“Coming to an end is always hard. There’s frustration from myself. I’m sure our fans are sharing that frustration,” said the Browns HC Kevin Stefanski after their 2024 season ended. For the franchise and fans, it was a rollercoaster of emotions. In 2023, they lost the wildcard game to the Texans. In 2024, they only won 3 games. But the offseason hasn’t been great either. It’s bad news each week.

First, their quarterback, Deshaun Watson, lost 6 of 7 games before suffering an Achilles injury. He missed 10 games in 2024. But they were hoping for a comeback in the offseason. The plan was derailed. He re-injured his right Achilles tendon in early January and underwent surgery on January 9. His fully guaranteed 5-year $230 million contract has left very little breathing space for them.

While they were looking for ways to manage the $30 million cap space, another headache has come up for Kevin Stefanski. David Njoku, their premier TE, signed a 4-year, $54.75 million extension in 2022. It gave him $28 million guaranteed money. But 2025 is his final year with the franchise. Sitting at a negotiation table with only $30 million in the kitty doesn’t look like a brilliant move.

Rumors are that Njoku will sign a 3-year $45 million contract extension with the Browns. It will make him the 3rd highest paid TE in the league. But the question is, how they will free up their cap space? They already received offers from other teams for Njoku during the trade window before the 2024 season, but didn’t accept any. Their message was obvious. They want to keep him.

Despite their main QB missing, Njoku recorded 64 receptions for 505 receiving yards and 5 touchdowns in only 11 games. A Browns loyalist, he has played 8 seasons for them since 2017 when they drafted him in the first round (29th overall). But knee and ankle injuries marred his 2024 season as well, forcing him to miss 7 games.

Everything remains in the hands of their GM Andrew Berry. And he gave hope to the fans.

Kevin Stefanski and Andrew Berry remain confident of retaining their star

When the head coach arrived in the franchise, he called Njoku, a great player, and said, “We believe in David, excited to work with him.” Fast forward 5 years, he looks forward to his GM to handle the contract talks. Berry also cleared the air about the cap space and revealed, “We’ve always gone into the management of our salary cap on a multiyear basis.”

He then dived into their offseason plans, assuring fans that finances will not be an issue. The GM added, “We’ll have the appropriate level of flexibility for whatever we want to accomplish this spring.” It means they would go all-in for new signings or extending contracts that are ending.

For Kevin Stefanski & co., they are waiting for an update on the quarterback. Around 2 weeks ago, some reports is the Browns claimed that Watson broke the terms of his rehab. If true, that would hand the Browns’ budget a massive $92 million lifeline as they could cut him off without any dead cap. And the GM had then said that they were looking for a changed QB room in the coming offseason.

Will they end their troubled relationship with their signal caller? Will they sign the rumored contract extension with the TE? So many questions need answers. Until then, stay tuned as we will keep bringing you the latest news from the Browns and all your favorite superstars.