Browns reportedly restructure Amari Cooper’s contract

Cleveland GM Andrew Berry saves $15 million in salary-cap space this season, according to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero.

The Cleveland Browns reportedly restructured wide receiver Amari Cooper’s contract on Saturday to provide some relief on the team’s salary cap.

According to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero, the Browns are converting the majority of Cooper’s $20 million in salary for 2022 into a signing bonus and adding two voidable years to his current five-year contract.

Add it all up, and general manager Andrew Berry just saved $15 million on this year’s salary cap.

The changes to Cooper’s contract, along with new quarterback Deshaun Watson counting just $10 million against the cap this season, means that Cleveland’s two new pieces on offense will only consume $25 million of the $208.2 million in 2022.

That, in turn, gives Berry additional room to fill some additional holes on the roster, which is even more important now that the Browns are without a first-round pick this season (and the next two seasons) after the Watson trade.

To that end, the Browns are still working to keep unrestricted free agent defensive end Jadeveon Clowney and are reportedly open to a reunion with wide receiver Jarvis Landry, who the team released last week, according to cleveland.com’s Mary Kay Cabot.

Re-signing Clowney would be a sound idea given that the current roster of defensive ends not named Myles Garrett includes Curtis Weaver and Chase Winovich.

Landry is a bit of a different situation, however, as while he is a fan favorite the reality is that he has dealt with injuries in recent years, which has brought along a subsequent reduction in his productivity.