DawgTalkers.net Forums DawgTalk Pure Football Forum Jack Conklin Contract Extension

This is somewhat surprising news.

All I can say is WOW , very surprising . I wonder what this means for Jed Wills future .

Color me very surprised. I see Wills as gone then. And maybe even Pocic

They play opposite tackle positions. I don't know that Conklin's extension has anything to do with Wills at all. Wills is signed through 2023 on his rookie contract with a fifth year option by the team.

I was kinda buying into the thought process of moving Wills to right tackle

I won't say that isn't a possibility but I don't recall Conklin ever playing left tackle before. It would seem rather late in his career for him to make such a switch.

You're right about Wills but by May 2023, the Browns have to decide whether to exercise the 5th year option that will be somewhere between 13M-16M in year 5. That would mean the Browns would have Conklin at 15M, Bitonio at 14.6M, Teller at 13.926M, Wells at about 15M, Njoku @ 18.393, Cooper at 23.776M, Chubb @ 16.2M and Watson at 54.993M for an estimated total of 155.688M in 2024 without the center, WR 2, or any backup at any position. It will be slightly less in 2023 but not much less. The projected cap for 2024 is 256M meaning the 9 offensive starters listed will absorb 61% of the total cap before adding in the other 43 players (2 of which will be offensive starters) to fill the roster. Keep in mind, the Browns have 20 plus FA's to address this upcoming off-season.

Wills has Been a bust at LT. The front office realizes such.
Hence the Conklin extension. I think Bitonio moves to LT in time

And that sounds like a lot if you don't look into the history of Andrew Berry. We can certainly debate his ability to evaluate the drafting of players and we probably wouldn't disagree much in that regard. But what can't be disputed is his ability to restructure contracts that put much of players salaries into bonuses which don't count against the cap. The salary cap I've found to be something that good financial experts can easily manipulate in their favor. Berry is a master of it. So what those cap numbers look like now may not be what they look like then. And actually I'm not sure how Conklin's new contract is structured at the current time under the new deal. Often times the money they get isn't all in the form of a salary.

Agree I did not envision moving conklin to left tackle , like I said I had envisioned wills to RT. tackle. But not now .

j/c:

Conklin is only 28, and when healthy, arguably one of the best right tackles in the NFL. With his recent injuries, I wonder if certain clauses are in the contract to protect the Browns. As with any contract, I'm interested to see the breakdown. I don't think this deal has any ramifications on others. There will be restructuring of other current contracts as always.

I must admit I thought Conklin was older .

My guess is that it is essentially a two year deal where the Browns can get out after the 2024 season if he's showing signs of age or under-performing. Obviously, the could also hang on to hime if he's meeting expectations.

Don't see Conklin moving. I do see him being an important anchor, at least have one tackle. I believe they are planning to have players to push Wills, if not to trade or outright replace him. Not sure what that looks like, probably a free agent. Not Pocic. Goes Teller have any tackle, LT actually, experience or skills? Might work if we run more stretch and favor going outside better than Ski has chosen.

I disagree with Duffin on the OL shake-up. I see it more like Burns has laid out. Hudson will be the new swing tackle when old mother Hubbard is gone next year. Hudson has gotten his snaps anyway already.

Not to be picky, but you are incorrect about the bonuses which is actually called prorated bonuses. We can take Watson for one example. His contract was for 230M all guaranteed. That works out to 46M per season. Berry took 45M in year 1 and moved it to a prorated bonus which he has the option of spreading it out over 5-years maximum which he did. So, in year 1, Watson had a 1M salary and a 9M prorated bonus for a cap hit of 10M in 2022. Hint, that's where the Browns saved 31M to carry over to 2023. Now, in 2023, Watson's salary is 46M plus the 9M prorated bonus for a cap hit of over 54M. His cap hit as it stands will be 54M plus each year of the remaining of his contract unless Berry gets in there and plays with it again.

A second example would be Cooper who came to the Browns with 3 years left on his deal negotiated with Dallas at 20M per year. Berry decided to take 18.88M from his salary in year 1 and prorate it out over the next 5-years. So, instead of a year 1 salary of 20M, Cooper's salary was 1.12M with a prorated bonus of 3.776M for a cap hit of 4.896M in 2022, Now in 2023 and 2024, Copper's salary of 20M plus the 3.776M prorated bonus for a cap hit of 23.776M each year. The kicker though is if Cooper decides to leave after his 3 years, the Browns still have cap hits of 3.776M in 2025 and 2026 because Berry spread it out over 5 years even though Cooper only has 3-years left on his deal.

The Browns have multiple players sitting on deals like this and those cap savings in year 1 are starting to show up now. For 2023, the Browns are already sitting on almost 8M in dead cap because of deals like these and the players not staying through the number of years prorated. Berry is playing a dangerous game prorating every big contract. A final example is Garrett whose prorated bonus for the next 2 years is at 11.926M. The cap charge for Garrett in 2022 was 1.035M plus a prorated bonus of 8.33M for a total cap charge of 9.351M. In 2023, Garrett's salary balloons to 17.25M with a prorated bonus of 11.926M for a cap charge of 29.176M and continues up to 32.129M in 2024.

Thanks for the explanation. He certainly can help minimize these cap hits through the structure of extensions however.

Good move for continuity and he's still young. Now if the line would just stay healthy........

I think that the issue many miss is that restructuring doesn't save anything. Example is Watson, the Browns didn't save anything structuring his contract the way they did. He is going to get paid 230M no matter what. So, Berry cuts 36M from year one and everybody is jumping for joy but that 36M still has to be applied to the cap sometime. Right now, it's years 2-5 and that cannot be changed so at a minimum, Watson is showing a 9M prorated bonus for those years. If Berry does the exact same thing again this off season, the prorated bonus would jump to 18M per season with the 5th year being 9M when Watson is not under contract. To put that in perspective, doing that again for 2023 would mean that Watson would only have a cap hit again in 2023 of 10M but in 2024, that cap hit now would be 64M and the same for 2025 & 2026.

Like you, I was anticipating Conklin being let go after his contract was up, moving Wills to RT (his best position IMO) and bringing in a better LT

I agree with you, Milk. And by extension, Burns.

IMO, this signing has little to do w/ the decision on Wills assuming he gets the option picked up. The FO has a decision with Pocic, heading into FA, and Harris with one year left on his rookie deal. Do you extend Pocic or go back to the guy you slotted in as the starter (presumably beating out Pocic) and is three years younger (24)? A guy who has no really tape starting in the NFL? The comp pick angle for Pocic is interesting.

I was curious to see what Harris had, but he is an unknown. I think this FO has prioritized OL as an investment that clearly has a positive affect on the both the running game and passing game. That's not groundbreaking or anything but I think they are willing to commit extensive resources to the position group over others. I'm perfectly fine with that.

I also don't get this Bitonio move to LT discussion. He is an elite LG. Let him continue being elite there. Didn't we try this experiment out a few years back? I recall him 'not being bad' but a far better Guard.

Shocked. Thought it was going to be Hudson's new full time job.

Why would anybody think it saves money?

Also, signing bonuses have been prorated over the length of the contract for many years.

You are acting like this is something new. It isn't. Quit acting like this is some big deal. It isn't. All teams do this. Watson has his money, or at least a large portion. Whatever is paid out is then written off in equal amounts against the cap over the length of the contract.

Why do you keep harping on this?

I'm surprised because steve has been telling us how the Browns won't be able to keep any of their players ever since we signed Watson.

With that said, I am a little surprised because Conklin hasn't been playing as well this year as he did in the past. Perhaps it's health related. Like someone said, he has been one of the very best RTs in the entire league in recent years.

I also agree w/Burns take over Duffin's. We finally have a truly elite qb. It's best to protect him. The time is now to make our move.

I do not think there is a single person on here that thinks restructuring means Watson is getting paid less.

There is a 99.95% that Berry will restructure Watson's contract again in 2023 and probably again in 2024.

If there is one thing not to be concerned about with Berry and DePo it is the salary cap.

Let's not forget the NFL salary cap is going to increase significantly over the next two years with the new TV deals kicking in.

How would Pocic be a potential comp pick "contributor"? We'd have to sign less free agent $$$ this offseason than we lose...with no first rd pick and a boatload of holes to fill I don't see how we don't sign more than we lose (in order for Pocic specifically to garner us a comp pick). Am I missing something here?

The only guys I can think of who we will likely not-sign and who "might" get a decent deal are Hunt, Clowney and Pocic himself. We need 1-2 DTs, 1-3 LBs, and a FS-type...at a minimum...and that assumes we are ok with the WRs we have to choose from or who we draft.

For better or worse, the one position group "leader" I trust is the OL...so long as Callahan is here. Maybe Harris really IS a viable starter? Maybe Deaton is seen as a good option? I hope we don't mess around at the C position like we have at LB...and arguably WR.

I like Conklin... good move...

I think a good sign is that this means we are looking to be all in the next few years.

Now with Conk it is we need to hope he has been bitten by the injury bug and it isn't a trending situation. When healthy Conk is a much better than average RT. I also don't think this has anything to do with Wills. Most contracts are viewed as 2 year deals even if it is a 4 year deal. By the time we need to sign Wills again, if that is what we elect to do, we can cut Conk, if that is what we elect to do.

I would prefer us keep pocic because he’s clearly an important factor, but I think those chances are dwindled

The chances may be less, but it isn't out of the question. The team has seen how Harris gets bullied to the point where his legs buckle under the strain. They may not be willing to put even one egg in that basket. A basket that lasted one play last fall.

Much depends on if Pocic simply values the money or if he values finally finding a landing spot for his career.

If the team doesn't make any real effort to sign him and they think Harris or Froholdt are the long term answer at center I'll have to question their wisdom.

They may have signed Pocic as a stop-gap measure, but he has become more than that. He is an answer smacking them in the face.

I'll understand if he signs elsewhere if he gets the bag, but if we just half ass our way to signing him, that won't be good.

I agree that it is a sign that we are "all in" in the next few years. It's nice to see the Browns "prioritize winning" rather than saving money.

I am not sure about what will happen w/Pocic, but I don't think the Conklin move seals his ticket out of town. Pocic did an excellent job this year. I was not high on him after reading about his days in Seattle, but he proved me wrong w/outstanding play on the field.

One other thing for your consideration. We have posters on this board who want Stefanski fired and/or say that the Browns aren't trying to win, but think about Pocic returning this week. It's late in the season w/almost no hope at the playoffs and weather is going to be brutal. Pocic could have shut it down for the year like a lot of other players typically do in similar circumstances. However, he is returning. The team is still playing hard. They haven't given up. Stefanski has not lost the team. That's important!

I agree, and it also shows that Pocic thinks of this team as "his team". He wants to be out there and not rest on his tape because he is simply looking for a contract..he is sending a message to this team.

Peen, just to be clear, the Wills situation isn't 2 years away - it's one year and that has to be committed to by May 2023 and guaranteed for 2024. Second, the projected salary cap numbers being floated around for the future years is already taking into consideration the new TV contract. That is the single most prevalent reason you see some of these giant contracts that are being deferred with prorated bonuses, the GM's are banking on the TV deal projections. I like to read up on this kind of thing because it keeps me sharp since I have a Doctorate Degree in Business Administration but retired now. I also clearly see how Berry is trying to play that game of signing 4-year deals but giving them an out after two but the issue becomes sketchy when you look at the amount of prorated bonus he's committing too on the big deals.

Let's take Conklin for an example. Before we get into how Berry might spin the new contract of 60M over 4-years (a 15M per year deal), Conklin had/has 6M (3M per year) the next 2-years of prorated bonus that still has to hit the cap from his previous deal where Berry deferred the cap charge. If Berry does nothing to the new deal, Conklin isn't a 15M cap hit for next 4-years, he's actually a 18M cap hit in 2023 & 2024 before going down to 15M in 2025 and 2026.

Here's the problem from a professional point of view, it's true Berry is ssetting up ways to get out of deals (Ex. Conklin) but the prorated costs are taking a toll. Keep in mind that in 2022, the Browns had 35.28M in dead caqp charges because of contracts/extensions negotiated where the Browns are still being charged the cap even though the player isn't here anymore. Add that to the 31.458M the Browns are rolling over due to moving salaries to prorated bonuses and the Browns could of and should of had over 60M more this year to address the team weaknesses. Instead, that roll over money is needed for the vastly large increases in salary for a number of players this coming year and whatever kind of dead cap he creates which at the moment already stands at close to 8M. The consensus is that Berry will restructure Watson again - if he does that like he did for year 1, the Browns will be looking at over 18M per season the next 4-years in prorated bonus just for Watson before adding in his salary for his cap charge. Mark my words, you are going to see players let go that is going to shock you because of the super high prorated bonuses. I believe it will start this off season but will be a really big deal after the 2023 season.

Berry is prioritizing winning. Will Stefanski? If Stefanski really cared about winning the Browns wouldn't be 6-8 and missing the playoffs again.


The team is not playing for Stefanski. Stefanski is coaching for his job and the players are playing for Watson. Could you imagine a video clip of Stefanski like the one with Rivera...the one we just watched where the player tells Rivera he'd run through a wall for him. I cannot imagine a video or moment like that exists. Hell, Stefanski probably wouldn't have even presented the news to the player...he would have delegated it to the idiot son-in-law or someone else.

Stefanski is a project manager/administrator. He's not a head football coach.

I don't know what-is Pocic's motivation to come back sooner-than-later... like you claim to know...but his terrific body of work/play is really only about 10-12 games long. He's got more-to-prove every bit as much as any other reason for him to return (see larger font above).

Lastly, this isn't some rec league...it's the NFL. I don't care whether the players "like" Ski or not...or if they play "hard" or not "for him" (because that should be a GIVEN...not a reason for an attaboy sticker). Ski has under-performed with the "talent" he has or supposedly has/had. HIS defense and special teams units are inconsistent and play like crap for at least half the season for (2) years running now...and outside the first 12-15 scripted plays the offense is like a ship without a rudder...an adjustment is more than just what you get from a chiropractor.

That said, I think every Browns fan on this board would like nothing more than for Ski to be wildly successful...and to have that success lead to a long and glorious reign...AND for ALL Browns players to reach their potential. Your constant attempt to claim otherwise and create factions is just more agenda posting. It's beyond old.

The one thing I think you're discounting is that the salary cap rises every year. Restructuring certainly does have its advantages when you consider the salary cap will be higher when the bill comes due making that bill easier to pay.

I'm not trying to burst anyone's bubble here but let's at least be somewhat realistic. Pocic is putting together an interview tape for all 32 NFL teams. He's looking for that long term, big payday and rightfully so after his play this year. Pocic has no idea what the Browns may or may not offer. He has no idea if he will be here next year or not. That's just the way it is in the NFL when your contract is coming to an end unless you're a player like Myles Garrett. It really has nothing to do with the Browns being "his team" as much as that just sounds so good. He's doing it for the betterment of his own career just like any of us would do under his circumstances. This is the NFL. His desire to come back and play these last few games will look good to the other 31 NFL teams just as much as it does to the Browns and this fan base.

This 100.

Hey may, or may not, be that guy that would run through a wall for his teammates. But this is much more indicative of everything you said above.

I, in no way, think Stefanski has lost the team. But using this as a gauge doesn't really move the needle for me.