The Cleveland Browns are an organization in transition right now.
General manager Andrew Berry has put the team in a terrible spot, and it likely won’t get better anytime soon.
As pointed out by Jason Fitzgerald, the founder of Over The Cap, the Browns need to clear a significant amount of salary cap space next season.
They will have $21.2M in cap space in 2026, which ranks 28th in the NFL.
How the really bad NFL teams currently stack up with cap room for 2026 (includes carryover and full roster):
2. Titans- $95.3M
3. Raiders- $86.4M
7. Jets- $66.1M
12. Cardinals- $33.4M
20. Giants- $5.7M
28. Browns- ($18.8M)
29. Saints- ($21.2M)
30. Dolphins- ($25.2M)— Jason_OTC (@Jason_OTC) November 3, 2025
Simply put, the Browns are not in a position to acquire significant talent in free agency, but they’re not in a position to embrace a full-scale rebuild because of this situation, either.
They could’ve traded Myles Garrett this offseason and started a full rebuild.
Instead, they gave the All-Pro edge rusher a record-breaking contract extension that could lead to a massive cap charge if they were to trade him going forward.
The organization is still dealing with the effect of the Deshaun Watson trade, an infamous move that will go down as among the worst transactions in history.
Berry’s track record in the NFL Draft has also been subpar, outside of this year’s impressive rookie class.
Most struggling teams can at least count on available salary cap space to get better and build for the future, but the Browns are behind in every aspect of roster building.
Even so, Berry may get at least one more season of calling the shots, but it’s hard to believe the team will do much better, regardless of who’s at head coach or quarterback.
NEXT: Insider Points Out Concerning Stat About Browns’ QB Situation
