NEWS Report:The Cleveland Browns face some pivotal contract decisions over this player…

The Cleveland Browns face some pivotal contract decisions over the next several months, not the least of which involves safety Grant Delpit.

Delpit has been the breakout star on a dominant Browns defense through seven games. The timing couldn’t be better for the 25-year-old defender as his best season surfaces during a contract year. That timing is more complicated for Cleveland, as the front office tries to navigate around quarterback Deshaun Watson and his $64 million salary cap hit in each of the next three seasons.

A total of 18 Browns players will hit free agency in one form or another come March 2024. Cleveland may try to extend some of them before the franchise is forced to bid against the NFL vultures who circle overhead of loaded rosters each spring. Matt Wilson of SB Nation’s Dawgs By Nature contended on Wednesday, November 1, that Delpit should reside at the top of the list of players the Browns need to pay so they don’t get away in free agency.

“[Delpit] has been flourishing so far in 2023 under the guidance of defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz,” Wilson wrote. “If he continues on the path that he’s on, he’ll undoubtedly be on this year’s Pro Bowl roster. Though it’s going to be a challenge for the Browns to afford Delpit, they have to at least try to make it work. He’s the type of player that teams can usually ‘find’ the money for.”

A second-round pick in 2020 (No. 44 overall), Delpit is playing on the final season of his four-year, $7.5 million rookie deal. His current annual valuation, which can also be regarded as his value per season on an upcoming contract, is $12.4 million, based on calculations from Over The Cap (OTC).

It is reasonable to assume Delpit will seek a new four-year deal, either with the Browns over the next few months or with any number of interested franchises once his unrestricted free agency rolls around. At OTC’s valuation then, Delpit represents a roughly $50 million investment with somewhere in the neighborhood of half of that fully guaranteed, per the structure of current deals for other top safeties around the NFL.

While that sounds like a lot, Delpit’s annual salary on that exact contract would make him only the 12th highest-paid player at his position in the league. And with a strong safety class bound for free agency in 2024, that number could slot in lower by the start of next season.

It is difficult to argue against paying Delpit based on the combination of his age and his performance in 2023.

Delpit has held opposing quarterbacks to one total touchdown and a collective rating of 74.5 on 18 targets in pass coverage this season, per Pro Football Reference. He has also amassed 43 total tackles, including 2 tackles for loss, 2 pass breakups and an interception.

Pro Football Focus ranks Delpit 18th out of 87 players who have seen enough snaps to qualify at the position, though his above-average player rating of 73.8 is impacted by the difficulty that characterizes his regular assignments week in and week out.

The Browns have nearly $35.5 million in remaining salary cap space this season, though the team will probably look to roll much of that over to next year. As of Thursday, Spotrac projects Cleveland’s 2024 cap space at roughly -$6 million.

The team will face tough choices on players like Amari Cooper, who will enter the final year of his contract in 2024 and carry a cap hit of nearly $24 million. But at 30 years old and potentially too expensive to re-sign long-term, Cooper may not be an integral part of the Browns’ future. Delpit absolutely can be if the franchise decides to extend him, and doing so now may prove cheaper and safer than risking the unknowns and volatility of free agency.