Cleveland Browns are the cap space champions of the NFL

The Cleveland Browns lead the NFL in cap space going into Week 1 of the 2020 season.

The Cleveland Browns have won something in 2020 already. For what it’s worth.

A report from the NFL showed the Browns to be the cap space champs of the offseason, heading into Week 1 under the cap by $34.74 million.

The hierarchy of cap space managers was tweeted by Albert Breer of the MMQB:

1. Cleveland Browns — $34.74 million
2. New England Patriots — $32.24 million
3. New York Jets — $31.31 million
4. Jacksonville Jaguars — $30.95 million
5. Washington Football Team — $26.03 million
6. Denver Broncos — $25.43M
7. Detroit Lions — $19.64M
8. Philadelphia Eagles — $18.49M
9. Miami Dolphins — $17.09M
10. Tennessee Titans — $17.08M

The Browns aren’t being cheap. They’ve just got a good QB contract.

Is this a sign of the Browns not building their roster seriously? Not exactly. In 2019 they were actually ranked among the top teams in the NFL in terms of salaries being paid out.

This year they went out in free agency and signed tight end Austin Hooper, offensive tackle Jack Conklin, linebackers Malcolm Smith and B.J. Goodson, defensive tackles Ricky Walker and Andrew Billings, defensive end Adrian Clayborn, cornerback Kevin Johnson and safeties Karl Joseph and Andrew Sendejo,

Cleveland also made a deal for safety Ronnie Harrison from Jacksonville last week.

Where the Browns have an advantage over other teams is at quarterback. Baker Mayfield is still on a rookie deal, accounting for just $9 million on the salary cap.

Receivers Jarvis Landry and Odell Beckham Jr. are each hitting Cleveland with $14 million on the cap while Myles Garrett is costing $10 million. However, other key figures on the team aren’t causing much cap pain. Leading rusher Nick Chubb is at $2 million. Kareem Hunt is at $3 million.

Breer also shared the numbers on the other end of the spectrum, with the Rams over the cap by nearly half a million dollars.

1. Los Angeles Rams — $404,000
2. New Orleans Saints — $1.5 million
3. Minnesota Vikings — $1.65 million
4. Atlanta Falcons — $1.93 million
5. Pittsburgh Steelers — $6.01 million
6. Seattle Seahawks — $6.19 million
7. Arizona Cardinals — $6.51 million
8. Tampa Bay Buccaneers — $6.79 million
9. Kansas City Chiefs — $7.04 million
10. Buffalo Bills — $7.58 million

Unlike the Browns, the Rams are holding $28 million in cap space for Jared Goff. The Saints are carrying $23 million for Drew Brees.

All of that means one thing for the Browns: They better find some success now, because they will eventually have to pay Mayfield and Chubb a lot more than they’re covering at the moment.