Inside Josh Allen’s Restructured Contract with the Bills

It was reported earlier this week that the salary cap starved Bills had restructured Josh Allen’s contract for salary cap relief but per a league source, the restructure went a bit further than originally reported and may set the stage for Allen bringing his contract a little more in line with the market as salaries continue to explode across the league.

Prior to the restructure Josh Allen was going to count for $47,056,281 against the salary cap in 2024 and $56,556,281 in 2025. Allen’s salary in 2024 was $30 million which was middle of the league for veteran quarterbacks. The restructured contract saw Allen receive a raise for 2024 by borrowing salary from 2025 and 2028 and in the process knocked down the salary cap numbers for both 2024 and 2025.

Allen’s 2024 compensation rose to $60 million which would have been second in the NFL prior to free agency (it is now third following Kirk Cousins mega contract with the Falcons). This is about $5 million more than Patrick Mahomes earned last season when the Chiefs moved money around in his contract.

The restructure knocked Allen’s 2024 cap number down to $30,356,281 and his 2025 salary cap number down to $43,231,281. That represents savings of $16.7 million in 2024 cap room and $13.325 million in 2025 cap space. His 2026 and 2027 cap numbers increased by $11.675 million in each year.

The thing to look at going forward is if the Bills have put themselves in a position to have to continuously move salary around to make sure that their star QB, who is on a contract that has been lapped by the market, remains happy until it comes time to extend him. This restructure was not as extensive as the Chiefs one with Mahomes. In Mahomes restructure he received an increase in salary of $43.3 million from 2023 to 2026 with a drop in salary of $43.3 million in the 2027 through 2031 years. While Allen’s salary increased this year by $30 million the increase over the next two years is only $5 million since $25 million was borrowed from 2025 rather than later in the contract.

Allen’s 2026 contract year is structured very similar to his original 2025 contract year. The team could move his $15 million roster bonus into 2025 next year to bring Allen’s cash salary up from $14.5 million to $29.5 million and maybe borrow a few more dollars from the future to increase it a bit more.  By using bonus mechanisms to prorate the money it would not have a negative short term on the Bills salary cap.

The Bills have generally been willing, for better or worse, to do extensions for their veteran players when they have two years remaining on their contract. For Allen that would be 2027. The goal should probably be to move as much money out of 2027 and 2028 and into 2025 and 2026 over the next two years. If Allen’s agents are able to get the Bills to do similar moves year by year it is conceivable that Allen could go from his original contract which would pay him $108 million from 2024 to 2026 to $148 million over the same time period.

While that lowers his 2027 and 2028 salaries considerably and odds are those low salaries would need to be honored at some point in an extension, the way that contract are structured his cash salary would explode in the 2027 year if extended and more than cover what was borrowed.

If Mahomes and Allen are able to pull this off it could change some of the quarterback dynamics when it comes to contracts in the future. A generation ago teams often were rewarded when they extended QB’s early to get ahead of the market as the quarterbacks usually played those contracts out and by the end the players were tremendously undervalued. This could give teams less incentive to rush into extensions where they think they are beating the market or to do some of these longer term deals where they continuously guarantee future salary in return for low annual values. So I think this is important to watch for how the market plays out as the other 30 teams are watching the way things unfold in Kansas City and Buffalo.

The Salary Cap Impact of Aaron Donald’s Retirement

The football world was shocked today when future Hall of Famer Aaron Donald decided to retire from the NFL after 10 seasons. His legendary career featured 8 All Pro nods and 10 selections to the Pro Bowl. Donald also set multiple contract standards for the interior defensive line, becoming the first defensive tackle in NFL history to earn over $20 million a year in 2018 and then the first defensive player to get over $30 million a year in 2022. Now that he is leaving the Rams it does leave some questions as to how his contract will play out for the team.

Prior to the news of his retirement, I had mentioned that Donald recently had his contract restructured to free up around $9.2 million in cap room for the team. Per a source with knowledge of the contract this was not a typical restructure where salary was just converted to a signing bonus. In this case the Rams converted his $5 million roster bonus, which was already guaranteed, to a signing bonus. They took $8.79 million of his salary, which was going to become guaranteed in a few days, and added it to his $20 million option bonus.  The option for Donald was originally due by mid June, I would guess, but do not know for certain, that date remains.

The restructured contract, in light of Donald’s retirement, reads a bit more like salary cap maneuvering by the Rams to keep the door open to Donald possibly coming back to the team. If both sides were 100% on the retirement they would have simply bought his salary this year down to $1.21 million and taken out the option and roster bonuses, unless the Rams were just totally blindsided with the retirement announcement and had no idea this was coming. So my guess is they want to leave the door wide open for him to come back.

The $5 million bonus may or may not be his to keep. Under the terms of his prior contract the Rams apparently did not have the right to go after his roster bonus if Donald breached his contract, such as by retiring.  The signing bonus language could be different giving the Rams the ability to simply recover anything had any money exchanged hand. Or it could be a nice parting gift for all his years of service. The option bonus is a clear deferral of salary.

By doing the restructure, the Rams brought Donald’s salary cap number down to $24.97 million. Placing Donald on the retirement list would have caused the Rams to take on a $28.5 million cap charge at a minimum so this gives the Rams a little more room to work with. By deferring his salary into the option it also gives the Rams a chance to keep Donald on the roster through June, if they want, and place him on the retired list at that point. It also gives Donald months to consider if he wants to return since the contract is simply waiting for him if he returns to the NFL this year or any year in the future.

If the team waits until June they should be able to split the salary cap charges across two years, though the cap charges are contingent on the way his signing bonus works. If the signing bonus is a legit bonus then the money should count towards dead money in 2024 and 2025. If it is earned but no money ever changes hands prior to the retirement the NFL will likely just disregard the bonus. If there is money paid and the team is later paid back the Rams will take a charge in 2024 with an offsetting credit coming in 2025.

The accounting of the option is also a bit tricky. In my experience the NFL will typically include the option prorations as dead money in the year the player is released even if the option is not exercised. The team then receives a credit the following year.

Here is how I believe the cap charges would play out in a June 1 retirement scenario (credit is the adjustment the Rams would receive for cap charges in 2024 not actually earned so it reduces the impact of the dead money in 2025).

Scenario202420252025 credit
Keeps Bonus$23,763,332$19,333,334$9,596,666
Bonus unpaid$22,096,666$16,000,000$9,596,666
Bonus recovered$23,763,332$16,000,000$11,263,332

I would expect the Rams to carry Donald on the roster through whatever the option date may be and then place him on the retired list. It should be easier for them from a salary cap perspective than just putting him on the list right now.

The Rams and Donald could also restructure his contract one final time to remove some of the charges that I am mentioning here. If the retirement is firm it would make sense for the Rams to simply remove the option from the contract in which case you do not get into these issues with treatment of option prorations in 2024. That would reduce the 2024 charges to $14.166M with 2025 looking similar to the chart above.

Ultimately I would not be surprised if the Rams are not done tinkering with the contract, either as a way to entice him to play again in 2024 or to make things a little simpler with the salary cap. I would be surprised if they do immediately place him on the reserve list and absorb all of the cap charges this season.

Lions Trade for CB Carlton Davis

The Lions and Buccaneers have agreed to a trade for cornerback Carlton Davis according to Tom Pelissero of NFL Network.

Davis was entering the final year of his contract with the Buccaneers and going to count for $20.37 million on their salary cap. Trading Davis will leave Tampa Bay with $14 million in dead money and open up $6.3 million in cap room. Davis had signed a three year contract worth $44.5 million per year with the Bucs back in 2022.

The Lions will take on Davis’ remaining salary which is broken down as $14 million in base salary and up tp $500,000 in per game bonuses. The cap charge for Detroit will be $14.35 million and that number can increase to $14.5 million if Davis plays all 17 games. Davis has missed 7 games in the last two years. The Lions went into the offseason with a surplus of cap room which makes a trade like this one reasonable since there is no future money involved.

Thoughts on Chris Jones Five Year, $158.75 Million Contract

Chris Jones finalized a deal today with the Chiefs that will make him the highest paid defensive tackle in the NFL at $158.75 million over five seasons according to Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk. The contract has massive guarantees with $60 million fully guaranteed at signing and $95 million virtually guaranteed to be earned. Here is a look at how the contract matches up with Aaron Donald’s contract and some other thoughts on the contract.

Last year when Jones held out in training camp and the early part of the regular season all eyes were on the Donald contract which seemed to be a non-starter last season. Donald had leveraged the Rams into ripping up his contract via the threat of retirement and replacing it with a contract that had zero to do with the defensive tackle market and everything to do with the edge rusher market. A year later the Donald contract clearly became the template to follow. Here are how the two contracts compare in cash flows

PlayerYear 1Year 2Year 3Year 4Year 5
Chris Jones$31,350,000$60,200,000$95,300,000$123,650,000$158,750,000
Aaron Donald$31,500,000$60,000,000$95,000,000FAFA

Donald earns $150,000 more in the first year of his contract while Jones jumps Donald by $200,000 in year two before getting all of $300,000 over him in year three. While the salaries are certainly big and the annual value of the contract huge, these numbers are in no way reflective of the way Edge players are paid at the top which probably is one of the reasons why the Chiefs felt willing to do this contract since there was a framework to follow. Here is how the cash stacks up with some of the Edge rushers.

PlayerYear 1Year 2Year 3Year 4
Nick Bosa$48,955,471$79,641,000$102,821,000$136,000,000
Chris Jones$31,350,000$60,200,000$95,300,000$123,650,000
T.J. Watt$49,911,000$69,911,000$90,961,000$112,000,000
Joey Bosa$42,390,000$63,640,000$87,640,000$109,640,000
Montez Sweat$35,000,000$56,000,000$77,000,000$98,000,000

This is an easier way for the Chiefs to work within their budget to get to $95 million over three years since they don’t have to hit a near $50 million payment in year one of the contract and being at $70 million through year two. This is a steady state of payments relative to the others.

The guarantee on the contract, however, blows away the Donald contract and does compare with the Edge market especially if you look at new guarantees.

PlayerTotal GuaranteeFull GuaranteeNew Total GuaranteeNew Full Guarantee
Nick Bosa$122,500,000$88,000,000$103,590,471$69,090,471
Chris Jones$95,000,000$60,000,000$95,000,000$60,000,000
Joey Bosa$102,000,000$78,000,000$87,640,000$63,640,000
Myles Garrett$100,000,000$50,000,000$80,203,875$30,203,875
T.J. Watt$80,000,000$80,000,000$69,317,529$69,317,529
Aaron Donald$65,000,000$46,500,000$65,000,000$46,500,000

On a new money basis this contract is second to only Nick Bosa in injury protection and is fourth in full guarantees. In no way does it resemble the Donald contract which provided some minor protection for the Rams by not carrying a third year guarantee.

History will look at this contract as a big deal but not the biggest. When adjusted for salary cap inflation the annual value of this contract will rank 7th in the NFL among interior defenders.

PlayerTeamYearAPYInflated APY
Aaron DonaldRams2022$31,666,667$38,845,662
Warren SappBuccaneers1998$7,076,500$34,499,086
Ndamukong SuhDolphins2015$19,062,500$33,979,359
Aaron DonaldRams2018$22,500,000$32,429,458
J.J. WattTexans2014$16,666,667$32,005,013
Richard SeymourRaiders2011$15,000,000$31,825,545
Chris JonesChiefs2024$31,750,000$31,750,000

This was one area where you could see some departure on the Donald contract. Donald set a market when he signed his contract two years ago. This contract was simply pegged to a contract that was two years old. That just adds some perspective as to how this ranks all time.

From a salary cap perspective the Chiefs will be tied to Jones for the first three years of the contract. They went all in with the cap structure on this which was a major departure from the way the team handled his 2020 contract that he signed as a franchise player. That contract had a low up front payment and a high salary cap charge in the first year. The team essentially opted into two franchise tags at signing and gave themselves an option to trade in year 2 or cut in year 3 since they held off his vesting guarantees until year 3.

Here there is no option like that. Jones will carry a $7.35 million contract in 2024, due to a Chiefs high  $30 million signing bonus, and then that number jumps to $34.85 million in 2025 and $41.1 million in 2026. The cost to move on in 2025 would be $52.75 million in cap charges if cut and $24 million if traded. In 2026 the numbers will be $53 million to cut and $18 million to trade. The reason the number is so high in 2026 is because he will earn a 2026 guarantee in 2025. The primary out is year 4 where there are no guarantees that kick in during a prior league year. If they can avoid restructuring the contract for cap relief next season it would be $12 million to move on in 2027.  

This is a really aggressive move by the Chiefs who typically are a little more calculated. They are certainly banking on Jones holding strong the next three years. Donald has held up from age 30 to 32, missing only 6 games in that span and while his sack numbers are down he is still very disruptive. Other top players have tailed off at this age. Sapp was not the same player from 31 onward nor was Suh. Seymour was solid but not great and out of the NFL by 34. Watt’s body started to break down at 30. Fletcher Cox’ post 30 years were never top of the position good.

The decision to do this contract seems based strongly on going for a “three-peat” and not wanting the cloud hanging over them of “what if” if they were to lose while he is on another team. If they were willing to do this contract it probably should have been done last season. At that point at least you have the guarantees out of the contract by the time that Jones would be 32 rather than 33 and my guess would be it would be structured a bit more evenly with the salary cap.

There was nothing for Jones to prove last season. Regardless of how great he was it really had no bearing on the future. Jones will be what he will be. The team should not have had to see the 2023 season to decide that Jones will be great in 2024, 2025, and 2026. You should either be willing to make the commitment or not make the commitment. This just feels as if they wasted a year since they wound up in the same place with him on the contract he wanted all along.

The next question will be if this does or does not impact the defensive tackle market. Donald has always been painted as an outlier. Jones never was though he has a really unique career where he got better in his 2nd contract while most players fade or stay the same. Still once you get two players at a number it is harder to make the outlier argument. That can make the market work to where you are pegging your offers down off of Jones rather than up off of Quinnen Williams and Justin Madubuike. Pegging off of Jones can make the market jump up quicker than the incremental growth we see in the other players.

Kansas City will need to make some moves this week to get their salary cap in order. Likely they will restructure part of Mahomes’ contract and then see what market develops for Sneed. Right now the Chiefs have the third highest payroll in the NFL so moving on from Sneed and maybe making another cut or two would be expected to bring the numbers down more into a level the Chiefs are comfortable with. If they do remain top 10 in spending it is probably a sign that they will have less invested in 2025 to help balance out the numbers from this year.

The Costs of Some Rumored NFL Trade Candidates

In the last few days I have received a number of questions about the costs of trading for certain players and thought I would just put together a post looking at each of those players. The post will not include franchised players because that is a different scenario where contracts have to be negotiated which is much different than acquiring an existing contract. So here is a quick breakdown of the players.

Joey Bosa, Edge, Chargers

If a team acquires Bosa that will take on a salary of $22 million for 2024 if the trade is executed prior to a roster bonus of $7 million being earned on the fifth day of the league year. If that was earned prior to a trade it would be the responsibility of the Chargers and the new team would take on $15 million in charges. Bosa also has a $22 million salary in 2025 but none is guaranteed.

Bosa has a $36.6M cap charge for the Chargers and $22.2M in dead money which explodes up to $29M if they pay that roster bonus. Those charges make it difficult for the Chargers to keep him. Bosa has an extensive injury history but would probably carry a 2nd and 3rd round return in an in-season trade if he were healthy and the Chargers at the entire cost of the contract. It would be a gamble but one that could pay off if he is healthy in October.

Khalil Mack, Edge, Chargers

A team trading for Mack takes on his $23.25 million salary for the year. Mack is in the final year of his contract so it is possible that the team could receive a late compensatory pick down the line if he leaves as a free agent the next year. Mack’s contract is similar to Bosa’s with a $5 million roster bonus due on the fifth day of the league year. If that is paid by the Chargers his salary would drop to $18.25 million.

Mack’s cap charge for the Chargers is $38.5 million with $15.3 million dead if cut or traded. Depending on the return they would receive I could see the logic in paying $5 million in salary to get a higher draft pick. Keeping both Mack and Bosa makes no sense for the Chargers. Mack would have less value in-season, in my opinion, but more value now because he is a safer option.

Justin Fields, QB, Bears

Fields is entering the final year of his rookie contract and the cost for him this season is just $3.23 million. The team trading for him would also have the option of picking up his fully guaranteed $25.664 million option for 2025, which would probably be a given if they envision him as their starter. In essence that makes this a two year $28.9 million contract which is pretty cheap for a starter. Trading for Fields also means that a team has to be prepared for the 2025 discussions that will come up about an extension even if Fields just has an average season.

Chicago probably should not be in a rush to trade Fields even though they should draft a quarterback. Fields may hold more value to a team come August than now and Fields would still have a trade market in 2025 even if the Bears have moved on from him as a starter.

Haason Reddick, Edge, Eagles

Trading for Reddick would cost a team $15.5 million in salary and $16 million in cap room in 2024. Reddick, who is in the final year of his contract, is going to be looking for an extension after posting 27 sacks in the last two years. The question is how many teams are going to want to pay $18-20 million a year for a 30 year old player and how much does that limit his trade market. The Vikings seemed to have difficulty trading Danielle Hunter last year in a similar situation.

The Eagles trading would Reddick would likely be due to them wanting to get younger and not deal with the headache of any summer extension drama. He has a $21.827 million cap charge and $20.515 million that would hit the cap if he is cut or traded. The Eagles should not need to restructure for cap room and there may be a lot of benefit to holding him and trading him in the summer or early in the season.

Josh Sweat, Edge, Eagles

Trading for Sweat this year will cost a team $16 million and there are different ways that they can account for his cap charge which could be as low as $4.3 million or as high as $16 million. Sweat is entering the final year of his contract and could be looking for an extension. Sweat will be just 27 this year so he is certainly young enough to command top dollar.

This trade possibility came out of left field for me and indicates that the Eagles may not have the desire to extend him which makes trading him a strong consideration. The way his contract is structured, trading him this year would leave the Eagles with a net cap charge of $14.515 million this season and have nothing on the books next year. If he plays the year they will have him on the team at $9 million in 2024 and $21.4 million in 2025 when he would be a free agent. There is no reason to rush into a trade here as they have all summer before they have to make the 2025 salary cap commitment.

Diontae Johnson, WR, Steelers

Trading for Johnson would require a team to pay $10 million for 2024 if traded before a roster bonus is paid and $7 million if traded after the roster bonus is paid. The roster bonus is due on the 3rd day of the league year. Johnson is entering the final year of his contract and could be looking for an extension, but that could also mean possibly recovering a comp pick in the future for him.

Johnson is not a big play threat by any means but can be a steady enough option on a wide receiver needy team. His cap charge to remain in Pittsburgh is $15.8 million and they would free up $10 million if they cut or trade him before the bonus is due.

Greg Newsome, CB, Browns

Newsome carries a $2.398 million salary this year and the team would also have the ability to make a decision on an option for 2025 worth a fully guaranteed $13.377 million.

The rumor on this seems to be due to the Browns depth at the position and likely their need to really restock some of their draft capital that has been lost primarily in the Watson trade. By no means has Newsome been a great corner for the Browns but he could certainly find a role on another team and those teams may see upside at the right price.

Zach Wilson, QB, Jets

Zach Wilson carries a fully guaranteed $5.45 million salary in 2024. Most of that salary comes in the form of a roster bonus due in August. There is also an option a team can pick up for 2025 but that would not be a consideration considering Wilson may struggle to win a backup job.

Wilson counts for $11.18 million on the Jets salary cap and the team would take on that whole charge if they cut him. The Jets probably need to pick up at least half his salary to find a trade partner. It would be hard to imagine the Jets getting more than a 6th in return for him. The only salary savings the Jets will realize is whatever salary is remaining when he is traded.

Michael Gallup, WR, Cowboys

Gallup carries a salary of $9.5 million this year of which $4 million will be guaranteed if a team trades for him. The acquiring team will also take on non-guaranteed salaries of $11.5 million in 2025 and 2026.

Gallup’s cap charge with Dallas is $13.05 million and they save no virtually cap room with his release of trade. He has $4 million that becomes guaranteed on the 3rd day of the league year so a decision needs to be made before that date. Gallup’s impact has tailed off significantly and I can’t see any interest at this salary level nor any reason for Dallas to pick up any salary for a late pick. My guess is he will be released.

This next group of players are players I have not really heard anything official on but had questions about (though I have speculated on a few of the names myself).

Courtland Sutton, WR, Broncos

Sutton has two years remaining on his contract. He would cost a team $13.5 million this season and they would inherit a non-guaranteed $14 million salary in 2025 as well.

Sutton would be intriguing as a trade target since his numbers are still ok and he has been paired with some very poor quarterback play the last few seasons. A team would be ok with the risk of a $13.5 million salary if they could get 1,000 yards from him. The Broncos would open up $9.8 million by trading him. There would be no rush for Denver to make a trade and any trade consideration may come after the draft. Trading Sutton would be a future looking move and just keep the Broncos churning the players Payton inherited.

Garett Bolles, LT, Broncos

Bolles is entering the last year of his contract and would cost a team $16 million this season. Bolles missed significant time in 2022 but was healthy in 2023.

Bolles has a $20 million cap hit with Denver and the team would have just $4 million in dead money if they trade him. There are plenty of left tackle needy teams and the Broncos could see how free agency and the draft shakes out for some of those teams to feel out any potential market for the veteran.

David Bakhtiari, LT, Packers

Bakhtiari’s current contract would cost a team $21.5 million in 2024. Even Jets assistant GM Aaron Rodgers wouldn’t make that trade. His cap charge with the Packers is over $40 million and the team saves $21 million on the cap when they release him.

Jonathan Allen, DT, Commanders

Allen has a $15 million salary in 2024 and a non guaranteed salary of $17 million for 2025. Allen is always available and could offer a team a boost at a position that keeps getting more expensive. My concern with trading for him is that I am not sure the upside exists here at these salaries and you can get similar production from free agents who can be found for about $7 million. The Commanders would save $9.44 million in cap room if they trade him.

Daniel Jones, QB, Giants

 Jones would cost a team $36 million in 2024. Jones has a $30.5 million salary in 2025 of which $23 million is injury guaranteed and $12 million of that would be fully guaranteed if on the roster in early 2025. There is a balloon salary of $47.5 million in 2026 that carries no guaranteed salary.

Trading Jones would leave the Giants with $33 million in dead money, opening up nearly $14 million in cap room while also getting him completely off the books for 2025. Right now cutting him in 2025 will cost $22 million on the cap. His current cap charge is just over $47 million. The Giants should jump at a chance to make a trade but I can not envision any team doing it.

DK Metcalf, WR, Seahawks

Trading for Metcalf would mean a team takes on $13 million in salary for this season and a non-guaranteed $18 million salary for 2025. Seattle would gain $9.5 million in cap room if they traded him but I don’t see any reason to do that now. Maybe in-season if the year completely got away from the team, but he is going to be expected to be the main receiving target for Seattle.

DJ Jones, DT, Broncos

Jones is in the final year of his contract and would cost a team $10 million to trade for him. I think that price is too high for a team to consider and there is a better chance he would be cut than traded.

Jeudy Traded to Cleveland

The Broncos and Browns finalized a trade today that will see Jerry Jeudy traded to the Browns for a 5th and 6th round draft selection. Jeudy was a former first round pick of the Broncos who was entering the final year of his rookie contract. The trade will be made official on the first day of free agency, though we will update the trade now.

The trade is one that works out well for all involved. The Broncos are in a season where they need to shed cap charges and salaries and it is doubtful that Jeudy, who had yet to post a 1,000 yard receiving season, was going to be featured in their future plans. His $12.987 million salary cap charge was a pretty big number for a team with limited cap room and all kinds of questions about their offense. There is no dead money associated with the trade so they will clear all of that cap space as soon as the trade is made official at the start of the league year.

The Browns have needs at wide receiver and their draft prospects are still very limited due to their trade for Deshaun Watson a few years ago. Their first selection this year will not be until late in the 2nd round so trades like this are the Browns best avenue to finding younger players with some upside at a potential discount. Their leading receiver, Amari Cooper, will be 30 this year and is entering the final year of his contract while their 2nd leading wide receiver, Elijah Moore, had less than 700 receiving yards.

Cleveland will take on the full $12.987 million of guaranteed salary and that number counts in full against the salary cap for the time being. I would expect the Browns to convert most of the salary to a bonus and add four void years to bring the salary cap charge down to about $3.5 million for the year. They will need to deal with the potential fall out with Moore, also entering a contract year, who may not be happy if he sees a reduced role in the offense.

Jeudy needed a fresh start if he wanted to go out and score a big contract as a free agent after this season. He seemed to hit a ceiling in Denver and when you look at that quarterback situation it makes things bleak for a receiver looking to produce big numbers in a contract year. He should get a big chance to earn more opportunities in Cleveland and the Browns lack of depth and young talent gives him a pretty good change to be rewarded by the Browns at some point either later this year or early next year.