Denzel Ward took his best season in the NFL to the bank, and cashed in. (NFL.com)
Denzel Ward is sixth major Browns player to earn a big extension under GM Andrew Berry
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Editor's note: Tony Grossi is a Cleveland Browns analyst for TheLandOnDemand.com and 850 ESPN Cleveland.
Takeaways from Denzel Ward’s new contract extension …
Cornerback Denzel Ward is the sixth player to receive a major contract extension in the three years under GM Andrew Berry.
Chronologically, they are:
* Defensive end Myles Garrett, five years, $125 million, on July 15, 2020. At the time, Garrett’s deal made him the highest-paid lineman at $25 million per year. He is now No. 3 behind T.J. Watt ($28 million) and Joey Bosa ($27 million).
* Running back Kareem Hunt, two years, $12 million, on Sept. 8, 2020. Hunt now ranks 16th among running backs at $6 million per year.
* Running back Nick Chubb, three years, $36.6 million, on Aug. 2, 2021. Chubb ranks sixth among backs at $12.2 million per year.
* Right guard Wyatt Teller, four years, $56.8 million, on Nov. 9, 2021. Teller ranks fifth among right guards at $14.2 million per year.
* Left guard Joel Bitonio, three years, $48 million, on Nov. 10, 2021. Bitonio is first among left guards at $16 million per year.
* Ward, five years, $100.5 million, on April 18, 2022. Ward’s contract is the highest-ever for an NFL cornerback and puts him No. 1 at $20.1 million per year.
What’s the common denominator of these six players?
Obviously, each is super productive on the field and is a cornerstone in what Berry hopes is the franchise’s first Super Bowl team. Not to be overlooked is the fact each is a relatively spotless player off the field, all community leaders and exemplary teammates.
Garrett and Ward are past team nominees for the Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year Award. Ward (Nordonia HS) and Hunt (Willoughby South HS) are northeast Ohio natives. Chubb is a two-time nominee for the NFL Art Rooney Award given to honor outstanding sportsmanship. Bitonio is the only three-time winner of the Dino Lucarelli Good Guy Award given by the Cleveland chapter of the Pro Football Writer’s of America.
Four of the players were drafted by the Browns – Garrett (by EVP Sashi Brown), Chubb (GM John Dorsey), Bitonio (GM Ray Farmer) and Ward (Dorsey). Hunt was signed as a street free agent by Dorsey after the Chiefs fired Hunt and Teller was acquired from the Bills in trade by Dorsey.
Details of Ward’s deal were not immediately known. It is believed to pick up in 2023 after Ward plays for the guaranteed fifth-year option of $13.294 million in 2022, for which Berry already had budgeted.
It’s probable that Ward’s salary cap number would significantly decrease in 2023 as a result of the multi-year extension, which is good planning because most Browns’ contracts on the books are scheduled to increase in 2023.
According to overthecap.com, prior to Ward's new deal the Browns were fifth in the NFL with $18.155 million in effective cap space for 2022. Ward’s extension would probably decrease that space by the pro-rated portion of Ward's undisclosed signing bonus. Details should be available soon.
Long and winding road via Houston
Chubb and Ward were the net results of two of the most controversial transactions in recent Browns history – both involving the Houston Texans. Both came aboard in the 2018 draft.
Ward was selected with the No. 4 overall pick. That came from the Houston Texans from the year before when the Browns traded the No. 12 overall pick for the No. 25 pick (Jabrill Peppers) and Houston’s No. 1 in 2018. Houston, of course, used the 2017 No. 12 pick on quarterback Deshaun Watson.
Chubb was selected with the No. 34 overall pick in the second round. That, too, came from the Texans, also from the year before, when the Browns agreed to take on quarterback Brock Osweiler and his $16 million guaranteed contract. The Browns flatly stated they wanted the draft pick more than Osweiler, who was cut after one preseason game.
It should be noted that Brown was the No. 1 football authority at time, but Paul DePodesta, chief strategy officer, and Berry, as VP of player personnel, were involved in the decision-making. After Brown was fired, it was Dorsey who used the acquired assets on Ward and Chubb.
Watson, of course, then came to the Browns this year in the all-time controversial transaction engineered by Berry and DePodesta and sealed with a $230 million fully guaranteed contract by owner Jimmy Haslam. The Browns gave up six draft choices to Houston for Watson on March 17 – first-round picks in 2022, ’23 and ’24; fourth-round picks in 2022 and ’24; and a third-round pick in 2023.
Deep depth
Ward turns 25 years old on April 28 – first day of the 2022 draft.
There is actually one cornerback in the top 50 at the position in this year’s draft ranked by the Athletic’s Dane Brugler who is older than Ward; three others in Brugler’s top 50 are 24 years old on the day of the draft.
Ward has made the Pro Bowl in two of his four seasons before those players ever play a game in the NFL.
It can be argued that Ward was the Browns’ best defensive player in 2021. His 99-yard pick 6 in Cincinnati was the biggest play of the season, highlighting a clampdown on NFL offensive rookie-of-the-year Ja’Marr Chase that was not duplicated by any other NFL defense. In 2021, Ward had personal highs in games played (15) and defensive snaps (856), and matched personal highs in interceptions (three) and TDs (one).
Ward’s 50 passes defensed in his career are seventh-most in the NFL since 2018. He has saved his best work for games against division rivals.
Ward’s 24 passes defensed against Baltimore, Cincinnati and Pittsburgh are tied for first by a player vs. his division foes since 2018. Also, his 14 passes defensed against the Bengals are the most by any player against one team since 2018.
It used to be said that a team’s cornerback position is only as good as its third cornerback. That turned to “only as good as its fourth cornerback” because of the outbreak in overall passing in the NFL game.
The Browns have taken it to "only as good as its fifth cornerback." The Browns have extremely rare depth at cornerback – Ward, Greg Newsome, Troy Hill, Greedy Williams and A.J. Green. No team in the NFL can match that.
