Dawgs By Nature
Cleveland faces decisions with players like Jameis Winston, Nick Chubb, Elijah Moore, Maurice Hurst, and others.
Free agency will officially begin on March 12th at 4:00 PM ET. The players below will have their contracts expire if the Cleveland Browns do not do anything by March 12th (unless otherwise noted):
These players have contracts that void prior to the start of free agency, with Cleveland set to carry dead cap on them in 2025 unless something is negotiated beforehand:
These are players who the Browns have no roster control over, other than exclusive negotiating rights up until a few days before free agency.
These are for players who have at least three years of accrued service in the NFL (i.e. 6 games or more on the roster or IR). The Browns can choose to place a 1st round tender, 2nd round tender, or original round tender on each player.
Over the Cap estimates the 2025 tenders to be $7.279 million for the 1st round tender, $5.217 million for the 2nd round tender, and $3.185 million for original round tenders. Another team can sign a player with a tender, but they would owe that team the corresponding draft pick if the team opts not to match the offer. If these players are not tendered by the start of free agency, they revert to unrestricted free agents.
The ERFA label applies to players who have less than three accrued seasons in the NFL (i.e. 6 games or more on the roster or IR). Under the ERFA rules, the Browns could offer these players a one-year, minimum salary tender for $840,000, $960,000, or $1,030,000 based on credited seasons (i.e. 3 games or more on the roster, but not including IR). If the Browns make an offer to an ERFA, no other team would be able to sign the player.
We will have free agent reviews on each UFA, RFA, and ERFA in the coming weeks.
