Lions in exchange for a fifth-round pick and a sixth-rounder.

While Smith is gone, the Browns' salary cap situation will still be affected by him.

Back in the spring, Cleveland re-signed Smith to a two-year, $23 million contract. As part of the deal, Smith landed an $18.258 million signing bonus.

Of that signing bonus, $4.025 million was absorbed in 2024. The other $14.233 million, however, will manifest next year and will count as a dead cap hit for the Browns (h/t Chris Pokomy of Dawgs By Nature).

"In hindsight, re-signing Smith wasn’t worth it," Pokomy wrote. "Obviously, he was re-signed because everyone believed the Browns would be a playoff contender again. Now, they’ve salvaged a fifth- and sixth-round pick for his value, which might be used to eventually stack up for something like a fourth-round pick."

Such is life in the NFL.

The NFL salary cap is always a weird thing to maneuver, and Cleveland is finding that out the hard way after jettisoning Smith for a couple of late-round draft picks.

On the bright side, the Browns are projected to have $45.4 million in cap space next season (via Spotrac), but the dead cap hit from Smith's remaining money still hurts.

Cleveland originally signed Smith to a one-year deal in 2023, and after he logged 27 tackles and 5.5 sacks for the Browns during his debut campaign, they re-upped with the pass rusher.

Smith registered 23 tackles and five sacks in nine games with Cleveland this season.