Could one team's "flop'' be another's "gift-wrapped gamble''?
A month out from training camp, teams are making their final moves to set up their 90-man rosters for positional competition through the coming month and a half. This week, the Cleveland Browns made a rather stunning decision in navigating that process.
Cleveland cut veteran pass rusher Ogbo Okoronkwo as he was set to enter the final year of a three-year deal he signed back in 2022.
The dead cap hit for the Browns comes in at just under $2 million. Given the post-June 1 designation, his dead money will be spread across two seasons, costing the team $4.7 million in 2025.
Okoronkwo had 37 solo tackles and 7.5 sacks in his two years with the Browns. He previously spent the first three years of his career with the Los Angeles Rams and won Super Bowl LVI before signing with the Houston Texans for the 2022 season.
Did he live up to his $19 million deal in Cleveland? No, and that's why he's being billed as a "flop'' there. ... indeed, the Browns wanting to eat the money rather than keep the player is telling.
And yet our friends at NinerNoise (calling him a "gift-wrapped gamble'') wonder if the San Francisco 49ers should take a spin here. They write ...
The San Francisco 49ers may feel like they are fairly set at edge rusher, but a prime opportunity to bolster the defensive line has presented itself. ... San Francisco could swoop in and sign him.''
Okoronkwo - who won a Super Bowl ring with the Rams - had served as a rotational piece for the Browns defense. But he just turned 30. ... so they turn the page while their defense is led by superstar Myles Garrett with his four-year, $160 million extension.
In San Francisco, Nick Bosa, Mykel Williams and Bryce Huff are in place. ... so to us Okoronkwo seems like excess ... and a "flop'' that will likely try to turn it around elsewhere.