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CLEVELAND, Ohio – The Browns are still one of many teams in the mix for JJ Watt, a league source told cleveland.com.
They are still attractive to Watt as he weighs some of his early options as they have the potential to fight for a Super Bowl, they have a good quarterback at Baker Mayfield and a good supporting cast that includes one of the best edge players in Myles Garrett.
They also have something that a lot of other interested teams don’t: money. Compensation is obviously always a key factor, and Watt wants to get paid on his first free agency swing.
The Browns, who have had the most rolling caps of any NFL team this offseason at $ 30.4 million, currently have about $ 27.6 million in cap space including salaries from their top 51 players, according to spotrac.com.
Other teams who have been linked to or have shown interest in Watt are suffering from the lack of space, including his hometown Packers, who are about $ 4.5 million above the cap with free agency scheduled for March 17.
The Packers cleared about $ 10.25 million in cap space last week by releasing former Browns linebacker Christian Kirksey and offensive tackle Rick Wagner, and many have speculated they did to sign Watt . But the longtime Packers beat Milwaukee Journal writer Tom Silverstein, Sentinel insisted on Friday that it wouldn’t happen.
“I see what it might look like, but the #Packers aren’t going to sign Watt, ” he tweeted. “They have to go under the ceiling and they have too many others to sign / extend. Unless the market somehow collapses, it will sign far more than GB can afford. It’s not a good game. ”
Super Bowl champion Bucs has yet to be identified as a team interested in Watt, and they have some high profile players they want to try to keep, including linebacker Lavonte David. But Watt, who has a Super Bowl victory at the top of his list, recently gushed over Tom Brady on The Tonight Show, calling him the greatest of all time. The Bucs are 13th in the NFL with a top 51 cap space of about $ 27.7 million, a step ahead of the Browns, who on Sunday morning were 14th with about $ 27.6 million.
Several teams have publicly declared their interest, including the Titans and Cardinals, both of whom have good quarterbacks at Ryan Tannehill and Kyler Murray, and winning potential. The Cardinals were 8-8 last season, but they are set to get their first pass hunter back to Chandler Jones with a surgically repaired torn bicep, and he’s likely to become a future Hall of Fame passer .
Three-time Pro Bowler, Jones finished second in the NFL with 19 sacks in 2019 and has 97 in his career for the most since entering the league in 2012. Like Garrett, he would distract from Watt, who doubled down. more than any player in 2020.
The Cardinals have around $ 19.76 in ceiling space, and general manager Steve Keim didn’t rule out a run to Watt in an interview last week, via azcentral.com. Deandre Hopkins, Watt’s former Texas teammate, has also lobbied for him.
“I don’t want to go into detail, but as you know if there is an opportunity that makes sense both on the football side and on the business side we will definitely gain momentum,” Keim said. . “It’s definitely fun to see your players get involved. Obviously, Hop is a guy I have a lot of respect for and not just as a player, but obviously adding him has definitely improved our recruiting game.
Bills also expressed interest in Watt, according to Kimberly A. Martin of ESPN. The Bills tick off 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 107.2 odds, throwing 37 touchdown passes and just 10 interceptions.
The bills have a cap of around $ 4.5 million, and Allen is represented by CAA, the same company as Watt. Deshaun Watson is another QB to watch. If the Texans trade him in, maybe the new team would be interested in a Watson-Watt reunion.
The Steelers have been linked with Watt because his brothers TJ and Derek play there, but Pittsburgh is in trouble and they are not committing against Ben Roethlisberger for 2020.
As for the Browns, they’ve shown enough promise in 2020 that Watt is intrigued. Mayfield has been one of the hottest quarterbacks in the league in the second half of the season. After an interception on his first assist of a 37-34 win over the Bengals on October 25, he threw 20 touchdowns and just 2 INTs in his last 12 games, including the playoffs. In the playoffs, he threw four touchdowns on a pick.
Watt, 31, has time on his side because he got a jump on free agency, which officially begins on March 17, with the opening of the legal forgery period on March 15. from $ 198 million to about $ 185 million, or about $ 5 million from the recently increased floor of $ 180 million.
Watt has to be convinced that the Browns are a legitimate Super Bowl contender, but for now, they’re still in his sights.
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