CLEVELAND, Ohio – The Browns are still one of several teams in contention for JJ Watt, a league source told cleveland.com.
They are still attractive to Watt, as he ponders some of his initial options, because they have the potential to fight for the Super Bowl, have a good defender in Baker Mayfield and a good support cast that includes one of the leading edge rushers in Myles Garrett.
They also have something that many of the other interested teams don’t have: money. Compensation is obviously always an essential factor, and Watt wants to be paid on his first attempt at a free agency.
The Browns, who had the biggest cap rollover of any NFL team in this off-season, with $ 30.4 million, currently have about $ 27.6 million in cap space when counting the salaries of their 51 best players, according to with spotrac.com.
Other teams that have been linked to or expressed interest in Watt are suffering from limit space, including his hometown, Packers, which is about $ 4.5 million over the limit with a free agency set to start on March 17.
The Packers released about $ 10.25 million in capitalization space last week by releasing former Browns linebacker Christian Kirksey and striker Rick Wagner, and many speculated that they did it to hire Watt. But longtime Packers defeated writer Tom Silverstein of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel was adamant on Friday that this is not happening.
“I see where it can be, but the #Packers are not going to sign Watt, ” he tweeted. “They have to stay below the limit and have many others to sign / extend again. Unless the market collapses on it, it will sign for much more than GB can afford. It is not a good combination. ”
Super Bowl champion Bucs has yet to be identified as a team interested in Watt, and they have a few renowned players they wish to retain, including linebacker Lavonte David. But Watt, who has a Super Bowl win at the top of his list, recently spoke about Tom Brady on The Tonight Show, calling him the best of all time. The Bucs are in 13th place in the NFL, with a space in the top 51, about $ 27.7 million, a step ahead of the Browns, who on Sunday morning were in 14th place with about $ 27.6 million.
Several teams have publicly declared their interest, including Titans and Cardinals, who have good quarterbacks, Ryan Tannehill and Kyler Murray, and potential for victory. The Cardinals went 8-8 last season, but they were supposed to have their first pass-rusher in Chandler Jones for a torn biceps surgically repaired, and he is a likely future pass-rusher in the Hall of Fame.
Three times as a Bowler, Jones finished second in the NFL with 19 sacks in 2019, and has 97 more in his career since joining the league in 2012. Like Garrett, he took some of Watt’s attention, who doubled more than any player in 2020.
The Cardinals have about $ 19.76 in limit, and GM Steve Keim did not rule out a race to Watt during an interview last week via azcentral.com. Watt’s former Texan teammate Deandre Hopkins also lobbied for him.
“I don’t want to go into details, but as you know, if there is an opportunity that makes sense on both the football and the business side, we will definitely take a shot,” said Keim. “It is certainly fun to see your players get involved. Obviously, Hop is a guy I have a lot of respect for, not just as a player, but obviously adding him certainly improved our recruiting game. “
The accounts also expressed interest in Watt, according to Kimberly A. Martin of ESPN. Bills marks two of Watt’s priorities, Super Bowl potential and quarterback. They lost to the Chiefs in the AFC Championship Game, and Josh Allen finished fourth in the NFL with a score of 107.2, throwing 37 TD passes and just 10 interceptions.
The accounts have about $ 4.5 million in capitalization space, and Allen is represented by CAA, the same company as Watt. Deshaun Watson is another QB to keep an eye on. If the Texans changed it, perhaps the new team would be interested in a Watson-Watt meeting.
The Steelers are attached to Watt because their brothers TJ and Derek play there, but Pittsburgh is in trouble and they haven’t committed to Ben Roethlisberger for 2020.
As for the Browns, they were promising enough in 2020 for Watt to be intrigued. Mayfield was one of the best defenders in the league in the second half of the season. After an interception on his first pass of a 37-34 victory over Bengals on October 25, he launched 20 touchdowns and only 2 INTs in his 12 final games, including playoffs. In the postseason, he played four TDs against one choice.
Watt, 31, has time in his favor because he took a leap into the free agency, which officially starts on March 17, with the adulteration period starting on March 15. The teams are starting to offload higher salaries as they predict that the 2020 threshold will drop from $ 198 million to about $ 185 million, which is about $ 5 million above the recently increased $ 180 million floor.
Watt must be convinced that the Browns are a legitimate candidate for the Super Bowl, but as of now, they are still in his sights.
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